Travel Tips for 17 Month Old

On a recent trip to FL my sister-in-law gave her kids (18mo. and 3 years) motion sickness meds that cause drowsiness. Worked like a charm!

Hi R.,
My daughter Sara is 13 months and we just flew to the Midwest this past weekend from NY. She has flown 3 other times before when she was younger (and less active) but this time I was concerned that she would be too fidgety to handle the flight. She did really well, in part because I came armed with some tricks in my (diaper) bag! The first was that I brought new books that she had never seen. I also packed plenty of finger foods, her pacifier (she only uses it at night but it helped on the plane with the alitutude changes),and her sippy cup. And a big tip: I caved and bought a portable DVD (for about $125) and brought her a DVD of her favorite show, Maisy. All of these things helped tremendously and she did not fuss at all. We also sat at the rear of the plane and got up and walked up and down the back by the bathroom to stretch her legs.
Hope this helps and good luck!!!
L.

I recommend a toy like stackable measuring cups and a snack like cheerios. You can hide the cheerios under a cup and play the shell game. You can count the cheerios, put one in cup one, two in cup two, etc. Discovery Toys make a great compact set of 12 cups called Measure Up Cups. A beginning 4-piece puzzle like Place and Trace (3 sets of 4 piece puzzles) also has many possibilities...bring crayons and trace around the shapes. You can find them at www.toysofdiscovery.com

i would just bring any snack foods (the more the better) that she likes. give her variety...grapes, chunks of strawberries, definitely some fruit puffs. really anything that you know she likes. as for toys, try to get anything together (a bag full) that you KNOW will keep her occupied, unfortunately being that you're on a plane, and you don't want to bother anyone else...you'll have to try and keep it to things that won't make sounds, or at least not much sound. i would bring a small puzzle, some books, and some dolls (i have those lil baby princess dolls, about 2 1/2 inches tall). and other things like that. my daughter is now 18 months old, and those are the things that she can play with for hrs! ESPECIALLY BOOKS! bring some paper, some hard...anything that she likes to flip through. maybe a coloring book, with a couple of crayons. i know being in a plane, you really can't make a mess...so just a couple should be fine for her (my daughter enjoys dumping the crayons, then putting them back in all nice and neat). you said you're not going until december...you have a little while yet to try and really watch what amuses her. good luck. it may have been 22 yrs ago, but when we flew and my brother was that age, he ran up and down the isle nearly the whole time from jersey to florida! i'm not exactly sure how well that will go over with the way things are today...but if you talk to a flight attendant when you're on the plane, MAYBE they'll allow her to run up and down the isle for a little bit to wear her out!

Hi R.,
I just recently flew with my girls but they are a little older. I was very nervous. But they were just fine. I brought crafts with us(sunvisors that they were able to decorate with stick on stickers, crayons w/coloring books, lots of stickers with just a plain book for them to just place them in) I didn't want to bring too much because I didn't want to have to carry everything--so I gave them a small backpack each to put their crafts in. I think they were fine just looking out the window and watching the inflight movie though. It was short cartoons. Also, I bought small snacks(bags I usually would buy for school lunches) and the airline provided the juice.
Well, good luck..
Take care, Jen

Hi R., I just traveled alone by plane with my 2 1/2 yr old boy from Montreal to Victoria, British Columbia. On the way there, we changed planes in Vancouver but on the way home we were flying home from Vancouver, so we had to take an hour bus ride then a 1 hour and 40 minute ferry ride then another 1 hour bus ride to the airport in Vancouver, then we had the 5 hour flight back to Montreal.
(the home trip took a total of 11 hours from door to door!) And I can say that it all went really, really well ! I took a napsack full of toys that my boy had never seen before - including books, cars, mini flashlight, crayons ...but really he had fun talking to and entertaining the people around us. I also brought a lunch pack with a cheese sandwich for him along with some goldfish snacks and a banana.
I've noticed that many people have been recommending a portable dvd player....but really, is that neccessary? What did kids do years ago when these things were'nt available? They explored and let their own minds discover the many simple things around us every day. I too was told to get a dvd player, but I didn't and my son actually experienced the trip without fading out into tv land....and he actually was a really good kid.
And he experienced it like travel should be experienced....and that's not being placed in front of a dvd player. (I'm really not against tv or dvd's etc.......ie when at home, or special movies, etc....but I am against it when it comes to life experiences. )
Hope this helps. Good luck !

