How to manage kids on long flights, part 2
When I asked fellow bloggers about tips/ideas/experiences on travelling with children, I got a lot of responses (off-blog) and listed some of them here .
Now, Mary Jo of Fly Away Cafe, our channel editor who flies continental at least once a week, shares more of this with us in detail:
1. First off, I hope your toddler has his/her own seat, rather than is riding on your lap. It’s safer, first of all, and it’s also much more pleasant for everyone. (Ahh. mine’s on our lap coz, argh, we will be poor before we even get to the PI).
2. Take lots of things to play with, so that when the attention wanes with one item, you got lots in reserves: picture books, coloring books, stuffed animalsl, toys and games involving something that can be touched.
3. Food - something to suck on. A lot of times fussiness is caused by a change in altitude and sucking on something can help clear the ears. (I bought lollipops!)
4. Be involved as a parent. Play and interact with him/her. Silliness, laughter, conversation, all helps to distract from the unknown and therefore scary airplane.
5. Be self sufficient. The flight attendant crew will help if they can, but it is not their job to entertain or babysit kids. If you make every effort to do stuff for yourself, they will bend over backwards to help you out. It’s always easier to help those who help themselves. Besides that, if you run into difficulties, passengers are usually willing to cut you some slack if you are making an effort.
What not to do:
Allow kids to kick the seat in front of them and disturb other passengers. Crawl around on the floor. (YUCK!!!) Walk around or be out of their seat when the seatbelt sign is on. Go into the bathroom with bare feet (DOUBLE YUCK!) Basically misbehave.
Think of the airplane as an extension of your own home. If they can’t throw food and scream at home, the same rules should apply.
I see kids traveling every day. The ones that do best are with parents who set age appropriate guidelines, and expect them to be followed. Really — they’ll do just fine!
Hope so. Wish me the best!
In my next installment of “My Journey Home” I’ll be blogging from the Philippines! My first breath of fresh Filipino air, my first impressions after seven years and maybe pictures too of what changed and what stayed the same.
See you there!
Tags: Filipina, journey, home, travel, toddler, experience
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POSTED IN: Personal Experiences, Travel and Tourism
March 7th, 2007 at 9:21 am
I’m sure everything will be fine, Grace! When you have a minute let us know how it all went!
March 20th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
[…] it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Flying with a toddler for 26 hours, I mean. I followed wise advice and brought a a bag full of cookies, crackers, juices and various […]