Tango

We are flying to Fort Lauderdale in two weeks and I am wondering if I should bring my daughter's stroller in addition to the car seat. I am also looking for tips to make it through the airport with a 2 year old, 2 suitcases, a stroller, etc.

GoTravel

Bring a collapsable umbrella stroller.

Try and fly the most direct flight possible.

I think you can ask the airlines for assistance if you have a lot of stuff and a small child.

marykc

I recently returned from Tampa after visiting my daughter. My flight was two hours long and I was seated next to a very lively two year old. I wouldnt have cared how he acted because I love children but this little guy was an angel. His mom did something really neat to keep him occupied. Every 15 minutes she pulled out a small wrapped gift from her diaper bag. The toys were not expensive but this thrilled this little guy. The first gift was a little Buzz light year and all the other gifts matched, like woody, a car for them to ride on etc. Some of the toys could have come from happy meals, etc. It was a very clever idea and it worked.
Hope it helps
Marykc

Mariann

I have two kids just one year apart with grandparents that live 6 hours flying time away so I have had a lot of experience with keeping kids occupied. Especially since I usually travel alone, it was a luxury if my husband could accompany me because of our business.

The kids had there own little backpacks that they could carry on their back with their little goodies. I remember one item that worked out extremely well when my daughter was two years old and that was a Magna Doodle. She spent hours with it, especially the plastic stencils that fit over the top. It was so easy for a two year old to use and it was like magic to her. A two year old can barely draw a straight line but the stencils are fool proof. It was also nice to have something like this that was mess free. The trick is for them to see and use it for the very first time on the plane.

If you have a walkman or CD player you can bring some kids tunes or they have some great stories on tapes for very young kids. Just a side note, my kids are older now but I found that having books on tape for long car rides have been wonderful, we all love them.

And of course snacks are always good. They can't be too noisy if they are eating goldfish crackers. Sticker books are fun for kids too or magic forms (I think that what they were called), Borders usually has some great things for kids that are 2 years old.

Playdough is always a good one, there are plenty of home recipes that you can make that are edible if you have a kid who likes to put things in their mouth.

Thats all I can remember right now, good luck.

wandrlst

Tango,since I fly quite a lot I wanted to take advantage of your post to share some flying advice for parents from the perspective of the "neighboring-passenger". Though speaking about someone's children can be an extremely risky thing, please know this is not directed at you specifically but hopefully may be something that is helpful to some Fodorite parents. Here goes: Parents can try to remember that the fold down table and the magazine pouch in the chair in front of the child are really the back of someone else's chair. Banging on the table, playing inside the pouch, grabbing hold of the top of the chair, or slipping feet/hands or throwing toys/food through the openings next to the chair WILL be felt by the passenger sitting in it. Depending on the day one is flying, there may be a number of business passengers on their way to or from a meeting, or at any time others who have been flying very many hours by then on an international trip. And this flight may just be the one they can finally take that nap on. If a child will be sitting next to a stranger, try to pad the chair with blankets or pillows so little shoes won't come in contact with someone's business suit (especially dark colored suits). On one trip a mother felt compelled to assure me before the flight that her little boy was very good. He ended up fidgeting and kicking me almost half the flight while his mother watched the movie! Bring a drinking cup with a snap on top. My last business trip it was all I could do to stay calm as the toddler next to me climbed up and down from her seat and the cone-shaped cup (small side down - why is this I don't know!) filled almost to the top sat on top of her tray. Let the kids run amok while waiting to board the plane as hopefully sleep will be next once tucked into their seats. For the older kids - please bring earphones for their "gameboys" and dvd players. On one evening flight I took, one whole section of the plane had to listen to a loud action cartoon movie. Other passengers just don't know how to address such things without offending the parent/s. While it is a challenge to travel with kids, and some things really can't be helped, it is just like eating at a restaurant- other paying patrons would appreciate good etiquette - as can be had, of course. Believe me, these tips can all be applied even to some adult plane-mates! Good luck on your trip - and thanks for setting up the post!

