Tips for long plane ride with a 3 year old..

[sophiesmom]

I'm heading to LA in August w/ my 3 year old daughter. Will be about 6 hours. Just looking for some tips, I've never flown w/ children! I'm planning on bringing the car seat on the plane, checking an umbrella stroller... wondering how to survive a long flight w/ her!

thanks!

[sueprinter]

I havent been in a plane for 6 hours with my kids (DD 1.5 yrs and DS 5) but we have taken several long car rides from 5-6 hours. I always take a bag with my stuff, and then a big bag for the kids full of toys. I usually let DS pick some of the toys himself.

The Kid Bag:
Crayons (Washable) and coloring book, blank paper to write on
play dough
lots of different books
Etch a sketch
my first leap frog reader with books
slinky
small flashlight
small tape recorder/dvd player to play their favorite music
learning toys with buttons to push that play music
doll/stuffed animal and/or blankie to hug when going to sleep
shape sorter or stacking toys that dont have too many small parts
photographs and/or photo album. My kids love to look at photos of themselves and their family.
any new toy they havent seen yet.

If possible, do you have a portable DVD player so can play some of DD favorite videos?

In My Diaper Bag:
Diapers/pull ups/extra clothes for accidents
Sweater, pants, blanket in case the plane is cold
LOTS OF SNACKs: juice boxes, cheerios, apple slices,
Lots of wipies and antibacterial wipes
my wallet, cell phone, make up (try not to take me a purse)

Try getting a window seat. My DS loves to look out and push the little window blind up and down. That keeps him busy for a little while.

I just got the new Lands End Do it All with the long straps, I think its a great as a travel bag to get to your destination, but too big for me as an everyday diaper bag. So I try and bring one good sized diaper bag that I dont mind using as a purse also like my Loom, or like one of the WW elizabeth totes.

Good Luck. I hope this helps a little

Oops, I forgot, I always travel with their medicines. Tylenol, Cold medicine, neosporin, bandaides, along with a spoon/medicine syringe to give it to them if needed.

PSS. I am a bit of a heavy packer and slightly neurotic that I will need something and not have it. Oh Well, I guess there are worse vices.

[MichelleRC]

Not much to add except to say that we recently flew with a toddler and the portable DVD player was a lifesaver. I got it for under $200 at Circuit City and it was worth every penny.
I also brought lots of snacks in little ziploc bags so I could just grab one when we needed it.
Oh and the travel magna-doodle was also a favorite and doesn;t make a mess.
Good luck!

[marnay]

It has been a few years since I traveled by plane, but at the time we didn't have a portable dvd, not even sure they were available.... anyway what we did was take the camcorder and tape some of her shows on the tv and then played them back for her on the camcorder.

I just set the camcorder up in front of the tv and taped some of her favorites, a couple of hours worth. When we laid over I plugged the camcorder in at the airport and recharged it.

A DVD player would be way easier though!

Naydene

[JElaineB]

I am flying alone with DS (22 months) in a few weeks and I'm trying to bring as little as possible. I am bringing him, a stroller, a carseat and a diaper bag. I'll use the Skip Hop if I can fit everything in it. If not I will use the old-style Lands End Do-It-All. I have used that for plane trips before and it worked fine.

The major things I am bringing is a portable DVD player (and DVDs) and LOTS of snacks. I just bought a 5" portable DVD player (Apex PD-450) on clearance at Walmart for $119 (it is more on both their website and Target's website). I'm actually impressed with it so far considering the price was so low. I *know* this will be my lifesaver on the trip! I plan to keep him glued to the screen the whole time and not feel guilty about it! Luckily the plane I am on has power ports at my seat, so I don't need to bring an extra battery. I just have to figure out how that works!

I'm also brining plenty of snacks and trying to figure out some lunch foods to bring, not sure how I will pack those up yet. Also, diapers, a soft-sided container of wipes, a mini-travel Magna Doodle (aka Doodle Pro), a couple of disposable changing pads, a sippy cup of water and an extra bottle of water, my wallet, cell phone, tickets, and a few Take N Toss sippy cups in case he needs to drink something else along the way. Probably a couple of small items like some Purell, maybe a couple of band-aids, etc. That's about all I can think of for now. I'm sure there is something I am forgetting though!

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[mom2kandj]

The best tip we've ever gotten is to go to your local party supply store and buy some cheap trinkets that you would use for goodie bags. Then you wrap up the trinkets in a bit of colored cellophane(in case security is nosy) and give the preschooler a new *present* every half hour to hour or so. These *goodies* don't take up much space and you won't really care if you lose a fifty cent plastic slinky or a stretchy plastic bracelet, KWIM? You could probably put everything in a little backpack for your DD to carry so that it doesn't have to take up space in your carryon. Here's few ideas for goodies that my DD would love:

Cheap plastic jewelry(think Mardi Gras beads)
Crayola Color Magic pens and paper
Sheet of itty bitty stickers
Small stampers with ink pad built in
Small tub of playdoh
Plastic slinky
small bottle of bubbles with wand in lid(think wedding bubbles)
coin purse
*princess* water bottle
small *princess* action figures

the list is endless, but you get the picture. You don't need to spend an arm and a leg. I'm pretty sure that I could round up everything I needed for under $20 at Big Lots! HTH!


Rose
mom 2 Katie 12/02/00
& Jack 04/16/02

[sophiesmom]

thanks for all the great tips! i can't believe i'm leaving in 23 days! yikes!!!