Tips for Flying with a Toddler [Archive] - Orlando Villas

MandyfromSheffield

06-10-2005, 18:28

We fly to Orlando next Wednesday and my youngest daughter is only 19 months old. People have recommended that I give her a few drops of Phenergen (not sure of spelling) when we are on the plane to help her sleep. Apparantly it's a travel sickness/anti histemine type of medicine that makes kids extremely tired. I would love to hear from has anyone else who has used this or who can offer any tips to occupy her during the flight.
Finally, our flight is from Manchester to MCO but it's stopping in Boston to pick up passengers, the stop is scheduled for 2 and a half hours, will they let us off or will be have to stay on the plane during this time.

Thanks

brizzle

06-10-2005, 21:38

Their own little rucksack of goodies that once you are on the plane and the excitment of a new place has worn off you can whip each item out one by one.
We pick up little nick nacks coming up to the trip, normally little things from pound shops etc.. crayons, pads with 'invisible' colouring in pages which you rub a coin over to make the picture appear, little farm yard animal packs.

I must admit that age is probably the trickiest we have had with our two. They are old enough to want their independence but not old enough to sit and watch the back seat TV for too long.

I personally wouldn't dose a child up with medicine just to fly but that's my view. I have heard of people that have. Also the problem is if they don't sleep and are dozy then you are going to have a little grumpy hellcat on your hands too....:)

Brizzle.

stabard

06-10-2005, 21:49

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by stabard
I have not used Phenagen myself but a friend did use it on the recommendation of her GP for her 1 year old when they were travelling to Hong Kong from the UK. She said it worked a treat and he slept most of the way there.

I would also stock up on a few cheap goodies to play with in a little back pack for her too.
[/quote]I have not used Phenagen myself but a friend did use it on the recommendation of her GP for her 1 year old when they were travelling to Hong Kong from the UK. She said it worked a treat and he slept most of the way there.

I would also stock up on a few sheap goodies in a little back pack for her too.

06-10-2005, 22:36

I agree with both posts above and being a Mummy to 5 aged from 3 to 21 I have travelled with babies a lot.

The bag of goodies works a treat but let them have new things at time intervals ie. one at a time so when the novelty wears off you have a new thing to give them.

If they have a seat of their own its much better because at that age the are too big for the bassinet (cot) on board and i found the seat some airlines now provide pretty useless too, however if they don't have their own seat try to get a bulkhead window seat so you can put a blanket on the floor between your seat and the bulkhead and they can have a little play area and give your lap a rest once the seat belt signs have gone off[msnwink]

I have had to use Phenergan once as one of mine had severe motion sickness she did not however sleep any longer than normal, if your little one does not suffer from motion sickness then I would not advocate using it[msnscared]

Make sure you have enough baby supplies and spare clothes for her too and take some extras in the event of a un planned delay etc.

Good luck and have a great flight[msnwink]

millie

06-10-2005, 22:51

We travelled to Orlando when my little girl was 21 months we did not use Phenergen. We used Calpol which was great in preventing her from getting sore ears and did help to give her a little sleep.

I also wrapped up lots of little things to keep her busy as recommended already. I gave her a new thing every so often when she got bored. Ideas include lacing cards, wooden beads to thread, comics, colouring pages and crayons (I printed off Disney ones from the disney.go website of all her favourites!). I also packed snacks she liked like sandwiches, boxes of raisens etc to keep her busy. Emma did watch a bit of the seatback TV as the Fimbles were on but it is not something you could bank on.

One last thing - take turns with whoever you are with to have the child on your knee. All those hours with a toddler on your knee can get very uncomfortable.

Have a fantastic holiday!
Lx

Sharon G

06-10-2005, 23:56

I am the proud mother of 2 boys. One 13yr old "Kevin" and one mad 4 yr old.[msnwink]

The youngest has been a handful since he was 18 months old and basically has actually got worse with age!!![msncry]

He was just 18 months old when we first took him and paid for him to have his own seat. This was a god send but realise not all families would like to do this.
I also took lots of little novelties, to suit his age group and lots of little snacks as he never stops eating.

He wouldn't watch TV for long so both myself and his dad took it in turns to walk around the plane with him. He soon made lots of new Aunties and Uncles with his cheeky laugh and smile! A lady in the row in front actually had him sat on her knee for the best part of an hour[msnsmile2][msnsmile2]

I once enquired about Phenergan and was shot down by my health visitor[msnembarrased]. She said that it shouldn't be used as a sedative and only used for its purpose of travel sickness etc!!

Have a wonderful time and enjoy your time with your little daughter, its not long before they won't sit on your knee[msneek]

Sharon

chrizzy100

07-10-2005, 00:09

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by millie
We travelled to Orlando when my little girl was 21 months we did not use Phenergen. We used Calpol which was great in preventing her from getting sore ears and did help to give her a little sleep.