Mariann

You are right Wandrist, good post. No one, including kids themselves like the back of their chair kicked on. Because there is a lack of noise (it's more of a vibration) you really have to be paying attention to your kids feet. I also think it's respectful for parents with small children to not seat them next to an unknown passenger but YOU should be the one there, let your child have the aisle or window. Put yourself in the other passenger's shoes not your kid's shoes on the passenger.

Having said this and always being paranoid myself about my kids disturbing other people. I remember a woman who was traveling with her friend on a plane that sat next to a kid (about six or seven year old ) and her mother (it was a middle section of a plane with several seats in a row). It was about 10:00am or 11:00am and the woman and her friend were drinking bloody Mary's, I remember at least three (I was surprised that they would serve that much), chatting and having a good time. I saw the woman reach over and wipe her hands on the kids napkin (a complete stranger)I don't think the mom saw it, I was disgusted. Then when she proceeded to try and take a nap she kept giving the kid dirty looks for talking all the time. I mean this was in the morning/afternoon and the kid wasn't being loud, she was just being a little chatty. I remember I wanted to say something to her about how it was O.K. for her to drink and cackle and talk until she wanted to sleep then all of a sudden the child is infringing on her rights. This is not the norm, I know, and of course I kept my nose out of it but I really wanted to say something to this woman. I figured if the mom wasn't going to pipe up I wasn't. I don't think the mom wanted any trouble.

Mary2Go

These are all great tips and should add to the enjoyment of all on board! One other thing I would add is please keep the little ones strapped in with a seat belt or belted in their car seat or infant carrier. If there is turbulence during a flight it would not take much for a small child to be hurt. I am always in shock when parents let their kids run up and down the aisle during flights like it is a good way to keep them entertained. I have never said anything and have wondered why the FA's don't say anything. It seems like a safety issue as much as an annoynce to other passengers.

Jayne11159

Good points Wandrlst. They could apply to some traveling adults as well!

Reading this post makes me soooo glad I don't have to fly with toddlers anymore!! Now that my kids are much older, when I see other little ones the plane, I realize that I was much more concerned about their behavior than the strangers seated around us. The worst treatment we ever encountered was from an FA who was frazzled to begin with. I found fellow travelers very understanding if I had a grumpy toddler to deal with plus all our gear. They'd probably "been there, done that" and had lots of empathy.

For the record, on a non-stop flight from Tampa to Albequerque several years ago, the adults behind us talked loudly non-stop and the one directly behind me "jiggled" her foot constantly on the back of my seat. I'm not one who will usually confront this issue, but after an hour I finally asked her politely to stop "jiggling" the back of my seat. She was SO nasty! She said her foot was no where near my seat and it must have been the plane. Well, "the plane" stopped jiggling immediately and the added bonus was so did all the loud conversation!

Tango, you don't say if this is her first flight. Probably not, but just in case I thought I'd mention that two of my three kids always had problems with their ears when we flew. How does yours do? Last month the FA had to bring a hot damp towel for my 11-year-old to relieve the pain. When they're too young to talk, I'll bet half of the crying babies on planes are suffering from ear pain.

scigirl

I'd encourage you to bring the carseat. SInce your child is 2 are you buying her a ticket? If so, she'll be most comfortable in her carseat in her chair. Also, if you plan to drive at all in Florida you'll need a carseat for her, and so might as well use it on-board. You can gate-check the stroller just before you board the airplane. That way the stroller will be waiting for you when you deplane.

Are you traveling alone with your daughter? I've traveled solo a lot with my one year-old son. I find that I have to get down to one suitcase, a backpack carry-on, and I use a sit-n-stroll (carseat/stroller combo). I then have a super cheapie umbrella stroller stashed at places we visit, or I buy one when we arrive.

ediegirl

i flew alone with my 18m old. i didn't take the carseat b/c i couldn't figure out the logistics of her, the stroller, our carryon and the carseat, with only me to get from the check in desk to teh gate. we rented a carseat at our location through www.babysaway.com. rented a crib too.

the car seat would have been easier on the plane b/c i could have strapped her in, where just sitting in the seat she could get down. so i don't know what to tell you about the carseat. BUT if i were going with my husband, i would have brought it, he could have carried it, i would have wheeled dd in the stroller, and carried the bag.

