VixMelbourne

Hello!

We fly to Melbourne on the 29th October and was wondering if anyone had any tips for keeping a 2year old occupied for the 23 hour flight?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Last thing we want is some snotty traveller moaning about my little ones lungs when he has one of his tantrums! hehe

RachH

we did the trip from uk to brisbane when our little boy was 2. We were really pleasantly surprised after dreading it for ages.

We put his carseat on the plane with us so he could sit in that - Singapore Airlines allowed that - don't know if they all do. That meant he could sleep really comfortably. The personal TV kept him occupied for most of the time too - they are fab.

Also my sister bought him loads of little gifts and wrapped them. every few hours he'd get another surprise to play with. Worked a treat.

most importantly, don't worry about what other people think if yours does have a tantrum or two. Unless you put them to sleep with a few doses of calpol (tempting!) it will be hard to avoid a child making a noise!!!

al150n

We flew to & from Oz when our 2 were 2 & 3 years old with no problems at all. Both of ours had flown quite a few times from when they were very small although only to Cyprus & back & we were a bit worried about 20 hours. We didn't bother with their car seats as it meant they could get more comfy in their seats (not taking their car seats this time either as they're not legal in Oz ) As we had 4 seats together we put the kids on the middle 2 & lifted all the arm rests so they could top & tail to sleep which worked well. I always pack them a rucksack each for the flight with some new toys in, just small things like cars, pencils, etc which they are not allowed to open until we're on the plane which always seems to work well & they're allowed to choose a comic at the airport. TBH they kept themselves fairly well occupied on the Oz flight with the consoles on the back on the seats playing or rather trying to play games & watching films. We flew with emirates & the air stewards were brilliant with them, taking them off to have a sit in their fold down seats, etc. plus there was constant food & drinks be bought round which also keep their attention. I also took their pj's so they got ready for bed & were then in the right mode for sleeping plus one of their own small blankets each as that was nicer for them to snuggle up with to sleep.

Lets home our 2 are as good for our one way flights on Wednesday

The best thing to do is not stress about it. Easier said than done but I know we worry unnecessarily about our 2 & then are really proud of how well they've been.

Alison x

itxrd

Prob bit late for you now as you're flights are booked but we booked a night flight and they slept. stopover somewhere and do same again (or part night) for that part.

al150n

We also booked our flights around the kids & are on the same time flight again next week. It meant we got them in to their pj's during the 2 hours at Dubai & then they crashed out as soon as we got on the 2nd flight & slept for 7-8 hours.

Alison x

lonndongeek

Valium.

Cheers

Steve

paulry

You probably have little to worry about. Most toddlers/young children tend to sleep through most of the flight. Certainly, mine always did.

emma75

My boys have always been fine flying, eldest was 9 months when we first flew to Oz, Youngest was 2 and a half when we flew again. REALLY not a problem. We booked night flights and they slept most of the time. Also the whole experience was a an adventure for them and they happened to have Dora the explorer and Ben 10 on the TVs which was a god send! As far as other people getting annoyed with the kids i didnt really give a toss, there kids at the end of the day - not that they were a problem although one man said something about my youngest when in actual fact it was me that had knocked his seat and i was quite rude to him! Obviously take a few treats, favourite toys etc. Honestly i have worked out my boys have done over 40 flights between them from the ages of 12 weeks to 8 years which my eldest is now and i have never really found it stressful. In fact its me who is the nightmare as i am petrified of flying! Good luck.
Emma x

VixMelbourne

Woah! Excellent advice there (apart from the Valium!hehe) - it helps a lot!!

Luckily we have booked night flights! We fly from heathrow at 10pm on the new Airbus so hopefully he'll be whacked by then! hehe

Better get buying some surprise pressies - we are also going to buy him one of those Trunki things to put his bits and bobs in.

Thanks for the advice!!

emma75

That the flight we went on from Heathrow on the A380, We too brought a trunki which was great to store the treats and pull him along on! Great minds think alike!

quoll

Yup, night flight, run around in Singapore and wear him out then sleep the next leg. The kids do seem to get lulled by the movement. Just be careful that if he is in the least bit prone to motion sickness (you should get an idea from how he travels in the car) - get some travel sick preparation but try it out first!!!! (cant stress that enough, you do not want a kid bouncing off the walls which may just happen, if you havent tried it before).

One of those magnetic doodle things goes down well with little kids (if you are flying Qantas I think they put one in their kids' back pack) otherwise get one or two from the pound shop.

Take small snacks that the child likes - they may get fussy with the food provided. Take a special friend (soft toy) but treat it like a member of the family and do not leave it in the seat pocket when you refuel.

My granddaughter was around 18 months when we went to UK for a month last year and she took it all in her stride - except we didnt let her hold her own boarding pass as she was a bit resistant to people taking things off her - the backpack was a bit of an issue coming through security in Singapore but they handled it well. Oh yes,and be sure that if you do bring a "special friend" with you that they arent stuffed with animal or vegetable stuffing, quarantine get their knickers in a knot about stuff like that these days.

I am sure you will be fine. I have done it many times over the years with my sons and now with the new generation. Just be sure that they dont kick the seat in front and you will be just dandy.

HelenTD

We flew with Emirates recently on our holiday to the UK. We were very disappointed with the food for the kids. They kept giving the kids meals to someone else, even though we had ordered them. Luckily we took snacks on board, otherwise the youngest would have starved. The custard and fruit/jelly pots gave the security people a bit of trouble, but they agreed to let us take on board (a bit too much like liquid). Hopefully you will get better service, but perhaps take a few food items as it's better to be safe than sorry.

al150n

We had no problems last time we flew with them, Tbh there was to much food for the kids. I ended up putting a lot of the stuff straight in to my bag & the sweets they got lasted our 2 week stay. We did have to send them away a couple of times with the food boxes though as the kids were still working on BST when we got on the flight from Dubai & weren't ready for breakfast at what was about midnight to them.

Alison x

leecoup

I have 3 kids (2, 6, 7 year olds).

On the flight out;
All the kids spewed over me and seats in front. The 2 year old did a gigantic number 2 and when I changed him in the loo, he flung the nappy and contents all over us and half the room (took half an hour to clear up). He refused to sit in his seat and spent most of the flight shouting/screaming/kicking seat in front.

On the flight back/internal flights;
He was a total joy (I spent $100's on Wiggles toys) and gave him a new toy every time he started to play up.

Best of luck

lynetteh

We have just done the flight with our 2 year old. I always dread the long hauls but they are never as bad as I expect.
A collection of wrapped up toys are a must, especially ones that hold their attention for more than a few minutes like crayones, playdough, lego etc.
Stickers!! I gave my littlie one a sheet with about 100 small Ben 10 stickers on it. It took him ages to peel off each sticker and then he had great fun decorating the plane and his mum and dad with them. At least an hour of entertainment.
Don't deprive them of sleep before the flight or they just get wired and cant fall asleep. Well rested kids sleep better and are easier to entertain.
If you have a stopover in Singapore put their swimsuits in the hand luggage. There is a free swimming pool at the airport and the exercise always seems to make them sleep really well on the next leg.
Good luck!