Long Flight, Small Child

the other me

Come the end of January, wifey, heir.1 and I will be flying to Australia.
heir.1 will be 14 months old, and the options seem to be
1) put in bassinet.
2) buy seat and put in car seat attached to seat.
3) buy seat and don't use car seat.

The bassinet is the cheaper by a good few hundred pounds, but .1 is already taller than the max length, and I doubt he would be comfortable sitting / lying in it for very long. Which would mean he's on our laps - fine for a while, but 23 hours?
option 2 gives good security but little room for movement and he's not going to appreciate being tied down for extended periods so would again end up spending long periods on my lap
option 3 (with additional harness / strapping for when seatbelts are required) would hopefully give him a little more room to wriggle around.

We're looking for the most comfortable journey with the least possible* disruption to .1, ourselves and other passengers

So, what is the advice of people who've flown with small children - bassinet / seat?, seat / carseat?, calpol / chloroform?

cheers

* ha ha

mudcow007

leave him here?

lets face it he wont appreciate a holiday anyway

bails87

Agree with mudcow, put some food and a litter tray down, he'll soon figure it out.



I had babies sitting in front and behind me on both of the recent 4 hour flights to and from the Canaries. Both of them were good as gold, apart from one filling a nappy right before take off....eww! I've no idea how the parents got them to be quiet though, the one in front just looked very well wrapped up and seemed to sleep through it on his parents' laps. When I was on a 14 hour flight there was a baby near me and he/she was pretty good too. A little bit of grumbling but the people next to me saying "oh great, a f***ing baby, there's always a baby" were worse. So maybe it's not as bad as people think, or maybe I've got lucky?

CiB

We flew to the Algarve when #2 was 5 months old and he just slept through it all, not a peep, whereas the baby three rows away squawked for the whole journey. It's hit & miss which way yours decides to operate on the day.

It might cost a chunk more but I'd have thought everybody - you, child, passengers + air crew will appreciate the extra space of an additional seat.

kiwimatt

The 9 continuous hours my 20 month old wriggled on my lap from Singapore to Auckland some years ago, back to back off a similar leg from London to Singapore, remains to this day the worst 400 quid I ever 'saved' in my life.

If you can afford it get the seat and don't bother with the car seat, they will prob end up lying across you half on spare seat/half on you but that is way better than on your knee the whole way. Bassinet with legs hanging over the end not a good option imho

Decent kiddie earphones not the duff plane ones so they can watch cartoons. Calpol and long toddles round the terminal to tire them out. It will be fine you always get there eventually.

itboffin

Upgrade to 1st its the only way

MrSweary

Booze - for you or the bairn or both. They all work.

greg66_tri_v2.0

the other me wrote:

Come the end of January, wifey, heir.1 and I will be flying to Australia.
heir.1 will be 14 months old, and the options seem to be
1) put in bassinet.
2) buy seat and put in car seat attached to seat.
3) buy seat and don't use car seat.

14 months old seems like a long time ago now...

From what I recall, at 14 months they are usually walking. Which means that they want to walk. A lot.

As far as keeping jnr and you happy goes, the bassinet + on your lap option seems to be the worst. Skip that*

Car seat: I guess the issue here is going to be whether jnr fits into a car seat that fits into the airline seat. Airlines usually prescribe the car seats that you can and cannot use in their aircraft seats. If he/she is too big for the prescribed car seat, you're out of luck.

Buy a seat: Probably the option I'd go for, but much depends on your child. I have a dim memory that we took 66 major in her own seat when she was 16 months, and it was OK. They need to be able to stay sitting upright (shouldn't be an issue) but also need to be at the stage where you can trust them to stay in the seat if they are told to.

As for other stuff: taken a drug that you know works at settling them down. We used a kid's medicine, the name of which I cannot now recall, but which is a paracetamol suspension IIRC, to help the kids get off to sleep when we wanted them to sleep. Work out when you need to administer it, and stick to the program religiously.

Also - colouring books and crayons and great, especially if wrapped up as presents and dispensed at crucial points in the journey. An ipad or ipod loaded with their favourite films can be a lifesaver too.

Food - I remember this being particularly challenging. First, because kids are generally fussy eaters and airline food is inflexible; second because ideally you want to feed them before you're pinned into place with your own tray; third because in any event the scope for spillage is huge. Try to get the cabin crew to serve the kids first and you last - even if it means you won't get your choice of chicken or beef. Also consider taking your own food on board, and liquids (bought airside of security).

Changes of clothes. Pretty essential, both for you and jnr. Spillages and vomit are the principal dangers. Either way, be prepared.

In flight evacuation. A bum bag worn on the front is a bloody godsend for nappy changes in an airline wc. Trust me on this. You want your hands free.

Buggy. You should be able to take a buggy to the aircraft doors, and have it delivered to you at the door on exit. Well worth doing.

Hand luggage generally. It's hard to travel light with small kids, but the less you can carry, the more capacity you have for their stuff.

If you can buy lounge access at the airport(s) (eg with a Priority Pass card) do so. Do anything to make the journey easier.