i won't lie to you, it was a rough three hours b/c i thought she'd sleep and she didn't! i packed a ton of new toys, that helped some.

my main advice is get a BIG ziploc bag and pack a change of clothes for each of you. my dd puked all over me upon landing and i had clean clothes for her, but not me, i was so happy we were literally landing so i wasn't smelly for so long.

pack lots of snacks, including bribery oriented treats. also, bring milk, they don't seem to have it on planes.

illusion321

For the ear problem they have a product that is called ear planes (i think) I bought them and used them for my own eras and they worked GREAT!!! I also saw that they have them for children you may want to look into it, i think they cost like 8 but they wll keep your child pain free and quite

caribtraveler

scigirl: Tango says her child is 2 years old. She has to buy her a ticket. It's under 2 that it's not required.
Tango: Pick a non-stop flight.
New toys to present to her during the flight.
Her favorite music with tape player or cd player.
Call the airline and get the seats that have in front of them the wall separating coach from first class (It's just an assumption on my part that you'll be in coach). Tell them you have a toddler that will kick the seat in front of her and how embarrassing that is.
Can you do curbside checking at your airport? Makes life easier.
We do bring his stroller and car seat with us. The stroller is important for us when we are in line for the security check. Our son likes to walk around and we'd rather he not do that while we're going through security, so he gets to stay in the stroller for that part. We check the stroller at the gate right before getting on the plane.
We use a backpack as a diaper bag (leaves both my hands free for the little one). It's big enough to put all his toys/books in there. Don't forget change of clothes for her in case of an accident.

Lexma90

I would also suggest that you bring an umbrella stroller; it's light enough to fold and drag if you don't need it, but there if you do. It sounds like you'll have two adults and one 2yo in your group, which should work out just fine. When it's just been me travelling with the kids, I've looped the shoulder strap of a duffel bag (one that's not travelling with us) through the car seat, so I can dangle it from my shoulder.

We tried to have our kids (past the stroller stage now) walk on their own as much as possible before our flight - there will be enough sitting while on the plane. We've even used the stroller to carry the car seat and diaper bag, with the kid(s) walking alongside!

On plane toys, we would occasionally get new toys, but mostly relied on those they had and already liked. It may be obvious, but don't bring anything that has small parts or wheels. Trying to find toy pieces on an airplane floor is almost impossible. Play-doh can stick to fabric and stain, so we don't use that as much as silly putty. It molds almost like play-doh, but doesn't stick; it has it's own storage "egg" that the kids like almost as much as the silly putty, and it's non-toxic.

Have a good trip.

GoTravel

caribtraveler, you are referring to bulkhead seats. Bulkhead is generally left open for special assistance seating, then given to frequent fliers.

The days of bulkhead going to parents are rare. The airlines don't care that your child will kick the back of the seat.

Please keep your child strapped in. I am horrified at the parents that let their child walk around especially when the fasten seatbelt sign is on.

caribtraveler

Gotravel: I know they're called bulkhead seats. I didn't use the name because people usually don't know what the name means, so an explanation of where they're located is best.
And except for once, we've gotten them every time we've traveled.

Kristin71367

Having just travelled to Florida with my two year old daughter, I thought I would add my reply. New toys are the key. I buy her something, small toys, coloring books, sticker books and hide them until our trip. I also will take some of her more favored, smaller toys and put them away a couple weeks before vacation so that they are like long lost buddies. Snacks (goldfish) and drinks are a must also. Also I look for non-stop flights which make travelling much easier. This time my daughter took her new suitcase that had wheels on it. It was cute to see her pulling it thru the airport (and got chuckles of others), but this got old for her after about 10 steps and I (or someone else) was left to take care of it. I check her car seat (wrap it in a big garbage bag and tape it up) and I did not take a stroller on this trip. My daughter has never been a good stroller child, so it was not worth the extra baggage. Also I knew on this trip that I would not really need it and had a few extra hands along to carry her here and there. If we are going to a theme park destintation, I have taken her umbrella stroller. Happy flying.