jjsebba

Hi all

My family and I are heading down under in July/August. Because I have a job offer, it's likely I will have to go ahead to start work and hubby and baby will follow. Hubby is having kittens (I would too in his situation) about how he's going to travel so far with a little one that won't sit still for 5 minutes let alone 24hrs. He's planning on stopping in San Fran but that still leaves 2x12 hour flights! Eeeeek!!!!!!
All suggestions very welcome.

bga

... did it with a 3 year old ... it ain't easy but had to be done.. a bit of Calpol night time aided the sleeping and if the little 'un gets really grumpy your hubby could give them some too :-) - the airlines are pretty good at supplying blankets / pillows etc ... no easy fix I don't think

Hawk13

With lots of medication - for your husband, of course.

Stormer999

And some spare for the other seats...

dannigirl

Lots of sympathy! I will be doing it end of June with a 3 1/2 year old and a 7 month old baby - at least there will be two of us! We are going to take it in shifts - to drink as much gin as possible!!!

Seriously, try and get a night flight for the first leg. Bribery and lots of distraction tools. Do you think they have peppa pig on the in-flight telly?

alanmacc

Yep like th others done it a couple of times with a 2 year old, did our RTW when she was 1 then did the emigration flight here when she was 2, we went via Dubai so first half pretty good, second half total nightmare to be honest, she did not sleep a wink between Dubai and Sydney a good 20 odd hour flight so cranky is a vast understatement, tried the calpol, no effect what so ever so I think its just luck, on our RTW flights she was great, slept when she was tired ate no problem and was generally a wee angel. So as far as advice goes id say just wing it and take it as it comes like all parent we adapt to the situation at the drop of a hat, try to take it in turns to catch naps tho

P18PPS

It's like labor.... once you take off you have to ride with the inevitable! I remember taxiing down the runway thinking let me off now!!...

Lots of distractions are the key - go to a dollar/pound store and buy a bag full of chuck away toys - avoid messy things but stickers are good. Mind you should have seen the state of our seats when we left the plane - stickers EVERYWHERE ! Also you'll find that even an 2 and a half year old will master the remote in-flight entertainment exceedingly well.

Botttom line - it is shit traveling with little ones - but lets face it most travelers have had to do it so are on the whole sympathetic, you'll also find that a single traveller with a baby will attract more sympathy from travelers and flight attendants alike.

good luck

ps - are they toilet trained????..... a tip I've learned over the years is that the high altitude makes little ones poo more, so take extra extra nappies and changes of clothes!

autawa

I'm doing it in July, on my own with a 2 year old and a 1 year old! i have booked a night flight leaving here (NZ), and will bring lots of toys and distractions! i know its going to be awful, but im so looking forward to going home, (uk) will all be worth it when i get there!! not sure i will want to repeat it again 6 weeks later though, hubby might have to come and get me!

Denise01292

We've done it twice now. First time son was 20 months. He fed and slept well plus I took loads of play things like crayons, paper, stickers, playdoh, cars etc. The second time he was 3 and 1/2 and baby 8weeks (family emergency). Easier this time as he was able to watch a film and play on dad 's Ipad and baby just fed and slept. I also changed him at 'bedtime' and packed him a little bag with a few surprises. Good luck

Catchafire

All good advice, except I am not a huge fan of night flights. We have been to Europe and Asia with our two girls and found that with night flights, there is a lot going on the plane for at least a couple of hours before everything settles down. By which point your kids will be over tired and really hard to settle.

Better to have a day flight. Stop overs are also highly recommended, we try to organise one for at least 36 hours. Lots of time to catch up on sleep. Also if you have a laptop/Ipad download some of your kids favorites. In flight entertainment can be a bit limited for a 2 year old.

Also get to the airport in good time, less standing around in check in queues and more time to get a decent meal into them.

We have been flying long haul with our two girls (4 and 2 years) and they cope pretty well. The only time things went wrong, is when we were just preparing to take off, when my eldest announced "Daddy! I need to go poo!"

