Flying with a 3 Year Old - Glendale,AZ

Make sure he takes his regular nap. You do not want to try to navigate the airport with a super cranky preschooler. Take his jammies and change him in flight when it gets closer to bed time. And that way he'll have his jammies on for the car ride/bedtime when you get there.

Make sure he has a cup or even allow a treat of gum for take-off/landing. Or a lollipop will keep him swallowing.

I get motion sick too. Take a dramamine 1.5 hours before flight and then .5 hour before the flight and keep the air blowing in your face while you are in flight. Don't try to read or anything like that. Will just make it worse.

I have to agree wtih these moms about a backpack with stuff that's new to him (small books, toys that are inexpensive) and a portable DVD player will be worth it's weight in gold. We flew when my now-teen was 3 - she was very active, the flight was in the evening and was then delayed.... She didn't fall asleep until the very end of the flight - but she kept busy with other stuff (they didn't have portable DVD players then!). When she got bored of one thing I'd pull a new item out of her backpack. They were all inexpensive - but stuff that was completely new to her.

I wouldn't suggest that you allow him to get too tired in hopes that he'll sleep on the plane. he might jsut get over-tired and cranky. You know your kid best.

Set expectations for him. Tell him that flying is a grown up thing and tell him about the grown ups that will be sitting around you (when you get on the plane remind him). Explain that's very few kids and babies get to fly becuase many of them can't stay quiet and busy on their own. Tell him that you know he can be quiet and stay busy - and that you're going to have things to help him stay busy. Then praise him as he does what he needs to do "you are doing great, I bet the grown ups around us are glad that you're not babyish and that you're behaving so well!" If he slips and gets a little loud remind him of the people sitting around you - how they want to have quiet kids around them. Engage in games with him ("I spy with my little eye something red..." or make up word games "if you could do anything in the world right now what would you do?" tell him what you'd want to do (i.e. "make a giant chocolate cake and jump into it like it was a swimming pool").

As another mom worte - get to the airport with enough time to let him stretch his legs and run. Bring some cash so that when you get to the other side of TSA you can buy a drink. They will let you bring gum or candy in your carry-on - and even if you don't otherwise allow candy/gum this would be a time where you can relax the rules. Only when you feel the wheels actually lift off the ground do you give your son his special snack. Explain ahead of time that when you go up high pretty quickly the air between behind his ear needs help moving around so we can help that ir move around by swallowing - so you'll get him a drink or a special snack. Kids like to understand waht's going on - and explaining it ahead of time will help him not to be freaked out.

As for motion sickness - I used to get this all the time. People would tell me to read or keep busy with stuff. What I learned is that the reading the reading and keeping busy with my hands often made the motion sickness worse. Ends up that when in I'm in motion and trying to read my eyes have to keep re-focusing and the message being sent to my brain doesn't match the motion that my body and inner ears are feeling - so I get that feeling of nausea. For me, I do better when focusing on things that are moving at the same speed I am - so on a plane that would be the people around me, the flight attendents, the signs on the wall, etc. Other people do better when they focus on the horizon - so looking out the window at the skyline, the clouds, etc. Try to figure out what works best for you.

You and your son will do fine! And so will your mom. My husband had spinal surgery last Summer and the recovery was remarkably quick - so so so much easier than my mom's had been years ago at the same age - like 20X easier!!! They use such minimally invasive procedures these days.

Good luck Mama - you'll get to the other side of this and be amazed at how well it all went!

A backpack for him full of stuff he's never seen is a godsend. Doesn't have to be big stuff, just new to him. I would take out one thing at a time and not let him (my son) see what else was in the backpack. I also had some healthy snacks in there as you never know what's available at an airport.

I think flying with children 18mo-3/4 yo is the hardest time because they want to be active, are still learning about "inside voices" etc. But it can be done. When we took my 2.5 yo he was still in a 5-point harness and we put that in his seat on the plane in hopes that he would better understand that he needed to stay in his seat and not be asking to get up all the time. It worked well for us, but it must be 5-point harness, you can't use a high-back or backless booster in the plane seat.
While I am not normally one who uses videos for travel (in the car), we definitely took a portable DVD player on the plane, it was so great. Just make sure you have headphones for it. Or if he has/likes something like a Leapster, books, other quiet toys. None of my kids have ever had issues with ears on the plane and we have flown with them at all different ages.
I would definitely not skip his nap! It would be better to have him awake the whole flight than risk an overtired kid. Nothing is worse than a toddler tantrum on a plane. And I would try getting to the airport PLENTY early, not only so you aren't stressed getting through security and finding your gate, etc, but so that he has time to burn some energy between the long car trip and flight.
Have you ever tried SeaBands for your motion sickness? You can get them near the motion sickness meds at the pharmacy. They are acupressure bands that you wear on your wrists. They even helped me with my morning sickness when I was pregnant, and no drowsy/groggy effects from meds. Might want to check them out.
Good luck.

I would suggest a portable DVD player. That will be worth it's weight in gold!