Don't fret overly about other passengers. It's public transport, and if someone doesn't like who they have to share the plane with, they should have chartered a private jet.

If you have to take their most precious blanket/soft toy on board, make it your responsibility to make sure it leaves the plane with you. We've left something precious on board before, and I guarantee you will never see it again.




* Unless you're in Business Class. At 14 months kids can range from light to hefty. Either way, having one on your lap for a 23 h flight won't be fun. But if you're in a big reclining seat, it's more doable, I suspect.

the other me

Thanks all,

Leaving here is not *really* an option as the flights are one way

@kiwimatt - thats exactly what I'm afraid of, and he's not keen on sitting still at the best of times.

@itb - I was looking at the online booking forms last night and there was an option to put a child in a different section of the plane its soooo tempting

the other me

@Greg66 Top tippage, thanks

BigLights

As above it's a little bit hit & miss, but my wife has mastered traveling with our wee one....it's all about pumping full of food and going as mental as possible before the flight, skip naptime (but not too extreme as to be overtired), so ideally Heir1 will sleep for a good portion of the flight. As soon as they're walking it's a godsend...depending on the airline (I find TAP and Cathay are great for this) the stewardesses will fawn all over the toddler going up and down the aisles. Take as much entertainment as you can, too, and split duties into shifts with your partner - if you're both playing the whole time you'll knacker yourself. Agree with plenty of changes of clothes.

One additional piece of advice. Put aside as many nappies as you think would last for days, ie way too much for a long haul flight. Then double it. This didn't happen to us but some chums were flying to Dubai with their sprog who decided it was the perfect time for extreme diahrroea.....

BigLights

Oh I should add - this is probably no longer very PC in the modern age but when I was growing up we lived all over the globe and so flew a lot. My mum was often by herself with me (and later my sister). She swears by the 'hot toddy' method. Ie, mix plenty of whisky, honey, sugar, lemon and hot (warm) water, glug glug glug, and toddler is out like a lamp.

greg66_tri_v2.0

One other thing: maybe you already do this, but introduce the concept of "grown up places". Take heir 1 out for meals to places that require a little bit of good behaviour (eg not the Pizza Express creche). He/she won't behave, naturally, but you can start to instil the idea that there are places where larking about, shouting and generally being a kid isn't appropriate.

The plane becomes the ultimate grown up place.

davmaggs

Check the widths of the seats (there are web sites that tell you) if bringing a car seat as each airline sets up their seating differently. And, of course it means you don't get for a daft hire fee if using a hire car at some point.

You might want to consider buying a second hand seat. That way it is cheap and you don't mind it getting beaten about as it falls off the trolley etc.

mudcow007

the other me wrote:

@itb - I was looking at the online booking forms last night and there was an option to put a child in a different section of the plane its soooo tempting

stick em in the hold

just put em in a sleeping bag, im told it gets quite chilly back there.....

gtvlusso

Wow - Your a madman!!!!

23 hours and 14 months is going to be harsh on him, you and the entire plane.

An Ipad with movies and games.
Stickers, colouring books
Non noisy toys

Keep everything hidden and bring a new thing out when required.

Man, you are brave....I did a horrendous journey with toddler and baby from Newark NJ to Heathrow in my twenties and it near killed me. Longest I have done in recent years is the annual trip to southern Spain - 2 hours. We go from our local airport, 10 miles away from home and we stay at a place 5 miles from San Javier airport in Spain - keeps the whole experience relatively pleasant.

Remember, it is not just the flight, it is the travelling at each end too.....Thst's the real killer, you're tired, they are tired.....

gtvlusso

**See if you can check him in.....

rjsterry

gtvlusso wrote:

An Ipad with movies and games.
Stickers, colouring books
Non noisy toys

This. My brother showed his to my 2yo, and she took to it like she'd had one for years. Take some headphones to go with it, though.

greg66_tri_v2.0

gtvlusso wrote:

Wow - Your a madman!!!!

23 hours and 14 months is going to be harsh on him, you and the entire plane.

An Ipad with movies and games.
Stickers, colouring books
Non noisy toys

Keep everything hidden and bring a new thing out when required.

Man, you are brave....I did a horrendous journey with toddler and baby from Newark NJ to Heathrow in my twenties and it near killed me. Longest I have done in recent years is the annual trip to southern Spain - 2 hours. We go from our local airport, 10 miles away from home and we stay at a place 5 miles from San Javier airport in Spain - keeps the whole experience relatively pleasant.

Remember, it is not just the flight, it is the travelling at each end too.....Thst's the real killer, you're tired, they are tired.....

By way of counterpoint to Professor Doom here, we've been doing London to Vancouver twice a year with the kids since they were born. It's fine. It just takes forward planning.

Ben6899

OP, if you could confirm flight number and exact dates that would be great. Thanks.

Wrath Rob

At 14 months their attention span will be tiny, so the more things you can take for distraction the better. A tablet PC is a good idea but neither of mine "got" headphones until they were 3 years.

