Coping with a Toddler on a Plane and or Cruise

portable dvd player-
gum or a bottle for take-off and landing
any sort of game thingy
cheap little toys picked up a dollar store- bring them out 1 by 1 as they get bored of the previous toy
drawing pad and crayons

you can "try" benadryl- call your doc for dosing- and try it a few days beforehand- I couldn't use it with my daughter because it made her hyper.

try to schedule your flight around nap, or so early he's likely to pass back out once he relaxes.

for the youngest- lots of stories and maybe a little tv time with airplane and boat themes. talk postively about how much fun it will be and how magical these things are- you can help built their concept of what to expect.

as the day for flying comes up- talk to them about what will be happening and what to expect. more often than not kids respond poorly to situations because they do not know what to expect.

As for the daycare thing- take him to it. Let him explore it with you there with him (security for him). Take him out- go eat breakfast or whatever.. Take him back- do it again- AGAIN explain to him "daycare is a fun place for little kids, like you. There are lots of other little kids here playing, do you want to play with them??" keep building that rapport till you're able to leave him there without him flipping out. The idea is allowing him to build trust in the new situation through his security in you.

I strongly advise against given sugary sweet "treats" on a plane. Hyper kids that lose patience or become bored are amplified with sugar.

Best wishes!

We cruised with my son for 8 days in the Caribbean when he was about 21 months old. It was a great time! We had to go to Puerto Rico first (a 4 hour flight), but he had flown before (first time around 10 months old). For the flight, I recommend showing him a TV show or two with his favorite characters that they fly in (Olivia, Bubble Guppies, and Caillou have them I know). Talk to him about how cool it is, how much fun it will be, etc. About an hour before take off, give him a dose of Benadryl. Even if it doesn't put him to sleep, he will be calmer during the flight (our pediatrician recommended this, so it's not like I drugged my son!).

As for the cruise, you probably will not be able to put him in the day care if he is younger than 3 and not potty trained. Definitely look in to it, but honestly, we wouldn't have used it even if we could. He loved walking around the ship, and it was a very laid back vacation for all of us. We have cruised different times of the year and I really don't see a huge difference! We even went during hurricane season and had a great time! Good luck!

I have taken my granddaughter on two cruises. The first at age 2 and the last at age three. We drove from Georgia to Miami. That was the worst part. My granddaughter has absolutely loved both cruises and is wanting to go on another. Carnival has a great kids club. They keep the kids active and having fun. Lots of the kids prefer to be there with the other kids than with you. My granddaughter wanted to be dropped off to have meals with the other children. They have foods kids usually like to eat such as pizza, hotdogs, fries. One note, if your children are still in diapers or pullups, some of the cruise ships will not allow staff to change, which interupts your activities. Carnival will change the kids; just have to bring your on supplies. When you enroll your children in the kids program , you will get a cell phone in case they need to contact you. Normal hours are free until ten o'clock and then five dollars each hour after that. Also make sure you carry a stroller when going out of the islands. Even the most independant toddler gets tired of walking and wants to be carried. Overall, We had great times and made lots of wonderful family memories.

We have never been on a cruise with the kids, but we have taken them several places on planes. My advice is to ask your pediatrician if Benadryl is okay to take. The reason for this is that sometimes going up and down on a plane is h*** o* kids' ears and very painful, which will really upset them (understandably!). Benadryl will help with that, and *may* even have the fabulous side effect of making your child sleepy! This has always worked like a charm for us.

Aside from that, I've always gone shopping for small toys/books/games that can be played on a plane, and that my kids have never seen before. You know how new toys are always way better than any other toy the child has, so now's the time to get a bunch of brand new stuff! Dole it out to him one at a time on the plane. Pack some "forbidden" snacks too. For instance, I never give my kids fruit snacks, so I always buy them when we go on the plane. They think it's so cool that they get to eat them, that it keeps them quiet and happy for a while!

Here are a few helpful toddler travel tips that should give you some ideas to help cope:

http://www.skinnyscoop.com/search/plane?utm_campaign=thes...

As far as getting your LO used to a cruise ship you could start getting him into boats and ships and hopefully he will get excited to ride a big ship. I would suggest March for a good time. Also, bring some sea sickness patches in case you find out that he gets sea sick. Hope this helps & hope you have a lot of fun!

Practice taking him places and for rides in an elevator. If he can't do the enclosed elevators he will probably be ok in a glass elevator. Get him used to it.

We've been on 17 or 18 cruises. Our kids loved going to the "day care center". They could hardly get away from us in the moring and didn't want to join us in the evening. You didn't say what cruise line you are going on, but Disney has an excellent children's program, so does Princess Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Carribean Cruise Lines.

Hope you have a wonderful time. Good luck to you and yours.

I too will be needing to take my toddler on a plane for the first time and an interesting tip someone gave me was to wrap small dollar store toys in wrapping paper and let them unwrap each toy one at a time just to take up time and keep them busier longer. I think it's worth giving a try! I am curious to hear all the other answers on this one. Definitely portable dvd player and lots of snacks is what I'm thinking! Good luck, sorry I'm not any help on the cruise aspect.

We took our boys on a Disney cruise when they were 2-1/2 and 11mos. You didn't mention which cruise line you'll be sailing, and others have given you good advice. Disney -- and probably all cruise lines -- don't allow swim diapers in the pools. Disney's nursery will change diapers but you need to provide the diapers.

