14 hour flight with toddler

[flightmare]

I am soon to take a 14-hour flight (alone) with my boisterous 2.5 year old who loves planes and gets very excited on them. The flight is a night flight, leaving around midnight. My Q's are:

1) Should I keep him up, go the airport and not let him sleep until we are up in the air or should I put him to bed at normal time, wake him and take him to the airport? What has worked for others? I would really like to kn@cker him out so he sleeps a large portion of the flight but then I do not want to make him over tired and thus not sleep at all !!! (yikes)

2) What things have people done with their own kids to keep them amused on the planes. In particular we are returning on a 14 hour day flight (uh, ohh)

I am not interested in giving him a sedative or other drugs I hear that people give their kids on flights, but would love to hear other suggestions.

[Archive Lil]

This is a very common question that has been asked and answered (very comprehensively) in the not too distant past.

Have you checked the archives?  Some people get a little tired answering the same question over and over - I know I do!

[to archive lil]

Sorry but this is the worst answer someone can get. People come and leave. So many are new to this board everyday and are seeking for advice. Also new people with new advices will answer. Thats what this board is for. I really dont find it fair if people are not allowed to ask there questions here. It is normal that questions are repeated. So please oly answer if you have an answer. If not than just leave it. Or do you only visit this board to have a lot of interesting and new threads?

[squinty]

Look Lil, you don't have to answer any questions you dont want to, and you obviously haven't.

I have a nearly 2 and a half yr old and luckily he's starting to get much better with travelling and finally can be entertained more with the inflight movies etc. We usually try and keep him awake so that hopefully he will sleep most of the flight and si far so good.  What time is your flight - we always try and get a lightly earlier night flight so it doesn't mess too much with his sleep time.  And don't forget any kind of bribery be it snacks, new toys etc is ok if it makes the flight any easier.

[mum of three]

On the nap front, I would make his afternoon nap a bit later that day (and possibly for a day or 2 before the flight).  If he's too exhausted, he'll probably fall asleep on the way to the airport, have to be woken up to check-in and be like a bear with a sore head by the time that you board.

We try to stick to routine as much as possible.  Changing into PJs after boarding, reading a bedtime story etc.

I agree with bringing lots of distractions, be they snacks (save the sugar for the end of the flight), stickers, colouring books or whatever.  I tend to avoid jigsaw puzzles as pieces will inevitably be dropped under some child-hating passenger's feet.

I found the difference between travelling with an 18 month old and a 2+ year old immense!  They can finally be parked in front of the TV watching thier favourite programmes and do not care if they watch the same one 3 times in a row.  The only thing was that mine cannot get thier heads around volume control - they can sing around at the top of thier lungs to 'Dora the Explorer' or 'High School Musical', not realising how loud they are due to the headphones.  I tend to hav eto intervene A LOT.

By 2.5 years, mine loved Thomas or Princess wheelie bags.  They felt all grown up and it cut dow on my own hand luggage.  If you've ever considered Trunki, don't!  I've avoided the tempation to throw ours in an airport bin on more than one occassion, it has now been hidden in our garage.  If you don't know what it is, keep it that way!

Bon voyage.

[well]

Yes, these questions do get asked all the time and yes, it's boring!
The suggestion to search the archive is a valid one, especially as not many responses will be forthcoming....

All the usual tips....new toys for the flight, a good stock of snacks, one of mine used to love sticker books and that always lastted a while.... favorite bedtime blanky/stuffed toy and new PJ's just for fun.
I always kept mine up
(and I always read a post before answering so I know your flight is around midnight!!)
and it worked for us, it's pretty tough going en route to the airport and trying to keep them awake but all in all not so bad.

Enjoy your trip

[Señora Sensible]

I don't think it would be possible to keep him awake until mid-night.  Either put him to bed normal time and then wake when you leave for the airport or as earlier poster said, give him a later and longer day nap.  I'm sure if he slept from say 7-10pm he will be ready to sleep again by the time you board, have a light snack and get settled.

I think the best for you is to try and be rested for both trips as much as you can, as that will make things more manageable if you are not too tired yourself.

