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| Paige is a sucker for a man in tights. |
In a few weeks our family will be taking a trip to Hawaii. (Thanks to Dave's generous parents... make no mistake, WE would not be taking ourselves to Hawaii because HELLO! recession!).
And, um, I don't think I need to tell you how excited we are. This winter has sucked the life out of all of us, and the idea of warm air and beaches is, well, very exciting.
But one thing I'm a bit nervous about is the flight. Eight (EIGHT!) hours non-stop from Dallas to Maui.
And did I mention I have a two year old? Yeah. That.
So I've been trying to gather up supplies for the flight. I feel as if I'm arming myself for a great battle. An eight hour war with a toddler.
And let's face it, in a battle with a toddler, the toddler usually wins.
So far, I have coloring books, playdough (small containers), iphone videos, dvd's, and leapster games.
Oh, and candy. If all else fails, there's candy.
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| I don't even think a super hero would take on a toddler on an airplane. |
Tranquilizer dart? Yeah. I've considered it.
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I have great success with pipe cleaners- mine love them on trips to twist around. Leapster was great at that age. Also maybe a small toy, like a mini doll or car or something. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteBenadryl! It's good to have for a last-ditch-effort!
ReplyDeleteAnd pipe cleaners? What a great idea, never thought of those but will be stocking up now!
Band-aids. Sometimes they are more exciting than stickers.
ReplyDeleteWhat about those wikki stix things? You know what I'm talking about? I think that's what they're called... anyway, like pipe cleaners but maybe better because they're wax-covered sticks that stick to each other and kids go nutso over them.
ReplyDeleteNo other advice. Except I'm glad it's you and not me. :) I'm too scared to fly long distances w/ toddlers!
We did New Zealand last year with 4 & 2 year olds. I know, what WERE we thinking?! (Hello, 40hr trip door2door! I am SO glad you are a far distant memory!). Am v happy to pass on my survival tips :D Thankfully our trips were pretty painless despite the distance.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, it matters who you are flying with... if they have seatback entertainment systems, that does help kill time (though anything but preschool cartoons are lost on the 2yr old). Ironically I took LOADS of stuff for the flights but only used about 5%. Ironically they slept really well, and the stewardesses were really upset that they couldn't play with the kids more! Plus our airline dolled out bags and BAGS of swag, most of which we gave away (2 kids x 6 flights = 12 hand puppets/colouringbooks/pencils/bags etc).
Our best successes for the 2yr old were:
- a new My Little Pony with fiberoptic 'hair'. This came from a cheapo shop but was a BIG hit.
- Sticker books. Stickers rock, esp. those books where they have to use the stickers to fill in blanks in a story or picture. ROCK, I tell you! And a roll of general stickers is good, too - for decorating the plane ;) (shh!)
- A small cheap disposable/digital camera (dig out an old camera or just buy a 1-use camera. Let her take pictures of all and sundry on the trip, until battery/film runs out. SO much fun!
- Really easy colouring books, very simple pictures and those twist-up crayons that don't break and don't need sharpening. eg. http://www.amazon.com/Crayola-Twistable-Special-Effects-Crayons/dp/B0033VHDK8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1301697042&sr=8-3
- NEW story books. Preferably ones that you reckon you can read 100+ times without wanting to stick forks in your ears ;) Julia Donaldson is good (Snail & the Whale, etc).
- Travel Magnadoodle. No pen to get lost, no paper to keep track of, endless possibilities.. LOVE LOVE these things.
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Doodle-Pro-Travel-Green/dp/B0015KW3VI/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1301697352&sr=1-2
Now, this is a bit contentious.. BUT. They are my secret weapon when flying with kids. Have you used homeopathic teething granules over before? eg. http://www.amazon.com/Chamomilla-6X-Sleeplessness-Irritability-Tablet/dp/B00016X5OQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1301697836&sr=8-1
Well, these are GREAT for travelling. When the kids are getting overtired, highly strung but not sleeping - these ROCK. I don't feel bad using them, heck my kids ate them by the handful when teething, and they worked!! But they really did come into their own when flying, and MUCH better than dosing them up on anything 'medical'. Just brings down the overexcitement and edge of hysteria to a manageable level (I had a few as well, when things were getting a bit tense and I was ratty!). A LEGAL tranquillizer dart ;)
Regrets:
- Please don't be tempted by the candy, it WILL backfire. Either a sugar-high, or a sugar crash, or both (and both are messy!). I did take hard candy lollies (ChuppaChups) for takeoff and landing, which ARE helpful for equalising their ears, but were only allowed at those times. On our 1st stopover home, my daughter (2) threw up all her M&Ms (we didn't give them to her, they were in her plane lunchbag, grrrr!). Luckily I had 2 changes of clothes per child.
[layers, layers, layers... dresses are very uncomfortable, try trackpants/leggings/tunics/tshirts/cardigans/fleece, plus 5+ knickers!]
- too MUCH stuff. Didn't need a lot of the toys, didn't use the SNAP cards or soft toy.
GOOD LUCK! Not jealous.... much ;)
(nb Amazon links used for examples, I am not suggesting you buy thru them and am not affiliated with them).
You might consider a pair of headphones and loading some stories on an ipod or mp3 player. the headphones (The old fashioned kind that go OVER your ears) will help eliminate some of that "plane noise" that can be irritating.
ReplyDeleteAnd allow her to drink as much as she wants, even though that will mean many trips to the potty/changing diapers, whatever. It will help her not be dehydrated.