I'll be flying with my 15 mo. old son from Sweden to HK. He has no seat on the plane, so he'll be on my lap. He's never been a good sleeper (longest was 6 hrs. straight)! What are your best tips or advise? Thanks!
2006-09-18 06:29:41 · 22 answers · asked by mft1202 2 in Travel ➔ Air Travel
Boy thats a tough one,i think your going to fly this one by the seat of you pants,excuse the pun.Has he a favorite toy,or a colouring book with crayons.Then there is always tranquilisers for the trip and i mean for you.
2006-09-18 06:34:07 · answer #1 · answered by havanadig 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know you don't want to hear this, but it might be a wise idea to invest in that extra plane ticket for his own seat. You are both going to be absolutely miserable. Its fine for a short plane trip but 15 hours?? Thats a bit much for a 15 mo old, not to mention you and every passenger on that plane. The toys, snacks and movies are a good idea, the drugs are a definately good idea. It sounds cruel, but its a necessary evil sometimes. The bendryl will work wonders, and as long as you follow your doctor's advice it should be safe enough. But I do recommend a seat just for baby there. He'll be a lot more comfortable and so will you.
2006-09-18 13:39:46 · answer #2 · answered by Sandi A 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please!!!! Purchase a seat for the child! A baby on a lap is just about the most vulnerable and least safe thing in a plane! If you hit rough air/turbulence, the baby can easily bounce free of your arms/lap and crack his head on the floor, forward seat, etc. I've seen this happen twice! When adults are flying, the flight attendants insist seatbelts stay on whenever seated, simply because you never know when you will hit turbulence and if it's rough, you can actually rise out of your seat and hit your head on the ceiling/overhead bin above you. A baby should be protected the same way! And if there is a crash, even if you survive, I hate to think what will happen to the baby.
Purchase the discounted child's fare and bring your car-seat with you (by the way, you probably would never dream of driving around with baby on your lap, but a plane goes about 10 times as fast as a car!), Strap baby into the car-seat (the Flight attendants will help). Baby will be a lot safer the entire time plus your hands will be free to entertain him, play with him, feed him, etc instead of juggling.
I know it costs more but isn't it kind of silly to be cheap when it comes to your baby's safety?
2006-09-18 22:57:19 · answer #3 · answered by dcgirl 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We just completed a seven hour flight with our 13 month old. We packed a lot of her favorite small toys and a couple of new ones (ziploc bags of crayons and paper, picture cards, books...). We also packed our laptop and DVDs for her. That seemed to be the most helpful, although a pain to pack.
Packing a lot of snacks was also helpful and breastfeeding/bottle for takeoff and landing to prevent his ears from plugging up.
Most airlines are pretty tolerant of parents using the aisles to "walk their kids", even though security is pretty tight right now. Also, if you feel comfortable with this, you could use kid's Benadryl to make him drowsy. This might backfire, though, because some kids get really ansy after taking it. You could try it on him in advance. We used this on a long flight once.
Good luck and don't worry about what other people are thinking should your son start to cry. He's a little guy- other passengers will (hopefully!) be understanding.
2006-09-18 13:38:58 · answer #4 · answered by curious 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You'll need some quiet games or puzzles, a computer with a DVD player or a portable DVD player, and/or coloring books to keep him occupied. Also, take some lollipops to help with the pressure on take-off and landing (and to just make him feel happier). You might just luck up on an empty seat next to you too. You can also take a CD player with children's music (check out Fisher Price "Little People" cds).
That's a long flight. Good luck!
2006-09-18 15:10:39 · answer #5 · answered by antieannie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
CD or MP3 player with some fun kids songs -- but ones that aren't too energetic or he'll want to get up & dance & play. Use anything (toy, book, etc.) that is NEW to him, but only give them one at a time. Take lots of little snacks (goldfish crackers, cheerios cereal, etc) and feed them to him one at a time (versus by the handful). Sit by the window so he can look outside. Bring earplus for everyone in the rows around you for when he gets cranky & starts to fuss. Good luck.
2006-09-18 13:40:55 · answer #6 · answered by jeep 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take as many read-a-long books (the ones that talk out loud) as you can, small things that have flashy lights and make noise. Others may not be too happy about this, but so what. I don't know if you can keep him under control for all that time, I'm sure he's full of energy at this point, so just have a LOT of patience!
2006-09-18 13:33:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In addition to all the flashy things and little toys you might bring for him, try asking the flight attendant if there is are two empty seats side by side that you could use after the flight has taken off...sometimes they are very accomodating! Good luck-
2006-09-18 13:39:09 · answer #8 · answered by ic1212 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you should probably end up with a seat for him anyhow or sitting on the bulkhead with a little more room. A few toys, lots of snacks, the dvd player.. you'll make it.
Hopefully the plane motion might make him sleep longer.
2006-09-18 13:38:21 · answer #9 · answered by desi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no way to keep him entertained for so long! He will become irritable and will cry. Expect it.
But carry stuff he likes to play with. Probably somethings to eat and I think Nyquil is a good idea!!
2006-09-18 13:36:03 · answer #10 · answered by needanewman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