travelling with screaming toddler!

A

aussiegal

Registered User
We're about to fly to NY with our 20 month old boy who has become a bit of a nightmare lately! He hates sitting still and loves to scream at the top of his lungs. He has a 4 month old brother who he has become jealous of - which explains some of his behaviour, the rest we put down to age because he is normally good.

Anyway, any suggestions for how to stay sane on the flight? What to do with him? How to keep him busy.

I am very, very worried!!!!!
 
how do you deal at home? deal in the same manner...

i always point out to mine that no one else is drumming the chopsticks, putting their feet on the table etc. and then ask why he is. then i tell him to stop.

he's 2yr 8 months now and in all honesty, i'm very lucky. i've only ever had 1 real temper tantrum from him when he was 14 months old. i just don't put up with anything, and he knows it.

good luck!
 
Having just travelled to San Francisco with a 26month old I can understand your apprehension! In the end there is not a lot you can do (although Phenergan works for some kids!) but the important thing is to guard your state of mind. He will probably exhibit behaviour that you don't want but you have to focus on him and NOT on what the other passengers might be thinking of your kid. Believe me, I am speaking from very recent experience! Ended up getting really wound up and just about losing the plot. Decided on the way home to just go with the flow (which meant walking up and down the aisles and in and out of the toilets) and not get worried about the other passengers. They will forget about you 2 minutes after they get off the plane. Keeping him happy kept the stress levels down. Packed heaps of his favourite snacks too. While I would have loved to keep things as routine as possible (no special treatment) the prime concern was simply getting through the flight and I was prepared to do what was necessary.

Good luck!
 
we don't put up with it but that doesn't mean it stops him doing it! He's only 20 months and it's hard to reason with a 20 month old.

His tantrums don't last long but we're just not a couple that like our children messing with the peace for others. I think we'll be walking the aisles like you did Fee!
 
Last edited:
all i was saying was that some people have a higher tolerance than others for tantrums.

i took my 5 week old and my 24 month old by myself on a 36 hour door-to-door trip back in march. i can relate.

i agree completely with what fee said. if you get worked up, it just makes it worse.

good luck!
 
Apart from walking up and down the aisles, I'd bring a bag of favourite toys, books, movie on portable DVD player/Ipod.
Or...
How about that good teaspoon of brandy :haha:
 
I'm flying to the US on Wed with my 22 month old (alone!) so I know what you mean. I find that books and songs with hand motions are very effective for distracting from bad behavior. Crayons, new toys, magnetic drawing board, wooden threading beads, anything Thomas related, cars, trucks, etc. are also helpful. I also stay very calm and enforce the same rules we have at home. Good Luck!
 
thanks for all the suggestions. i think we're going to have to get a dvd player tomorrow. might get a few quiet hours out of it! we've got some new toys and books so here's hoping. It's actually a lot to ask a toddler - to sit still for 15hours. not something my parents made me do very often!
 
i took a video ipod... much smaller than a dvd player. also, i found my then 24 month old was happy to watch whatever was on the tv on the back of the seat in front of him. he didn't want/need the headphones and would tell me when the movie finished.

i took way more activities than we needed, but i thought better to be safe than sorry.

i also took some special food treats. "if you are a good boy, when this movie/show is finished, i'll give you an oreo!" nothing like old fashioned bribery... but whatever works!
 
i'm all for good old fashioned bribery but treats laden with sugar have got to be bad idea when stuck on a plane ;-)
:yeah2
 
i also took carrot sticks and crackers... plus a few m&m little packets. their great, the kids only get a few and they work a treat! i also took some pocky sticks, peanut butter sandwiches(in case he didn't like what was served), raisins and some grapes.

beware though...you have to either eat the fresh food or dump it before you get off the plane, otherwise you could be in trouble.
 
Travelling to the UK with a 13 month old baby in December, her nickname is Typhoon coz she leaves a trail of destruction behind her wherever she goes so could be fun. Any tips for taking a baby/toddler on a long haul flight? She is walking now. What do you do with the push chair on the flight - we have only ever done short flights so never taken one with us.
 
ashlea

My 13-month old slept through probably 2/3 of the 18-hour flight. The rest of the time he would be either screaming and arching his back cos a turbulance woke him or the light disturbed his sleep, or he would be happily waving at other passengers. We brought his favorite snacks and toys to keep him entertained. We did not let him walk for fear that once his feet touched the ground he would never ever want to return to his seat. We checked in the pushchair but requested that we kept it until we board the plane.

Mine's nickname is yellow monster (somehow the nanny loves to dress him in yellow T with yellow pants) and his favorite game is tearing up boxes, papers and tissues. I think your girl and my boy might get along well with my boy. Maybe we should meet up :P
 
also if you searh the site, there are quite a number of threads with really useful advices on flying long flights with babies. Good luck!
 
I buy lots of sticker books before I go, my LO is really into Spot and Maisy at the moment. I don't show her them until we get on board and she is so excited to have something new to play with that it uses up quite a bit of time putting all the stickers in the right places. Might not work with a 13 month old but should work for the older ones. Good luck! P.S> Richard Scarry books are also good for planes as they take ages to talk about....
 
If he has a full blown tantrum take him to the back of the plane in that aisle where people wait to use the toilets and let him have it there. We're Australian and have regularly done the Brissie-London flight when we lived there and this was the best place. Also... does he use a dummy? I always have one handy which seems to calm my 2 year old o plane flights. Hope this helps....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top