How to chill out a toddler on a long flight?

Question

My husband, 14 month old daughter and I live in the Caribbean, and we have been home to old blighty for Xmas.
The flight is 11 longs, and on the way out my daughter just got really angry, over tired, uncomfortable and frustrated. There was nothing we could do to comfort her and she screamed blue murder most of the way.
Not only was it completely exhausting for her and us, but all the other passengers were ready to kill us by the end of it.
How can I help her relax - I tried Calpol but it didnt work. Any other child friendly drugs I can use? Does anyone have any tips?

Sorry - I meant 11 hours long!

Answer 1

Dosing your child with drugs before a flight can have an adverse effect on them. Some children get tired some get hyper.

I would bring a goody bag full of toys for her to play with.
Aqua Doodle Pens/Paper
Crayons
Coloring Books
I save all my happy meal toys and give them to my son at a later date as bribery.
Toys she has never played with before. Or favorite toys you can stash away for a couple of days.
I gave my son benadryl for a rash and he was bouncing off the walls. Most children get tired from it.

Answer 2

I've taken my daughter on a few flights and she is 3 years old. I just brought lots of new toys for her to play with..and a cd player. I think the cd player helped the most..i let her pick some cd's at walmart and burned a few of my own. She LOVED wearing the headphones and it helped her fall asleep. One thing..you mentioned Calpol...had you ever given it to your daughter BEFORE the flight..i know that my daughter is the 1% kid when it comes to medication. We gave her some cold medicine for a bad cold she had and found out it made her highly irritable and restless yet hyper...it was a horrible combination...i thought it might have just been the cold itself until she fell and hurt her nose one day and we gave her some childrens tylenol and got the same response. Possibly your daughter is having the same reaction and calpol actually made it worse?

Answer 3

Bring all the entertainment mentioned before.

When your wee one acts up ignore them. I know its painfull (I really do) and might not work perfectly for a while. When kid calms down give em all the love and attention in the world. This is especially good for when my wee one runs off on a busy street. The WORST thing you can do is give chase. Just shout BYE BYE and start to walk away. 9 times out of ten the kid will **** a brick and run back to you.

Kids thrive on attention. Try to give them the attention for being calm and good etc...

Im not saying this as a definite but it works for me. I still feck up and get angry and embarrassed and give in to tantrams sometimes. Sorry if you feel like im some young idiot giving advice but i have a 3 yr old whos 4 v soon.

If all else fails beat the **** out of them and feed em ketamine (nice comment at top, made me laugh lots)

p.s. also depends on how old kid is and how spoiled they are (sorry)

Answer 4

Talk to her pediatrician about meds. Since she is so young, they may affect her adversly. When I travel with my 2 yr. old, I make sure she has a full tummy before we set out. Little ones sleep better on a full tummy (then again, we all do!LOL) Get her one of those personal DVD players so she can watch her favorite movies. Get her some coloring in books and other activity books that she can doodle in. Keep extra snacks handy for her too. Every 30 mins or so, check her nappy and that alone will keep her more comfy.(not to mention the one on one attention she is getting) Let her set by the window so she can see outside.

Good Luck and Happy New Year!!!

Answer 5

It's a tough one. Toddlers are explorers by nature.
I used to have a bag full of treats and surprises for my daughter. Little nothings she had never seen before and cost nothing. Pencils and paper are great too. Don't forget to keep your child hydrated as dehydration can cause headaches....and therefore a lot of tears.
11 hours is a very long time for a small child. Do get up regularly and walk along the aisle if possible and point out interesting things. Nowadays we also have portable DVD players....great for watching her favourite cartoons.
Most importantly, YOU have to keep calm and together. It will rub off on her.

Answer 6

Put her in the window seat so she can look out and admire airplanes. As soon as you sit down give her some childrens allergy medicine or Robotussin. They will help her to sleep. Before the flight make sure she doesn't take her nap or depending on when the flight is, wake her up early so she'll be extra tired. The medicine will help her sleep and/or relax

Answer 7

I travel a great distance to get home as well (16 hours - 12 flying and 4 driving). I always try to book a red-eye flight, that way its night time, my kid is tired already. I always bring benedryl or tylenol allergy (for kids of course) since the antihistimine makes them sleepy. Dramamine (just the regular kind, not the less drowsy kind) might also make them sleepy and prevent any kind of motion sickness. Hope this helps!

Answer 8

When we went to New Zealand from UK, I packed bags with small toys, sweets, books, tapes, wrapped them up and when the children became fractious got the bags out and managed to get a few more minutes of peace and quiet, it worked best with the older 3 children but the youngest appreciated it too, he was just 2 when we went. We had been advised by our GP that it was ok to dose them up with Phenergan too, although the bags seemed to do the trick, more or less and the only screaming was when we hit turbulence and the youngest had to be strapped in his seat. Good luck!

Answer 9

I have an uncle who is a children's doctor. Off the record he would say that some medicines can upset the stomach. A good grade of wisky in milk will make her sleep without stomach upset, a teaspoon or two is all it should take. Also, bring things for her to do when she is awake.

Answer 10

I went to Italy with my 10 month old from UK and we just kept him amused - luckily we had a lovely couple behind us who paid him a lot of attention. I can only suggest keeping things handy for her to do and also walking up and down the aisle. You can actually get child sedatives - consult your GP