Red Eye Flight with Two Young Kids ????

I actually just did this in october with well my six year old and 8 year old, so their a bit older. We went back to albany, red-eye, long.. long.. flight.. lol. I woke their butts up at the crack of five am.. and kept them buzy and awake all day, even though by about 8pm they were driving me insane (over tired)... they were excited for the take off and a bit after on the flight, then .. out like lights!

Good luck! Dont worry about the other passengers, I remember I had a guy request to be moved on a flight because he was sitting next to me and my 8 month old son, i could only laugh! Kids are just going to be kids!

I do not know any kinds of tricks when flying but I will also like to know because I might fly from Tucson to Chicago this November. I guess get them plenty of snack, drinks and pillows to make the flight more comfortable. I hope everything works well. Take care.

check with your doctor first. i am an er nurse and one of my first fatalities was a baby that was given benadryl by the parents so it would sleep through the night. he was dead in the morning. also benadryl can cause urinary retetion especialy in little boys. it is extrememly painful and uncomfrotable and the only way to releive the pain is to catheterize. there is also a risk of infection not only from the catheter but form the urine staying in the bladder so long. so check first before you go and make sure you give the right dosage if it is ok with your doctor. about the flight. call the airline and let them know what happened before and that you would like to make sure you have a better ecxperience

Give them Melatonin...it is a herbal pill you can buy at walmart...we just moved here from sc and we gave it to our kids and they did wonderful on it...it is really good...give them 2 or 3 pills...works wonders!

Here are some great links - and I think using Benadryl could help them from suffering from lack of sleep, etc. I have friends who swear by it. For you, I suggest ear plugs and a sleep mask too!

http://www.momsminivan.com/article-flying_with_kids.html

www.travelingwithkids.com

Best of luck!

Buy a portable DVD player. Bring movies and snacks. It really works!! The battery is only good for 3 hours but it will help for half the trip.

Be VERY careful with benadryl. If you read the fine print on the label it states that it could have the OPPOSITE affect on children. It makes my daughter hyper as all get out.

I would recommend a portable dvd player and a few toys. Check with the airline when you get to the gate sometimes the will move your seat so that your ina row by yourselves or at the back of the plane in order to help you out.

I have done that flight many times with my children (5 and 2) before. I have given them benedryl before and it has worked. I did keep them up past their bedtime and they were already exhausted before we got on our flight. I also let them run it out before we got on to the the flight. Hope that helps :) Enjoy your trip

We recently took my 2 yr old on a 2 1/2 hour flight the way there was a nightmare he wouldn't stay in the seat, wouldn't keep the seatbelt on, screaming, etc, etc......
On the way home we gave him benedryl which my friends doctor has told her is fine to give your kids if they wont sleep and the flight home was great!!!!

Hi L.!

I have a 19 month old and we have flown quite a few times with her. If you want to use benadryl try it at home first...it doesn't really make our daughter sleepy so it would be pointless. Do you have a portable DVD player? That works wonders!

S.

If your kids won't sleep (hopefully they will), we have found flights much easier with a portable DVD player. We rented one in the airport once and it was such a lifesaver that we ended up purchasing our own before our next trip. We don't fly without it! Good luck.

We never fly without Benedryl! I have been flying too and from New York with my 3 year old son since he was 3 months old. Even at that young of an age my Dr prescribed me some infant strength Benedryl to use on the flight. Not only will it let you and your little one fly peacefully - it was really given to me from our Dr for the air pressure issue. Many times little ones cry on a plane because air pressure is hurting there ears. Benedryl is a decongestant and therefore breaks up the pressure build-up. We were told to give our child Benedryl about 30 min before boarding. Once the door is closed on the plane even before take-off the air pressure begins to build up. Have a good trip! We are headed back to NY on the red-eye for 4th of July :)

When my son was just one we took him back east to MA and dr said it was ok to give him bennedryl and he slept all the way. Then I flew alone to MA with my son when he was 3. I gave him some for the first half of the flight. for the 2nd half I gave him a bit more. might have been too much cause he was sick the next day but was better later that evening.
If it's a straight through flight that should be just fine.

besides the DVD player i found the color wonder sets are great. the kids get to color & you don't have to worry about them coloring them selves or anything in the airplane the shouldn't. I bought my 5 yr old a gameboy & leapster she loves both & they keep her occupied on the trips.