I also wrapped up lots of little things to keep her busy as recommended already. I gave her a new thing every so often when she got bored. Ideas include lacing cards, wooden beads to thread, comics, colouring pages and crayons (I printed off Disney ones from the disney.go website of all her favourites!). I also packed snacks she liked like sandwiches, boxes of raisens etc to keep her busy. Emma did watch a bit of the seatback TV as the Fimbles were on but it is not something you could bank on.

One last thing - take turns with whoever you are with to have the child on your knee. All those hours with a toddler on your knee can get very uncomfortable.

Have a fantastic holiday!
Lx
[/quote]

My daughter has bad ears like me.........she always had calpol on the plane....

Paula D-S

07-10-2005, 01:20

My youngest was 13 months old when we first took her Florida. I did enquire with the chemist to see if anything was recommeded he advised me against Phenergan, quite strongly in fact.
I find the motion of the plane knocks her out anyway. Even this year as a lively 3 year old she was asleep 10 minutes after take off. When she was awake she had a few toys and books to keep her occupied.
I'm sure your flight will be fine, have a wonderful holiday.

Paula

Calamity Jane

07-10-2005, 03:07

I also have used Phenagen on my kids 20 + years ago and have had it since for my youngest grandson for flying to FL, my sister, however, works for Boots chemist and last year when I asked her if they still stocked it she said that which ever chemist you ask will ask you the reason why you want it ( or at least they should do) They would rather not reccommend it to you if its not a necessity.

It helped me with Tom as he is a tad hyper but I dont know that I would use it again. All things being equal your little one should nod off part way through the flight, the trick is to keep them as occupied as long as possible on the flight and give them plenty drinks. Its not easy with a very young one but we have all had to do it at sometime and we are all still going back time and time again.:D

orlandobabe

07-10-2005, 09:32

Both my grandsons have been with us this year.

The youngest was 5 months and 10months on his two visits -he had only little naps but he had our undivided attention in his skycot.

Josh was 20 months, 23 months and 2 years and 4 months on his visits and was much more of a handful.

Aren't these two lucky boys by the way! He never slept at all on the latest flight and was awake from 4-30am till 1am his time as the flight was delayed.

We took his own food and just plenty of books to amuse him. Hard work-but the babies coped better with the jet lag than the adults.

djdigitald

07-10-2005, 11:53

We have always used Calpol for Millie as it helps with the ears.

sundowner

07-10-2005, 13:00

All of the advice above is good and should work well. If you do decide to use any medication though it might be a good idea to 'try' it at least a couple of days before you fly just in case they have any side effects. I am sure everything will be fine, and the flight will probably go quite quickly having a little one to look after.

Doc

07-10-2005, 13:41

We took our 18 month daughter through Atlanta to Tampa in March. We found that lots of new toys wrapped up kept her entertained, and we also took a portable DVD player for her to watch (no seatbacks on Delta).

Lots of snacks is also good, as you never know when the food is going to come.

I also think that they pick up on your anxiety, so if you are relaxed about it all, then your daughter will be too.

chris c

07-10-2005, 13:45

Over 20 years ago we took our, then 14 month old twins, to Singapore and used Phenergan.
It worked wonderfully and I don't think they suffered any ill effects!!
It was very popular at that time and I even used to use it occasionally when they were restless at night.

I do know that chemists are now more cautious about giving it to customers and will ask what it is required for, but I can only speak from my own experience.

pieman790

07-10-2005, 14:28

We try and keep the kids up as late as possible the night before and get them up early. We also give the youngest (3) some calpol just as we get on the plane. Within an hour or so they normally drop off for a few hours or even longer if we are lucky. We take books, pencils etc
I would assume your doing the Manchester to Boston route with American Airlines. If you are you get off the plane in Boston clear immigration and customs and change terminals by using the bus service.
It will be a rush even with 2.5 hours but we managed it last year.
The plane is an B757 with TV along the centre aisle and we bought our kids some portable DVD players which we used on the plane.

caroline

07-10-2005, 14:47

Sounds really basic but when ours were little we'd arrive in plenty of time for the flight and make sure that we didn't have to rush so that although we had the pushchair with us, we always let them walk around the airport, I'm sure they clocked up several miles! and this without fail made them tired and sleepy by the time they boarded [msnsmile]

As others have said don't let yourself get stressed about it, if you're relaxed and calm chances are the little ones will be too.

