Me and my 16 mo old will be heading to Sydney for christmas this year so she can finally meet my side of the family. I won’t be going with my husband and i’m terrified on how to keep her mostly seated and entertained for the 23 hour flight.
I’ve done a lot of google search on how to keep her busy but they all give suggestions my daughter has zero interest in or will only keep her still for 2 minutes before she loses interest. I wont have a tv on the longest flight due to the seating arrangement so If any of you have any suggestions or have done long solo flights before, can you tell me of your experience?
My DD is very loud, active and I can’t hold her attention for long without musical toys but they will drive others crazy so they are not an option luckily she is not a crying type of child either. .Any tips will be highly appreciated
I flew with my son when he was 6 months old and he was great. He nursed during takeoff to soothe his ears and slept part of the way. He was younger than your baby though. We also took a road trip a few months ago. It was 900 miles–just me and him. I brought a lot of toys and got a portable dvd player. He loved watching DVDs and they kept him occupied. If you have a laptop with LR installed, you can play LR or even get on the net and go to some fun sites made for toddlers. Also bring a lot of snacks. And since you will be sitting with her, you can bring some fun activities like coloring and threading dried noodles or beads. Try to buy some new toys or creative activities before you go so they will be new and interesting.
hm, how about follow the child? we’ve not travelled that long distance, furthest was just 4 hours flight, i brought her to children’s play area at the airport and play, let her walk at the airport and do whatever she wants to do , as long as she wont hurt herself or disturb other people. let her play with the window shade of the aircraft, up and down , up and down… she did for 20 minutes or so, then fasten and unfasten the seatbelt, but for that long hour flight you have, you might need to let her walk around the aircraft…
nhockaday’s idea of the portable DVD player is a great idea, they are usually not very expensive or you could use your laptop of you have one. They may also hire portable DVD players on the plane. Prior to your trip I would practice watching movies or presentations with headphones on to get her used to wearing them. In my experience not all littlies will wear them but in your case (and mine in the case of hearing testing) it is necessary! Bring lots of snacks and drinks too. It might be worth trying to tire her out in the airport like reei suggested, you’ll want to get as much sleep as possible out of her on the plane! Good luck with your trip, enjoy your Christmas in Australia, I think it’s going to be a hot one this year!
nhockaday that’s a fantastic idea! Why didn’t I think of a portable DVD player. I don’t have one but I can take a look and hopefully they are not very expensive. I am bringing colouring stuff but she tends to throw them around so hopefully she’ll behave herself. I do have a laptop but it only works if I have it plugged in to my normal computers monitor as the screen is damaged. I have a psp but I doubt that’ll do anything for her. I will definately need to go up the road and buy some new toys. I hope they have a childrens play area at all the airports i’ll be stopping at, i’ll let her walk around at the airport and on the plane, that will definately tire us both out! Thank you! It’s been 2 years since i’ve last been there so really excited and can’t wait to show my daughter our beautiful beaches so hope it doesnt rain. Thanks guys
I did it We travel once a year to my original country which it is located to 28 hours flying from here. I always have a bag with stuff for her…snacks, new books,new stuff for coloring,new markers, everything new so it keeps her busy for longer time. I also bought a dvd player, oh my goodness…it really works!! You need to get one, I bought mine at Best buy for $200. It so worth it.
I also make for her I spy bottles…those are very cool…so easy to make too…here is a link for the tutorial :
How about traveling with a 3, 2, and an infant? oh man it was fun, nerve racking, and loud, but we had so much fun. We traveled in the car for 6 hours straight. everything usggested below helps a lot. we had a new toy ever so often or stickers or some type of food handy for the kids. we played counting games as we went along, sang songs, prayed a lot, colored, read leap pad touch books, and so on. we had a DVD player and a laptop to play movies. And oh a little lavender cookies worked well
We travel once a year to my original country which it is located to 28 hours flying from here. I always have a bag with stuff for her…snacks, new books,new stuff for coloring,new markers, everything new so it keeps her busy for longer time. I also bought a dvd player, oh my goodness…it really works!! You need to get one, I bought mine at Best buy for $200. It so worth it.