ScotinNZ9yrs

A friend has flown with her 4 kids to the UK quite a few times and suggested for 2 year olds to buy lots of little things (someone mentioned this previously) such as travel Etch-a-Sketch, stickers, books etc, and wrap them up so the child has the double fun of unwrapping and getting a new toy. When they start getting bored, whip out another present. Also, make sure that a child's meal has been specifically requested as some airlines don't automatically link a child seat with a child meal. Good luck!

Bev MK

I've a 4 year old and an almost 2 yr old and have done about a dozen 12 hour flights with them as we've been expats for some years. I'm a big fan of covering the basics - leave yourself spare time on departure - if you stress that you're running late getting to the airport, they will pick up the vibe and panic. Always have crackers and water in your bag so you can feed the kids when they need it, not when the stewardesses' schedule says. Avoid rich food, they're more likely to get nauseous. The airline food for kids is often greasy, rich and nasty, don't rely on it, have some snacks. If the child is not fully toilet trained, I'd suggest using a night nappy for the trip - encourage them to keep it dry but at least when they announce they need a wee RIGHT NOW, and you're just at the immigration desk or the plane is accelerating down the runway, then you know you can ask them to hold on and not worry about wet clothes.

I'd also recommend you consider a toddler sling. Beko do a fabulous one that takes a child up to 4 yrs. We have the Beko Gemini. It's not cheap, being about £90 on Amazon I think, though you might find a second hand one on eBay. However, we've found it very useful at various stages. This holiday (we're currently in Auckland on hols having gone St Helena, South Africa, Mauritius, Reunion, Australia, NZ over the last 2 months), we found it great for helping the almost 2 yr old and the parent in charge of her sleep on planes. Once the seatbelt sign's off, we strap her in the sling, parent lies back to sleep or reads Kindle, toddler snuggles into parent's chest, much reassured in the midst of all the strangeness of travel and sleeps for the whole flight. Our children are normally put into bed to fall asleep by themselves but for hols this is great. Parent can also go to sleep knowing that the child can't wriggle free or fall off you in the night so you're not holding onto to her with tensed hands - you sleep better too.Hubby also prefers to put her in the sling for airports etc as then it leaves hands free for luggage, for holding onto bus straps, whatever. We've also used it in various sightseeing things that aren't so pram-friendly - some of the walks and geothermal stuff. It's very different to the metal-framed hiker type toddler back pack but we've found it very handy. Weighs very little and can be squashed under the seat of her Maclaren.

I thought it looked pricy when I bought it but it's been worth every penny to us.

Calpol sachets are airport security friendly and may be handy.

I prefer to do night flights but you do have to bear in mind that it's usually at least 2 hours til the lights are dimmed as they feed you unwanted meals etc.

Last but not least, you'd be amazed how well little ones can travel. Plan but don't stress - and assume that it will be fine - they will go along with that assumption most of the time!

ellenarosemary

Definitely agree with the night flights, book yourself on a 9 pm one or later, that way they stay up for a bit because its past their bedtime and hopefully will sleep most of the first half of the journey. When we came back from NZ several years ago, the first half was great, the second half from LA was a nightmare, the children were on NZ time and the woman in front did nothing but moan and complain to the stewardess about us - and I didnt think my son was that bad!!!

Obviously a candidate for the first airline to do adult only flights, and cant have had children herself. Unfortunately you always get at least one per flight.

Good luck.

BEVS

Really?

We all pay fully for our flights surely and are all entitled to our fair share of not being too disrupted.

I came back after my Dad died and had to endure a severe case of non-stop disruptive young toddlers that the parents let roam when having a kip. It was distressing TBH.

I know it is tough but , you know what, it's not all about the kids, it's about ALL of us that have to endure the chicken class & some may not be that well or elderly or just not feeling 'social' to that degree.

. Have some thought for others on those flights.

ellenarosemary

Not saying you people shouldnt have a good flight, after all they have paid their money for 'cattle' class too just like everyone else.!

Its inevitable however that there will be children on board - my son was almost 2 at the time, he didnt cry, didnt run around the plane, (in fact stayed in his seat the whole time unless I took him to the loo), and I thought was generally very well behaved.

This particular female passengers main gripe was my son was a lap passenger, and therefore inavertently banged her seat occasionally as there wasnt much room for him to move around whilst sitting on my lap.

I do agree some children are allowed to run riot and thats not acceptable to anyone, even as a mum myself.