07-10-2005, 15:21

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by caroline

As others have said don't let yourself get stressed about it, if you're relaxed and calm chances are the little ones will be too.
[/quote]

So true!!![clap][clap]

07-10-2005, 15:34

Oh don't forget any favourite teddy, comforter or blanket too[msnwink]

Aiminghigh

07-10-2005, 15:58

We have flown long-haul numerous times with our 3, who are now older and don't mind the flights. All are completely different temperaments,but we have had a mixture of "good" and "bad" flights with all of them, despite being just as well "prepared" as I'm sure it's possible to be! I suppose it comes down to the day itself. Sometimes, the most unusual things can entertain them on board, and the most well planned out things an be disgarded totally.
All I can say is, no matter how "good" or "bad", it will become a dim and distant memory-don't worry about it too much, just make sure you have a few things to keep them entertained, a few snacks, and like Mach2 said, their favoutive blanket/teddy.

nikkisun

07-10-2005, 16:52

Beware in some cases phenergan can have the opposite effect and completely over-stimulate a child (imagine them on about 50 cups of espresso and you get the idea) has them bouncing off the ceiling - would you want to take the risk that you had several hours stuck on a plane with a toddler who literally can't sit still??

MandyfromSheffield

07-10-2005, 16:54

Many thanks to you all for your great advice, I don't think I will bother with the Phenergen, I have been to the £1 shop today and bought all sorts of little bits for her that I will wrap and put in her own little hand luggage. She will probably be easier to look after than her 15 year old brother who will say I'm bored, are we there yet at least 4 million times!
Thanks again

Fletch

07-10-2005, 23:22

Hi Mandy

Our son was suffering from cold symptoms just prior to our trip to Florida and was taking Medised, which contains paracetamol and promethazine (Phenergan is, I believe, a brand name of promethazine).

He did sleep for a couple of hours on the outward flight (daytime)
and on the return journey I gave him a dose about half an hour before take off and within an hour he was fast asleep and didn't wake up until we landed in Manchester - I wish I'd taken some[msnwink]

I don't think I would have given him it unless he already had symptoms, but I have to say the sedative did take effect very well.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope the flight goes well, and have a fabulous time.

philgrove

07-10-2005, 23:44

DONT PANIC be relaxed yourself and it will rub off on your daughter, Be stressed out and she will be stressed out!!

Goodie bag is a must. Let her 'Let off steam' in the airport.

I have in the past given both my children a dose of 'CALPOL' before a flight but thats it.

If you can get her to keep sipping drinks as you take off and land this will help her ears.

Take snacks so she wont get hungry.

Have fun and relax.

Karen and family.

kaybee

17-10-2005, 03:09

Hi, just seen this topic. We flew to Florida when our son was 2years 8 months. I think it depends on your child as to how they are on the flight.Our son fell asleep on take off (so traumatised!) but woke up after an hour.He was then very demanding for the next seven hours. We read countless books, played little games, tried to get him to watch the seat back tv (didn't like the headphones). We also walked around and around the plane. My husband even had a dash into first class to catch him at one point! He was the only toddler on the plane which made things worse. I was so stressed in the end that i gave him Medised which we had brought "in case". This just calmed him down enough to sit on our laps for the last hour. I would recommend having something with you for emergencies as this was the only thing that saved my sanity on this flight. The flight back was a lot better as he slept the whole way!!
Hope your flight goes well,
Kaybee

LiesaAnna

17-10-2005, 03:34

we went 2 weeks ago with my daughter her partner and their 20 month old son, he was an angel all the way there, slept of his own accord as he was up too early for him, slept for about 3 hours on the way, but on the night flight home, there were so many children running up and down the aisles screaming and playing, well he wanted to join in!! and of course he wasnt allowed, sadly he has to go to the GP tomorrow as he is having nasty earache, bless him, he kept holding his ear when he came to visit today and we only got back on friday this week, not sure about what Dr can do, maybe just calpol???? anyone else have this problem????

ShirleyD

21-10-2005, 01:41

My eldest is now 18, but as everyone says the goodie bag with new things in it is a must. I used to take a lot of sticker books as they are harder to drop down between the seats and loose and teddies to snuggle up with. I used to lay one or two of mine on the floor at our feet with the tables down, but I don't think that is really allowed and the other one would get a 'tent' to hide under with a blanket over their seat, tucked into the table!

LiesaAnna

21-10-2005, 02:48

another thing that the air stewardess's did for us, my 10 year old had dreaful pain inone of her ears, the lady got a cup and put a serviette in it and cut a karvol capsule on it, she said it helps with the sinuses and low and behold it worked!! quickly as well, you could try a bit on a collar of a top or tshirt that will help if they have any problems!!

21-10-2005, 12:20

Another trick for painful ears is to get two cups put serviettes in them add boiling hot water (just a touch) then hold cups over each ear (I know you look very silly) but its works, something to do with steam and pressure[msnwink]