On the 14 hour day flight other than all the distractions, toys and puzzles etc, we walk around the plane every hour or so, just like you see lots of others(especially older people stretching their legs) doing.  One or two laps each hour or so changes the environment a little for toddlers and can stop them from wanting to constantly get up and down from their seat or running up the isle.

[Archive Lil]

Sorry but this is the worst answer someone can get. People come and leave. So many are new to this board everyday and are seeking for advice. Also new people with new advices will answer. Thats what this board is for. I really dont find it fair if people are not allowed to ask there questions here. It is normal that questions are repeated. So please oly answer if you have an answer. If not than just leave it. Or do you only visit this board to have a lot of interesting and new threads?

I suppose I just don't understand why checking the archives first is so difficult.  There is a wealth of information there that can answer the question you asked (or not). 

I doubt the OP is a narcissist that has to have a personalised answer (maybe I am wrong) and she could miss some very interesting tips by insisting that she is not interested in what people have said before.

Clearly there are others who don't think that the same way as me and that therefore I shouldn't have or post my opinions also ...

This sort of question hardly changes with time does it?

[to lil]

what exactly do you want to read about in this forum. If you look for exciting news why dont you read the news.

[Oh Come On]

what exactly do you want to read about in this forum. If you look for exciting news why dont you read the news.

Lil didn't say she wanted exciting news.  She has very good advice for newcomers. 

When I came to Singapore 4 years ago I read a lot of the archive and found that I had no need to post a lot of the questions I had about Singapore because they were answered perfectly well in previous posts.  OMG, does that make me some sort of perceptive genius     or just an averagely intelligent person  ?

[Caligirl]

To Archive Lil's point, I think I've chimed in on variations on the OP's question many times over the years. OP, to save you some trouble, here are a few of the threads that contains loads of ideas on attempting to keep an active toddler happy & occupied for a long flight:

http://www.expatsingapore.com/forum/index.php/topic,32659.0.html

http://www.expatsingapore.com/forum/index.php/topic,16577.0.html

http://www.expatsingapore.com/forum/index.php/topic,15082.0.html

http://www.expatsingapore.com/forum/index.php/topic,11820.0.html

The best piece of advice I can add is that just tell yourself that you can endure anything for 14 hours. If you are lucky, your son will conk out & you might have a few moments of calm. Try to mentally prepare for the best and worst case scenarios, and hopefully, you will be pleasantly surprised.

For what it's worth, we have found the daytime flights to be somewhat easier, as many people in the cabin are awake/lights are on/there's a lot of activity. A restless toddler doesn't stand out quite as much!

Good luck & safe travels --

[Archive Lil]

Thanks Caligirl - I'll miss you and your infinite patience!   Good luck in Sydney 

[Hah]

You should be bringing sedatives for the rest of the passengers that will have the pleasure of interacting with your little angel!  I'm sure your boy will behave, just don't be the parent that lets little billy raise hell because he is so special.  I live in Japan, and am moving to Singapore shortly.  Japanese children are amazingly well behaved (I'm not Japanese).  I think there is more to do with how we raise our kids than the simple fact they are young.  The television and day care don't promote good behavior.  Some Benadryl for the neighbors should work.

[Rather Naive]

You should be bringing sedatives for the rest of the passengers that will have the pleasure of interacting with your little angel!  I'm sure your boy will behave, just don't be the parent that lets little billy raise hell because he is so special.  I live in Japan, and am moving to Singapore shortly.  Japanese children are amazingly well behaved (I'm not Japanese).  I think there is more to do with how we raise our kids than the simple fact they are young.  The television and day care don't promote good behavior.  Some Benadryl for the neighbors should work.

to think that the neighbours will take Benadryl?  Any parent would know that giving Benadryl to a child between the age of 1 and 3 stands a very high chance of making the child hyperactive rather than sedated.

Great advice, dude!

[Jetlag afterwards]

For us a 14 hour flight with a toddler is completely bearable, even if they stay awake and yell the whole time. It's only 14 hours...

What I found completely unbearable was the jet lag that followed.

5 days of them being awake all night, sheer hell.

Any ideas on how to adjust them to the other time zone or is it only me with jet lagged kids.