I flew with my son when he was 17 months old. For us it was a long flight so I had to bring alot! but it worked ok. I brought many books - his favorites, plus some new ones. I brought a travel DVD player and 2 DVDs which worked wonders!, I brought a few teething toys that he could play & chew on, lots of snacks - cheerios, goldfish, pretzels..., lots of juice & water (make sure your daughter drinks while you are taking off & landing), his pacifiers.

Also while the seatbelt sign was off I let him walk up & down the aisle a bit.

Good Luck!

My son was 15 months when we flew from NY to Florida. We took a lot of toys, food, drinks and just kept him occupied. He loved to listen to the CD player my older son had. Although now you can bring DVD's and watch movies, which would be great. He actually did wonderfully and I was very impressed. Good luck

My daughter 21 months old has been on a plane three times - 10 weeks old, 11 months old and 18 months old. The first time was great because she slept the entire time. The second time was great as well because she was just starting to walk (not so good yet) so she stay seated the entire time, sleeping again most of the flight. I was nervous about our last trip with her at 18 months, but it turned out great as well. First off, I booked the first flight of the morning and because of the time we need to get up to get to the airport she was so tired that she fell asleep before we took off and was out for 2 hours of the 3 hour flight. For her awake time I had a small carry on bag that fit under the seat. Inside were cheerios, dried fruit snacks, pretzels, apple juice, cookies, coloring books, small dolls (some of her favorites and some new). I also had the window seat which she loved to look out. She did not have the urge to want to get out of the seat, was very happy with her food, toys, the window and also standing on my lap to look around. The hour went very fast. I will be sure to do all the same things when flying again - book first flight of day (it always leaves on time and gets in early, plus she is still very tired at this time of day), bring plenty of food and toys for entertainment (in a small bag that fits under seat, do not want to get up to go into overhead bin) and sit next to window seat. Have a great trip.

I've flown with my now 2 1/2 year old many times, and one of the best tips I got was to have several 'presents' wrapped in my bag. Nothing big or expensive but something that would entertain her for a little while, like a sheet of stickers or a little book or a coloring book - dollar stores can be great for finding little things. Every time she'd get bored with whatever she had, we could pull out a new thing. She also loved doing sticker books and looking for animals in the inflight catalogs. For food: goldfish and pretzels and dried fruit are our standbys. Good luck and have a safe trip!

I have taken by 15 month old on a plane 3 times so far (3 mos, 10 1/2 mos. and 13 mos) and we'll be flying again to visit my in-laws for Thanksgiving. For him I'm definitely going to bring snacks (nilla wafers, cheerios, graham crackers). Everyone says my son is never happier than when he's eating! To keep him busy I'll bring a coloring book and crayons, play doh and children's books to flip through. I've found lately that play doh can keep him occupied for a long time so that's a must for us! On top of that I try to schedule flight around bedtime and nap time. Also, I give him a half dosage of benadryl just to make sure his ears don't get stuffed and hurt. So far things have gone great. I'm hoping for another good trip this November. Good luck to you too.

We just took my 23 month old on a plane trip. He was wonderful. One trick that worked out great was that we bought little presents for him, each wrapped individually. Some were books, some matchbox cars, a special coloring book that the markers only react to the special paper, so there's no mess, etc. So when he started getting bored we would give him one. He loved it. It also helped that he slept. So ask for a pillow and let him sleep in your arms, it made for a nice trip.

My husband and I take at least 4 trips to NYC every year to see his parents and with four kids the only thing that worked the best was a portable DVD player. We got ours at best buy and it was pretty cheap. Then maybe bring her to walmart to pick out a movie or 2. Also make sure that whatever she sleeps with, a special blanket or an animal makes the flight in your carry on not your checked bag. As far as food, you would have to check with the airline to see what you could bring you don't want to be detained because you are bringing a cuppie of juice or water on the plane. Have a great trip and I wish you luck, traveling with kids is always an adventure!! BTW your daughter was born the same day my husband and I got married, July 8th 2006, I guess it was a pretty lucky day!!

I traveled when my son was 14 months and just trying to get as much 'walking time' in as he could and it was tough on a plane. For snacks, I'd put them in a 'snack trap' (sell them at babiesrus/buybuybaby) and fill with (ie) cheerios, goldfish crackers, etc. (small food her little fingers can easily grasp). If she has any interest in stickers/decals bring some - have her decorate the window to occupy her. when your seatbelt sign is turned off, walk with her as much as you're allowed/take her to the restoroom to give her a change of scenery (anything!). also having a portable dvd player and bring age appropriate dvds along (ie. the wiggles, etc).

best of luck!
-M.