Tips For Travelling With Nearly 2 Yr Old

[Chasingcars]

We are taking our 22 month old to Tenerife at the end of the month for a week and this will be her first flight!
Any tips for the flight (4 hrs approx)?
For the actual holiday, did other peole take nappies with them or buy there? Thinking of luggage weight allowances etc!
Also, we are staying at a hotel, for during the stay, did you take toys, and if so how many and what kind?

Any tips very welcome!

Thank you x

[ChillDoubt]

I'd save yourself the trouble of carrying a blanket, the cabin crew dish them out for free and will be more than happy to supply one to an infant(unless of course your child has one as a comfort).

As for the rest, it's funny that those moaning about 'snivelling brats' were once exactly that themselves!
Live and let live people, if your that fearful of a wee child, take an ipod and a good set of earphones, it's only 4 hours!

[Sqad]

NJ/Chilli....we are now in the ridiculous situation on this thread that if replies to your posts are made............one is in peril of the post being removed.

[ChillDoubt]

LOL @ Sqad.

Also, the headphones will prevent adults from attempting to engage you in inane conversation/drivel about where they've been before, who they're going to see, how many tines they've flown on this particular type of aircraft, where their son works etc so they'd be a sound investment.

[wolf63]

Chasingcars ~ I don't have children so can't give any help. But enjoy your holiday.

I use a pheremone spray to comfort my cats (especially for trips to the vet) and it works. Do you get similar stuff for kiddies?

[Mamyalynne]

I think you may find it easier than expected, a few of the simple tips given here will help. Before the trip teach her a few simple word games which you can pay together if she gets bored.

Keep up hydration levels and encourage some naps.

A word to others - if a 22 month old cries for 4 hours it would likely mean they were ill and you wouldn't be on the plane in the first pace.


Enjoy your holiday CC.

[Mamyalynne]

^ play together, must sort out these sticking keys :-)

[puzzled54]

Can you download some cartoons onto a tablet? Sean the sheep and Peppa pig kept my grandchild happy on a long flight. You may get fed up of seeing the same cartoons over and over, but she may love it.

[237SJ]

Tablets are the best things that have ever been invented for keeping kids quiet on flights. Failing that, colouring books and other toys will keep them amused. Take something for them to drink so that they can swallow during take off and landing. Kids rarely cry for the whole flight anyway.

[New Judge]

Well the question asked for advice on flying with a 22 month old, sqad and I gave mine - don't do it. That is my genuine advice. It is unfair to the child who will almost certainly become distressed at some point; it is unfair to the parent(s) who have to cope with that distress; and it is unfair to those around them. Nobody enjoys the experience; there's nothing in it for anybody. A 22 month old will not "enjoy every second of the flight." She will quickly become fractious and/or distressed and her parents will spend the majority of the flight dealing with that situation. It will not be a lasting memory for her (though it may be for those around her). She will have long forgotten about it before she is two years old - if she remembers it for that long.

Questions on AB often degenerate. It's a pity but that's the way it is. My own contribution was the best advice I could give. My follow up, whilst somewhat irreverent, was simply to question anybody who thinks there is a reasonable chance of a 2 year old failing to cry for four hours during which time she will be passed from pillar to post in a confined space and have her eardrums uncomfortably pressurised at least twice. I don’t gamble but I know where my money would go if I did.

[237SJ]

I think you're being a bit dramatic there NJ - it's not inevitable that kids will become fractious and the parents distressed etc. Most kids (on long haul flights)fall asleep and stay comatose for many hours. In my experience the kids that are most restless are the ones with parents who flap and stress.

[bednobs]

yes, yes your advice of "cancel your holiday for the benefit of all the other people on the plane " was, im sure, incredibly valuable advice to CC

[Mamyalynne]

NJ - of course your opinions are valid and you are entitled to post them. However the OP did not ask 'Should I take my 22 month old on a flight' - advising someone who has booked a holiday not to do it, is at best a little pointless.

[ludwig]

// advising someone who has booked a holiday not to do it, is at best a little pointless. //

I agree. Practical advice such as checking them into the hold rather than taking them as hand luggage is the kind of thing the op was looking for.

[Mamyalynne]

Thank you Ludwig - are you here all week?

[ladybirder]

High Five Ludwig;-)

[New Judge]

It's not the parents who get distressed, 237, it's the child. The parents continue as if nothing is happening, usually smiling inanely at their little treasure. I think I can safely say that I have never been on a flight where a young child has been nearbyand that child did not throw some sort of major strop at some point during the flight (and I've flown a lot).

Of course I'm not suggesting Chasingcars should cancel her holiday. My advice was more for future reference and I'm pleased to see I'm not alone in my views.

[ludwig]

Unfortunately yes. To be serious, I find people who whinge about children quite annoying. I just couldn't resist a joke.

[ludwig]

// I think I can safely say that I have never been on a flight where a young child has been nearbyand that child did not throw some sort of major strop at some point during the flight (and I've flown a lot). //

You could be the catalyst NJ. Did you ever hear the child say anything like 'Mummy the nasty man is scaring me'. Just a thought.

[Mamyalynne]

Of course you aren't alone NJ - the place often seems to be awash with folk who see little people as annoyances rather than intelligent beings.

I have long done journeys of many miles with children in tow - the last one two weeks ago ( 6 hours with 3 of them) of course there is the odd disagreement but I would never let those go unchecked.

Whilst Tenerife isn't exactly my choice of destination, I think on the whole travel is good for youngsters.

[ummmm]

NJ....do you have children?