Share Plane Seat with 2 Yr Old - Rent Dvd Player?

call the airport, sometimes they rent them right in one of the airport stores! Also bring coloring books and crayons, playdough, anything that you would normally sit to play with!

I just flew with my 22 month old (last month) on a 4hr flight-I brought lots of goldfish & we counted them (& ate them :), read her books & brought a coloring book with crayons!! That was all I needed!!! Goodluck to you!
Oh & one way, there was an empty seat next to us & other way there was not! She was fine both ways!!

Hi M.,

This doesn't really answer your question -- sorry for the unsolicited advice. Please buy a seat for your son and install your car seat in it. He will be much safer and both of you will be much more comfortable. Ask yourself this: would you consider acting as your son's seatbelt in a car? No, of course not. If you have even a minor impact, the force of the forward momentum would overcome the strength of your grip, and you would not be able to restrain him. The same is true on an airplane. If you hit significant turbulence, the changes in forces can rip that baby right out of your arms. I wish airlines would outlaw lap riders altogether.

For your own sanity, I would buy your son his own seat. Especially for the trip home. You will both be tired and grumpy. Trust me on this....I just flew from Honolulu to San Diego with my two kids (age 5 and 3). Daddy had to stay home for work so I was on my own both ways. We have also flown from San Diego to S. Dakota (2 2.5 hr flights each way). Once my kids turned 2 I bought them their own seats. It made the trip much more comfortable for me (and I would guess for them too). At age 2 my kids would either just watch the movie being played on the plane, listen to music on the plane, listen to our Ipod, eat snacks, play with their toys, or sleep.

Most airlines will require you to bring a carseat on board for kids under age 3. For kids that age, I believe it is safer for them to be in the carseat in their own seat than on a parents lap, in case of turbulence.

Be sure to gate check your stroller. Just roll the stroller right up to the gate. Some airlines require you to have a gate check tag that you get when you check in.

Most airlines allow free of charge one stroller and one carseat for kids as checked luggage.

As for the DVD player, if you can't borrow one from someone, I really like the Sony 9 inch DVD player that I just bought for my kids. It was $149 at Best Buy. It worked great for my two kids to share on the plane. Dual headphone jacks, 7 hr play time, and the screen was large enough for both kids to see while strapped into the plane seat.

But I don't think you will need it for this trip. Both my kids at that age were more interested in what was going on around them on the plane than anything else. I just brought a few snacks, a couple of small toys or color books, and a paci or something for them to chew or suck on during landing and take off so that their ears would pop. By the time you get in the air and the seatbelt sign gets turned off, you will only have about 40 minutes before they start the landing process. Hopefully you will get a window seat, so your son can look out the window. My kids both enjoyed that a lot too.

Also see if you can get a bulkhead seat so there is no on sitting in front of you. That helps with small kicking feet :). And I definitely wouldn't recommend getting a seat right by the bathroom. Lots of foot traffic and people bumping into you and a weird smell :(.

Have fun on your trip!

A couple of pieces of advice. We did a 4+ hour trip on a plane w/ our 2 year old last Christmas. First, ask when you check in if there are any empty seats, if there are, asked to be moved so your son can have his own seat. IF they can guarantee that, bring on his carseat. It made a HUGE difference to have my son strapped into his carseat vs wanting to walk around or sitting on my lap. Its not always possible but when it is, its worth it.
Second, maybe borrow a dvd player? They really aren't all that expensive, I can't see that renting one would be economical at all, I would either borrow one or maybe buy one and sell it on craigslist when you are done. But if you ever plan on making another long trip it would be worth having one. BUT, if your son does not normally watch movies, he will most likely NOT be interested in them on the airplane for more than 5-10 min. I would suggest getting dvd's of short, 20-30 min tv shows or sing a long type shows instead of a full length movie. We like Kidsongs or Backyardigans as they seemed to hold my son's interest much longer than a full length movie at that age. The BEST, best, best thing we bought was a huge book of stickers. He LOVED peeling the stickers off and putting them on paper. I got a big Thomas the Tank Engine book at Wal Mart, I think they also have them at Target that have like 500 stickers and coloring pages. It kept him busy the longest of anything. I also bought new books that he hadn't seen before, a few small toys, lots of snacks and we did, at some point, do laps up and down the aisle while the fasten seatbelt sign was off. My husband didn't like that but I figured it was better than listening to him scream. I have also, when we were flying at nap or bed time used a dose of benadryl to help him sleep. However, I wouldn't recommend that if you haven't tried it before because although it makes most kids sleepy, it makes some kids hyper.
Traveling w/ a 2 year old is stressful but it can be done! Always bring a change of clothes for you and baby in your carry on. We realized that the hard way when my son peed out of his diaper (a little too much juice!) and I had a change of clothes for HIM but I had to sit in pee-soaked pants and shirt for the rest of the day!

I bet one of your friends has a dvd player you could borrow. I have had to fly a few times with my kiddos so here are a few tips. Make sure you take a copy of his birth certificate because he is so close to being two they might ask to see it....better to be safe than sorry. Also when you check in make sure the person at the desk writes "babe in arms" on you ticket. If the plane isn't full then they will try to seat you in a row with an empty seat so you don't really have to keep you son on her lap the whole time. Which is so nice. Bring lots of snack, books and new toys to keep him busy.

Do check with your airline about rental or try to borrow...but also check for inexpensive ones on ebay or the like. We actually got one last year, and it has a 6 hour battery...a LIFEsaver! We loved having it. One leg of the trip, didn't need it at all, the way home, it was on a loooong time! One little tip, if your little likes stickers, take some cheap band-aids for him to stick on things...fun for him, and they come off easily!

