YIKES! 10 Hour Non-stop Flight!

I've done 14 hour flights with my three kids (without my husband) many, many times. When my kids were that age, I took them shopping before the trip to choose one new small toy each. Then, that toy went away, hidden somewhere until the airplane was up in the air, and my kids had demonstrated good behavior during boarding, take-off, etc. Of course, making sure the toy made it into your onboard luggage is pretty important! So THAT took up at least 45 minutes to an hour.

Don't forget snacks. And books, crayons, paper to color on. Most of your onboard luggage will probably consist of things to entertain him, actually. And don't forget a book for yourself for that 20 minute nap he'll take.

On those long haul flights, there's a good chance the seat in front of you will have a private little TV. If so, it'll most likely have at least one "kids" channel. I'm not a huge fan of hours on end of TV watching, but on airplanes, we have to do whatever it takes to keep our children quiet and the people around us comfortable. So if that means letting them watch hours and hours of Disney channel on the plane, so be it.

Take him for walks up and down the aisle. *WALKS*, not runs. And go WITH him. Don't let him loose to run around unsupervised.

Yeah, and don't forget the iPad (with headphones). Did I mention the iPad? My kids were very young before we had something as magical as the iPad. Some of those flights WERE challenging. NOW? Yeah, they're older, but still, the iPad (or even iPod) has been a game changer in airplane travel.

You'll be fine. He'll be fine. 3 1/2 is old enough to be somewhat logical. And big airplanes are exciting to kids that age. Have fun on your trip!

All I can say is ELECTRONICS. Portable DVD player or laptop or tablet that will play movies.

Do you have an old phone with no service that you can load apps and games to? This is a life saver. Introduce him to Angry Birds and a million other kid - oriented apps.

For any electronics, make sure it's fully charged before you leave or bring along extra batteries if you can.

Also, you'll want headphones (you can get kids ones at Best Buy) because the folks around you won't want to hear your kid's cartoons.

Get him several (if not more) new DVD movies for characters or cartoons he especially likes. I'm not a fan of sitting a kid infront of a TV, but in this case, where he has to remain in a 2' x 2' box for 10 hrs - by all means - watch TV!

I totally disagree with those who say books and coloring books/crayons. We did this and they are heavy to carry and they entertain the child for - maybe a few minutes - esp any book at the comprehension level of a 3 year old. Maybe if it's a new story he's especially interested in you may get a few reads out of it. If you do go with coloring books/crayons, get the triangle crayons so they don't fall on the floor. Trust me on this - I thought we didn't need this and boy was I wrong. I spent half the time with my butt in the air searching for crayons under the seat.

Snacks - healthy things so you don't end up giving him a stomach ache or sugar high you'll have to deal with as well. We brought large bags of trail mix - protein in the nuts and dried fruits and little chocolates. The kids loved them and they were filling and healthy. Granola bars and small packets of crackers are good too. Anything individually wrapped.

Don't forget a cup to drink out of. Something that won't spill like a sippy cup or those "take and toss" ones with a straw work perfect.

Bring wipes, even if he's potty trained, he'll make a mess of his juice or snacks or something for sure and you'll want something moist to be able to get the sticky or snack residue off of him (and you).

Bring an extra outfit because the juice will spill anyway and the snack will stain the clothes. Plus, if there is a potty accident... yikes.... You will also want a zippered hoodie that can be easily taken off b/c the temp on the plane changes. If there is a potential for a potty accident, bring a large zip lock bag to put the dirty clothes in.

Bring a small blanket so he can feel cozy and sleep if he wants. Don't count on sleep though. My 3 year old was SO flippin tired and he WOULD NOT sleep while the plane was in the air. As soon as we landed, and taxiing to the gate, he fell right to sleep *sigh*

I'd also put a few small wrapped gifts in your bag. This will help keep his interest if he starts going off the deep end.

Also, get him his own backpack. I bought a small one at Walmart for $9 and it was perfect for my kids size and they loved carrying all their stuff on their own.

Lots of potty breaks (hourly or more) to get out of the seat and avoid accidents.

Good luck!

Would it be possible to fly at night? That way, he would possibly sleep most of the trip.

Most important, bring a carseat for him. This will keep him safe, of course, but also contain him and keep you sane. Books, snacks, crafts, etc. He might even sleep in his seat! Good luck!

Start reading books about riding an airplane now. If you can find one of those kinds of books that shows an airplane and tells all about it, that would help. You need to "sell" the airplane trip to him so that he doesn't freak out and start screaming about not wanting to get on the plane. They throw families off the plane for stuff like this nowadays.

Quite frankly, if it were me, I'd be giving him benedryl with my doctor's direction and blessing, having tried it out a week beforehand to make sure benedryl makes my child sleepy and not hyper, but that's just me.

Have a great time at your destination!

Dawn

Years and years ago I flew over 9 hours next to a woman with a 2 year old. She worked really hard & he was a good little guy -- but he was still a 2 year old so it was a bit of an adventure for all of us.

One of the best things that happened, though, was unplanned. The whole family (mother, father, 2 yo & a couple of school age kids) flew standby so, although they all got on the flight, their seats weren't together. The little guy spent most of the flight with his mom, next to me. Sometimes, though, she brought him to sit with his dad in another part of the plane. Each parent got a little bit of alone time and some time entertaining the little one. The young boy had the occasional change of scenery and the undivided attention of a fairly fresh parent. Also, it gave the passengers around him a little break. Like I said, he was great & his parents were really good -- but he was still a little guy & it was still a long, long flight.

And, yeah, isn't it funny how much we change our parenting views once we actually have kids? Have a wonderful trip!

At 3.5 he is old enough to make it an adventure.

I always packed new surprises for daughter to play with, etc. We also made puppets with the air sick bags. I carried lots of treats. She also slept well on the flights.

We did a Maui trip and were fortunate enough to go First Class, before 911. There was endless snacks, and she loved the food, etc. Then about midway, they brought out ice cream carts for make your own sundaes. At this time she was not quite 3. Our flight home was at night and it was no issue.

The funny part was each flight we took after the ice cream, she would ask if we got the ice cream seats. We fly a lot and it was a huge treat to be in first class and WAY comfy.

BOY have things changed since 911.... The last time we went First Class to Maui was after 911 and it was very different and calmer than it was on the first trip. She still loved it tho!

Assuming an upgrade is out of the question, just make sure you have toys, fun creative things to play with. We didn't have some of the electronic options that parents have now. I have taken play dough, but it can get messy. I did try to keep her area clean.

Make sure you bring lollipops or something he can suck on to help his ears pop when you take off and land.

The flight should have movies and tv shows for kids. Make sure you have headphones that are comfortable for him.

Pack lots of special snacks and maybe some new toys/games that will hold his interest by virture of being novel.

I just took an eleven hour flight to Tokyo. It is a long time, but you will all survive :-)

Last year I took my then 3 year old daughter to Germany. It's probably too late now, but I would try to book a flight that is late in the day. Our flight over started at 6pm and her bedtime is 8pm so she slept almost the entire flight there. On the way back, she was awake for the entire flight but we did coloring, stickers, flash cards, movies, etc. Bring LOTS of snacks but nothing that will make him too hyper. Sometimes lollipops are good for keeping kids quiet for a while :) Good luck!

You should do fine. at that age kids have the atttention span to be entertained by shows and movies. We did 26 hours to Aus and back with our 22 month old. All he wanted to do was push buttons, latch and unlatch the seat back table, and walk up and down the aisles.

We survived.
Good lcuk to you and yours,
F. B.