You have a good amount of time to get your son ready for the flight. Expose him to airplanes or talk about airplanes a lot. My boys are crazy about planes! We read "Airport" by Byron Barton leading up to the trip, then my husband always reads it as we go through different parts (boarding the plane, seat belts, take-off). Our sons also bring their matchbox planes and love to act out the plane taking off. If you prepare him for going on the plane as an exciting, big-boy thing to do, you can (hopefully) avoid him being afraid and screaming. He may start to grow out of his dislike of confined spaces by then, too.

You can try dropping him off at the daycare on board. If he isn't coping well, they'll call you to come pick him up. I was worried about my boys, but they loved going to the nursery. It was a large space with toys compared to the cramped cabin.

Check the seasonal temps where you're going. I do not like high heat and humidity, so I'd never go on an August cruise.

There have been some wonderful suggestions about what to do, I flew constantly with toddlers when my husband worked for an airline, so here's a few things not to do: do not store anything you might need for the child in the overhead compartment, put it under the seat. When the seatbelt light is on you won't be able to get to them. do not turn on the dvd player until after the flight has taken off, the last thing you want is to make your child upset by turning the movie off for take off. I would not recommend any thing that rolls (like balls or cars) because they roll off under the seats and you'll have a hard time recovering them. One thing I did do is wait until the boarding is almost finished before going the plan. This worked for me because it usually takes about 20-30 minutes to board all the passengers, I used that time to let my children walk around a bit longer to get more wiggles out. (no use making them sit still for longer than you have to right!) I always had sippy cups ready for take off so that they could drink to relieve the pressure in their ears. And if your worried about what other passengers think or your children, don't. Of the many flights I took, I can only think of one time that anyone every complained of my children and in my opinion it was because he was drunk. Oh and I always put my kids in the window seat for easier containment! Good luck, I'm sure ya'll do fine.

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Moon Drops by Historical Remedies - all natural, I take one every night before I go to sleep - keeps me sleeping all night. It is non-addictive, its homeopathic and kids can take it. Whenever we go on a long flight my kids want to sleep but often cannot with all the distractions, so give them some of these lozenges (which taste great by the way) and they go to sleep no problem. I buy these buy the case (12 packs) since its more economical - but you can buy individual packs (I think there is 30 in a box) at most health food stores for about $ 5.00 a box. I get mine online here:

http://www.vitacost.com/Historical-Remedies-Homeopathic-M...

We did a Carnival Cruise when our youngest had just turned 2. She did great!! If you aren't going until next year, hopefully your son will out grow some of the "issues" he has now.

Never know how the kids camp will go....my kids LOVED it. The couple we traveled with had a 4 and a 6 year old, so they were seperated by age. The 4 year old would have been with our kids and he knows them VERY well, but he wanted NO part of it the entire week.

I would suggest talking up the trip starting now. Try and sell the trip, the fun, the kids camp, the elevators and so on. You walk on that boat and it's like entering a city, not a boat.

We have cruised in March twice (pre kids, so it's been a while) and had HORRIBLE weather. Not just chilly, but choppy, choppy seas. I was so sick and I have cruised about 10 times and have always been fine. We love going in November, we ALWAYS have had awesome weather. We are going in August this year for the 1st time...hoping for the best.

Take SNACKS for the cabin. Sure there is non stop food, but no cheeze its, gold fish or other items that kids love to munch on. Portable DVD player is a MUST for the plane and the cabin too.

My 4 year old has been flying AND cruising regularly since she was 5 months old. As another mama mentioned, I think the anxiety is on your part. It's up to you to present a positive front when traveling. Visit the TSA web site so that you are totally educated on what you can and can't bring with a child that age. I found it was really important to tell my daughter everything that was going to happen, as far as the boarding process, ahead of time. She now reminds ME to take off my shoes at the security stop!!

So you are flying out of KCI to either coast, so you only have approx. 2.5 hrs in the air non-stop. I know it's hard to find a non-stop out of KCI, but if you can, do it. Much easier than connecting flights with kids. Remember that when you are that small, the plane is much bigger and won't seem so confined. The older children can enjoy the DVDs, coloring books, stickers. The 1 yr old, you will have to bring favorite loveys & toys. Most important, bring plenty of snacks!!! I carry a small bag dedicated to food. Grapes, cracker-cut cheese, cheerios, granola bars, PB&J crackers...you will get nothing on the plane, so it's important to have plenty of treats. I use the food containters with screw-on tops. Be sure to get water in sippy cups after security too. We flew last week and it took them forever to bring us a drink!

I have cruised on two different lines with children, Royal Caribbean & NCL. Both have great kid programs. RC has programs starting at 6 months of age (sponsored by Fisher-Price) and some of their newer ships even have infant programs. Both lines have tons of activities for the kids. My daughter has a ball and meets lots of other kids on the ship. Royal Caribbean is my personal favorite line. I would avoid Carnival, however. There are great deals in October. Sign up for email alerts from the cruise companies so you can get the best deals.

Most important, just enjoy yourself and your children will follow suit.

I agree with the bringing entertainment and lots of snacks. And please don't take this the wrong way, but I sense your anxiety about this on this post. Just be careful cause your baby will pick up on that too and it will feed into any natural anxiety he is feeling. (I don't know you well enough and this anxiety is probably released because you are talking to other mommys) Also you know your baby best but these strong reactions to random things are generally outgrown. It is typical for kids to have area's that aren't rational to get upset over but they usually are outgrown within a couple of months. So hopefully he will outgrow it by next year and you will just have the typical how to entertain issues every parent deals with.