And yes, take proof of age...I have a friend who didn't (and her 22 mo was super tiny!), and they made her buy him a $100 ticket. Better safe than sorry!

I work for a major airline and we do not ask people for proof of age, but I
guess it doesnt hurt to always carry something. Also remember that the
DVD players have a 2 hour battery. We found out the hard way on a 5 hour
flight. Remember if there isnt and extra seat, he will be sitting on your lap
and it will be very hard to put the tray table down to put the DVD player on. You will most likely have to keep it on your lap. Like the other Moms I
would try to borrow, or buy one. You can find very inexpensive players now. Have fun and good luck.

You can check with your airline, but a lot of them rent DVD players now. They have a present amount of cartoons and movies on them for kids. I've never rented one, but I flew about 6 weeks ago on Hawaiian Airlines and they charged $10, I think.

after the christmas bomber, I don't know that you can even bring them on planes anymore, check with your airline before you bother with this topic. That being said, you can get them for around $100. Don't think you will find a place to rent them for less. They are a total life saver on a plane and worth the investment.

I am not sure where you can rent a portable these days, but you might want to check and see what sort of in-flight entertainment is available. A non-stop 3.5 hours flights is USUALLY on a larger jet and several airlines have individual screens in the backs fo the seats. You can find your aircraft type on your reservation and check the aircraft information site on the web to see how it is equipped.

I did want to mention, if you hadn't thought of it already, that you'll want to take some sort of proof of age with you since your son is a lap-rider. I travel quite a bit and have recently seen several people be asked for proof for lap children.

P.S.
YES YES YES...you can take them on a plane..where do these ridiculous ideas come from?

I would skip the DVD. Have many 'new' toys; puzzle w/pieces stowed in a ziplock baggie, crayons & coloring books, etch-a-sketch etc. plus new food/ snacks. This was in one bag that was also my purse.
I imagine he is sharing due to free ticket under two? So many advices given may not apply to your situation, so....set up guidelines and talk to the little dude on your expectations-how he should behave; 'you have to stay in your seat,like in the car, no running around.' This is crucial to YOUR sanity before the trip! : ) Second, the excitement may inspire screaming or shrills (this happened to me) I just said we have to use our quiet/indoor voice and lets clap hands to show our excitement.
I must say my son's behavior was almost perfect!! There is so much going on with the sounds and sights, that he was behaving beautifully. The only thing I didn't expect was that all those snacks made him throw up-whoops. I don't usually feed him that stuff, but we made it.

I know you said you don't want to buy a portable DVD player, but I bet you could find a used one on Craigs list or at a yard sale for just a few dollars. The cost of them has decreased drastically over the past couple of years. If you have a laptop computer, you could just use that too! I would also bring a bag of toys and activities, plus snacks. Try to schedule the time, so you have plenty of stuff with you. When you get on you might want to ask for seats near the back of the plane, if there is a galley and bathroom it will make it much easier. It also gets you away from the business travelers who have very little tolerance for the leisure traveler.

Definitely try to get an empty seat next to you if you can. It will be really helpful. Also make sure your son is drinking or sucking on something during take off and landing to keep his ears from popping. I think Blockbuster might rent DVD players. But you can probably buy a portable one for what it will cost to rent one. They are really inexpensive now. If you have a laptop computer you can use that too, or borrow one from a friend. Sometimes the airplanes have TV screens on the back of each seat. If so, you won't need a DVD. Also, when my son was that age, he would fall asleep as soon as the plane took off. You might luck out and your son may sleep most of the trip.

Good luck!

im the same way--no movies at home, but flying 5 hours on thurs with my 18 month old. Radioshack has a 30 day return policy and they have a good one for $89. i got one and am saving the receipt to return it. i'm anti-movies and tv for the under 5 set. except when I'm terrified to be going on a plane with a toddler..haha.. Who knows maybe i'll keep it for future travel only..

Hi M.! We're taking a plane trip soon too but we'll have daddy with us, thank goodness. You will need to bring proof of your son's age to have him sit with you. Our kiddo is just over two so we had to pay for a full-price ticket (grr.)

Anyway, we are buying a refurbished dvd player we found for about $40 online. I also saw really cheap new ones for less than $30. Ebay or Craig's list for a used one might be even less. It might actually be cheaper to buy a cheap one than to rent. That way you could get him used to it and the headphones before you get on the plane. That's our plan. :) Good luck!

c'mon, don't any of your friends have on e you can borrow??

LOL, I've done this twice at Target - they have "our" portable DVD player (it's the $140 one), we buy it when traveling, then return it when done. Shameless? Yes :) But, I don't feel bad because we return it in perfect condition! I just tell them I didn't like the screen resolution, if they ask - which I don't think they even did. Once when I returned it, the lady didn't even look inside the box, I could've been really scamming them! Anyway, just my two cents :)

Oh, and I definitely second everything the other posters said about getting him his own seat - it might be too late, but unless your son is a WHOLE LOT calmer than mine (who's not hyperactive by any means) then you're in for a stressful 3.5 hrs ... though you'll get through it, and probably laugh later.

That's a great idea!

You've gotten a ton of great responses so I will suggest this. BUY the dvd player and get some educational videos like baby Einstien's basic sign language (I think it's called Frist Signs), learning leap frog's letter factory, my baby know-it-all animals and abc's. TV doesn't need to be mental junk food! My kids, now 3 1/2 y.o. & 28 mo. have learned so much! My 2 y.o. points out and identifies alphabet letters everywhere we go! And I get a little peace and quiet now and then!
Also, if you can get the extra seat next to you, you may benefit from putting your car seat into it. Kids understand that they have to sit in their car seat and although he may not stay in t the whole time, willingly, any controlled time on the flight will be good!