We flew coast to coast last summer with our then 3 yo and he did okay. He's a really active kid so it did have its challenges. Keep in mind that since you have a long car ride before even flying that he may fall asleep and therefore be wide awake for the flight. We brougth the carseat on the plane for him to sit in. Kids this age know that they can't just get in and out of their carseat at will so it's easier to keep them wanting to climb all over. Make sure you have plenty of time between the end of the car ride and the boarding of the flight so your little guy can run run run and run! I think you will be surprised at how fast the flight actually goes compared to the car ride. For entertainment I bought books he'd never seen yet, brought my husbands laptop and dvd's, lots of little surpise snacks, coloring crayons, ipod. If your son has a favorite tv program then you may want to download an episode or two (mine loved Little Bear and it was very calming to him to have something familiar like that.) For the ears we were well supplied with lollipops and gum but my son ended up sleeping through the landing so we were okay there. Good luck and hope your mother's surgery goes well!

I find that I always worry more than necessary about how my son will do when traveling. He always does great! If you can bring a portable DVD player, that always helps. I usually buy my son a couple new little figurine toys and give them to him right when we get on the plane and he plays quietly with them for the whole flight. Also, remember to bring plenty of snacks in case you are delayed:) Good luck. I am sure he will do fine:)

Just a heads up that I've seen this question asked MANY times by other moms, and you can access all the answers they received (in addition to the ones you get) by using the search feature on this site.

Hope your flight goes well! :-)

You have gotten some great advice. We take our children every year to Japan to visit the Grandparents. So a three hour flight seems easy! It's all a matter of perspective. I always had new toys, activities that slowly came out during the flight. Just as important is to prepare him for the expectations of flying. It's amazing how much they understand, but have short attention spans or get excited and forget, so you have to remind them a lot. About a week before the flight talk to him about expected behavior on the flight. You have to talk quietly. You have to sit there for a long time. When the light goes on the pilot says to keep your seat belt on. You can't bother the people around you. Ask him what kind of quiet things he wants to take. My kids always had a backpack that had their choices (with our approval - no noisy toys, etc. Also had their "had to have thing" like blanket or stuffed animal). Talk about this everyday. Ask him to repeat back to you the "rules for the plane". We would retalk about it at the airport and when we got on the plane. He won't be perfect - he's 3/4. Generally people don't mind so much if they see the parent is trying to teach good behavior. Unfortunately many parents don't care how their child affects others. That's when people get the most upset. By the way I have four kids. You should have seen some of the looks we would get when we boarded. When we left we were often told how well behaved the kids were. I truly think the key is to have some new things for them to do and to set the expectations for their behavior and remind them of these expectations.

Try to get a window seat for him. Looking out at the truck and planes when you first get on the plane will entertain him while the other passengers get on. It will help you both relax and save those things in the goody bag for later. Pack the bag without him knowing you have anything for him and pull them out one by one as needed to entertain. If he knows you have a bag of goods, he will want in it as soon as you sit down and will be through it before the plane takes off.

With the air pressure change your son will need to swallow to pop his ears. Sucking on something when the plane goes up and down is the best away to do this. Sugar free hard candy, a sucker. Some people say chew gum, but that never worked for me. Even a drink will help.

Coloring on the plane never works with my kids. Those crayons are always falling on the floor. If he is into figures playing with one another a new one for the plane is a great idea. I used an Ipod touch and nano loaded with kids tv shows from itunes. They surprisingly watch that little thing. It is so my easy to carry than a DVD player.

Try ginger ale on a plane. It could settle your motion sickness. It is the only time I ever drink it for that reason.

Try to travel light because if he does fall asleep you will need to carry him off the plane.

3 hours of mom's attention is always great for a kid. You guys will be fine.

Have a sippy cup available for the popping ears - swallowing usually fixes the popping during takeoff and landing. Keep him busy with things he likes to do: coloring, listening to you read, watching a kid movie, listening to a book on your ipod, etc.

He's old enough to likely LOVE the experience rather than feeling coup'd up all the time. My kids are frequent flyers and since about age 4, we've had nothing but good experiences.

One other thing...is he potty trained? If not, that makes things a bit more difficult. If you'll have diapers or pull-ups, bring a few thick trash bags to keep the dirty ones in. The flight attendants usually have some on hand, but better to be prepared.

TSA security screening: You can bring liquids, runny foods under 4 oz. A applesauce or yogurt cup is 5 oz...they may let you through with those, but you'll likely have to be re-screened. If you son drinks juice, just bring an empty sippy cup and ask the flight attendants for juice on the plane. You can bring as many snacks as you like. TSA is not concerned over goldfish crackers, sandwiches, etc.

Have fun! Best to your mom's health.

Check as much luggage as possible so that you have less to carry onto the plane.

If your son uses a backless booster seat, you can carry it on. It will fit under the seat in front of you. If he uses a toddler seat, you can check it for free w/ the airline.

You can take a DVD player w/ headphones. It just needs to be taken out of the carryon bag for security.

For snacks, you can take whatever dry foods you want. Liquids can be purchased once you are through security.

For his ears popping, just have him chew some gum during take off. I just flew with a 9y and a 3y last June, for their first time, and my first time in 20y+. It wasn't too bad.