We took the red eye to Paris from L.A when my girls were 2 and 4. It was 18 hours of flight. I did give my 2 year old a dose of Benedryl when she woke up. Needless to say she slept the whole time. It was good for her, us, and the rest of the flight!

Hi L.,
My parents gave my sister and I benadryl when my dad was transferred from Germany to the US it is safe and really will help you while on the flight. The only downfall might be they won't be tried when you are unless you are lucky enough to sleep also while on the plane.

Hey L.....i have flown with my two children OFTEN. I know this is bad, but I give my kids motrin (prior to boarding) and then some benedryl on the plane. I have a 30 mt old and a 20 mt old. I run them ragged, before the plane. Literraly! We run around the airport so they are just SO tired! I have flown to Hawaii, overnight and it was the best. They just slept LOVED it.
I have flown to MI by myself with both kids. Not so lovely. But it was just harder that time, due to teeth coming in & a growing spurt. Not to mention I booked the flight during the wrong part of the day.
Honestly, there is nothing to have an easy trip and yes you will make some passengers made (and even some of them "ever so happy" flight attentents) but my answer is OH WELL. Don't let it stress you too much. If the passengers are just 'wishing that kid would be quiet' maybe they should help out OR maybe they should just buy a private jet!!

Anyhow, enjoy your vacation!!!

Hi L.!

I just flew out to Boston a couple of weeks ago, and I'm flying back to Phoenix tomorrow. I also have 2 girls, ones 4 and the other is 23 months.

I took them to the store and let them pick out some quite fun litle toys, a little doodler and those crayola wonder markers. And then also I brought some of their favorite treats. I wouldn't let them play with their new toys until we were in the air (so they wouldn't be tired of them before we were on the plane) and then it was only one at a time. Also, we brought a leapster game. But it worked wonders. I had people comment on how good they were and it was just because I kept them busy.

I gave my youngest tylenol for her ears, and it did help her to sleep (I also planed it around her nap time so she would sleep) my olderst I gave her gum so her ears wouldn't hurt. All in all it went smoothly. It's very hard to fly by yourself with little ones. Just plan ahead. I also took a sipy cup... empty of course, and then after the security check I bought some chocolate milk!

Good Luck!
C.

I would test with the benadryl first if you go that route - it can make your kids either excited OR sleepy.

I've had good flights and bad flights with the kids - the best ones have been when they were well rested, fed, comfortable. Don't try to wear them out and make them tired before the flight, that type of stuff just doesn't work (for my kids ;o).

have fun!

That's how we prefer to fly b/c our kids sleep really good! What worked better for us this last time that we flew was we took the carseats for the kids. Since you already have to pay for, at least, your 5 year old then bring her carseat on the plane so it's something that she is familiar with and knows what to do when in it. Just a thought. Like I said, that worked really well with my kids. Hope it works out and things aren't so bad this next time.

Actually, the red eye was probably the best flight you could have picked. Hopefully they'll be so tired that they'll sleep most of the way,plus those flights are generally not to crowded. My best advice to you would be to pack a bag of snacks, a couple books, maybe some coloring books, and a few toys (just in case). If you're flying jet blue you're in luck...those tvs could come in handy! I'd also suggest a portable dvd player if you have one...they are a GREAT investment and come in handy during travel! Don't forget the sippy cups!!! Have the kids drink during take off and landing (if they're awake)...the swallowing helps keep their ears from blocking. Most important, try not to stress. And to heck with the rude people...they're the ones with the problem not you. If they don't like kids then they shouldn't bother to leave their house, let alone travel!!! Good luck! :)

Hello L. B,

I flew with my 4 year old Son from Germany to the States. It was about 20 hours with two stopps. Just let you Kids stay weak before the flight so that they have to sleep in the plane. And I would never give them bennedryl or something like that. Let the nature make her thing.

Y. G

You would be very smart to give your kids a little Benedryl for the flight. I know it seems a little strange, but you would be doing everyone (kids included!) a favor by letting them sleep...especially at a time of day that they should be sleeping anyway! (this is assuming they're old enough to have Benedryl) Good luck to you! =)