TBH, its not going to be a pleasant experience what ever you do. Do the best prep you can (I agree with the sleep deprivation technique so that they sleep on the plane) but you'll just have to suck it up. Worst case, give the kid a double dose of Tixylix (sp?) instead of the booze based suggestions. I accidentally did that to my daughter when she was 2. I'd assumed the dosage was the same as Calpol but it wasn't, its half the dose. Anyway, she got a double dose and proceeded to doze off. For 6 hours. I was getting a little worried after 4 hours when she wouldn't wake but there haven't been any lingering side effects. At least no obvious ones

wgwarburton

itboffin wrote:

Upgrade to 1st its the only way

Parents in 1st, help in economy with kids.... or send as "unaccompanied minors" on the same flight (unless you can get someone to drop 'em off later?)... 14 months is a bit young, though. :-)

Cheers,
W.

the other me

@Ben6899 Yes, yes of course I'll let you know the flight details

an Ipad is a good idea, will have to look into that, and I'm hoping that as Greg66 and others suggest- a little preparation will make it all go smoothly.

t4tomo

If you are very lucky the airline will leave an empty seat next to you so kiddy gets their own seat for free - this is a bit of a gamble though. I

if the flight is full they have no chance, but check out the plane configuration and maybe request bulk head seast for th bassineta nd the speak to the airline. if its a 3 4 3 (seats acrosss) config ask if they can seat you in the bulkhead 3 and leave an empty seat so you ahve more room. As long as they aren't chokka they wil do that as they want everyone to be happy and most people would noy choose to sit next to a toddler on a flight.

gtvlusso

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

By way of counterpoint to Professor Doom here, we've been doing London to Vancouver twice a year with the kids since they were born. It's fine. It just takes forward planning.

Professor Kaos....if you please.

Yeah - this is true, preparation is everything. I was quite young on my 1 big trip solo with toddler and tiddler, so, prep was not great and it was an era of non entertaining devices too....stickers and colouring only went so far!

All in all, lots of nappies and lots of 'He is only 14 months and I am not too tired to deal with this' - the old hourly switchceroo with the missus is always gonna win - I did not have that option on my big trip.

The real b*tch is when you get off the plane, because the journey ain't over and junior may not be too happy about being couped up again - if you need public transport, pre-book what you can now.

Or plan for taxis!

paulg99

I was once on an 11 hour flight with the small person from hell behind me. The mother kept apologising and later, trying to explain what she had done to prepare for the flight, confessed that she had kept her small person awake for the preceding 24 hours thinking this might mean they sleep the whole flight.

So don't do this. It makes them kranky and loud.

Just let them sleep as normal and keep them entertained with what sort of stuff they like doing at home (that is possible to do on a plane). Colouring, portable DVD player etc.

For all those advocating administering drugs or alcohol to a 14 month old child in order to keep them quiet.. Be ashamed.

EKE_38BPM

PaulG99 wrote:

For all those advocating administering drugs or alcohol to a 14 month old child in order to keep them quiet.. Be ashamed.

I'm sure a child sized dose of heroin will work wonders. You can't take needles on the plane, so no shooting up mid-flight. Get that done just before check in.
For mid-flight withdrawl symptoms, methadone should suffice seeing as the smoking ban (which has actually decreased air quality on aeroplanes) means chasing the dragon is out.
After the flight the nipper may get grumbly periodically, so another little hit will chill him right out.
This can work as a long term behaviour modifier:
Too boisterous, administer a little hit.
Too naughty, with hold a hit.
Good behaviour, praise with a big hit.

This advice is offered free of charge.
You're welcome.

pangolin

PaulG99 wrote:

For all those advocating administering drugs or alcohol to a 14 month old child in order to keep them quiet.. Be ashamed.

Think you got the wrong end of the stick EKE, and Paul is advocating just a firm clout around the head to knock them out for a few hours? Cheap too.

rubertoe

EKE_38BPM wrote:

PaulG99 wrote:

For all those advocating administering drugs or alcohol to a 14 month old child in order to keep them quiet.. Be ashamed.

I'm sure a child sized dose of heroin will work wonders. You can't take needles on the plane, so no shooting up mid-flight. Get that done just before check in.
For mid-flight withdrawl symptoms, methadone should suffice seeing as the smoking ban (which has actually decreased air quality on aeroplanes) means chasing the dragon is out.
After the flight the nipper may get grumbly periodically, so another little hit will chill him right out.
This can work as a long term behaviour modifier:
Too boisterous, administer a little hit.
Too naughty, with hold a hit.
Good behaviour, praise with a big hit.

This advice is offered free of charge.
You're welcome.

or big dutch oven on the way to the airport, everyones happy.

MrSweary

PaulG99 wrote:

For all those advocating administering drugs or alcohol to a 14 month old child in order to keep them quiet.. Be ashamed.

I wasn't suggesting administering drugs or alcohol. Just leaving them lying around before the flight should do it.

DonDaddyD

Greg's advice is best.

I pretty much did it word for word when we took the lil'un to Menorca (except he sat on our laps - wouldn't do that with him now and on a longer flight). We let him terrorise the people next to us. One gave up her magazine so he could rip it and on the flight back another gave up her twix.

It were great. Easy Jet.