Travel with Children - Flying with a Toddler

My 22 month old and I will be flying DFW-PHX in two weeks on AA. We're in coach both ways, but, yes, I submitted us for upgrades.

Any advice on entertaining a child that age, not just on the plane but at the airport as well? He's an amazingly happy and well-behaved child (tell him NO and express any amount of discontent and he does the "sorry daddy" hug thing).

We bought the CARE harness so he won't need his carseat on the plane (but we're checking it for the need of a rental car), and I've got us whittled down to his backpack, my backpack, and an umbrella stroller to stick in the overhead for carry-on.

Also, IF, by chance, the upgrade comes through, any advice on that? I chatted with some AA FA's on a flight a few days ago about this during a delay, and they all said it would be fine. The FA's also mentioned, which I thought was nice, that they knew we'd be fine since I was the kind of dad who would care enough to ask about it to begin with.

Since most of you fly often with AA, and up front at that, I figured you'd be the perfect source for any advice.

EDIT: My biggest concern is trying to get our checked stuffed (shared suitcase & carseat) from baggage claim to the rental car shuttle and the reverse on the way back. His backpack has a leash (the monkey has a tail) on it, but I hate using the thing.

This thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-children/1248687-ipad-game-suggestions-2-5-year-old.html) from the traveling with children forum has some interesting suggestions if you have on iOS device.

We entertain our 19 month old mainly with stickers. He will play with a few iPad educational apps, but mainly wants to look at pictures of himself when we pull the iPad or a phone out. And reviewing his 19 months of life can kill a good hour+ of any flight!

As for the upgrade, DFW-PHX is way too short to worry about it. Only thing might be to test out the CARES harness before you travel if you have not used it before. My son has been on 18 flights the past year and has never really made a fuss. But last trip we used the CARES for the first time. He eventually got used to it, but there was some protest at first to being strapped in (vs. his normal lap infant experience, where he likes to stand on my lap and smile at the people behind us, and move around between his mother and me). I am glad we worked through that frustration out in coach vs. his next flight, which is business to Europe.

Carts have become my friend navigating terminals and rental car centers these days when traveling with our son, especially with the carseat.

My son is also 22 months old, so I know from toddlers. :)

In the airport, all I need to do is find a big window that looks out on the runway, and park him there, and he is transfixed. He'll talk all about the airplanes going up and landing. Watching the carts do their stuff is also a hit. If you have a couple of books about airplanes, it's nice to do read-ahead in the days before the trip (Byron Barton's "Planes" and "Airport" are both great for that age).

On the plane: yes to both stickers and iphone apps. We spent 30 minutes on our last flight pasting and repasting stickers from the sticker book onto the barf bag and back again. I download a couple of videos on my phone, and he'll look at those, too. Books are always a big hit with my kid. New and exciting snacks are also a hit.

I've never seen a stroller go in an overhead bin, but you can gate check it. What kind of stroller--can you drive it with one hand? If you can do that, you can probably navigate from baggage claim to rental car with kid in stroller steered with one hand, and luggage with carseat on top steered with the other. Not easy, but if it's a short distance, doable.

This is a tough age for air travel but for such a short hop, you'll be fine. You might actually find it easier in coach, if your little one is very active and/or loud. You wont be disturbing any business people up there.

For entertainment, as you can see from the suggestions, simple things like stickers, coloring items, pinwheels, pipe cleaners, etc. often work best. There are some good electronic gadgets for kids but remember the rule about shutting them off for take-off and landing. An older child can understand this rule but it might be tough for a little one. I'm not saying don't use them but you know your child best. It can work if you organize it (only give it after take-off, hide it well before landing, whatever).

Toddlers hate staying in their seat for take-off. This is the perfect time to present him with a non-electronic new toy, that will hopefully distract him long enough to get in the air!

Good using your own car seat in the rental but be sure to NOT check your car seat as luggage. This is not a good idea for a couple of reasons. Car seats are often lost and broken by the airlines and compensation wont be offered. The best way to get it to PHX is to bring it on board and use it, if you have a seat for your child.

You'll hear plenty of "I checked my car seat and it was fine" stories but the damage might not be obvious and your child's safety in the car could be compromised. Which is worse is to get off the plane and find out your car seat isn't there but has been "misrouted". It's upsetting enough when that happens to my suitcases. I once arrived to only one bag, but my car seat was on a luggage cart next to me so my child was safe for the 2 hour drive home. The bags took three days to be returned to us.

If your car seat is too big and bulky to use on board, be sure to GATE check it, perhaps with the stroller. This is no guarantee but there's much less chance of it being lost or broken. If you bring your stroller to the gate, have it checked there. They'll probably stop you at the door of the plane if you try to bring it on board (overhead space is now at a premium).

What I used to do when my kids were that age was I would just not bring the stroller (or check it as luggage instead of the car seat). My child would then ride in the car seat when she was too tired to walk. I used a metal luggage cart and secured it with a bungee. They sell gizmos for this purpose but they're basically overpriced luggage carts you can buy at Kmart.

Once I collected the bags, I would put all the stuff, including the folded stroller (if I had one) on one of those airport carts and then put the toddler in a baby carrier. This works only if you have good quality baby carrier, not a front pack like the Bjorn. Some do front/back carriers and fold down really small so they're practical to bring. Toddlers do get clingy in airports with all the unfamiliarness and I see to many parent stuffing their crying children into strollers. Sometimes they just don't want to look at knees! At that age, they love being on an adult's back (and the adult needs to save their back with a good carrier!)

Be careful with the weight of your bag. These days, the airlines are making money off of people sharing bags and going overweight with the one. As one gate agent told me "I hate charging them but if they had only packed two..." I've used a collapsable bag and just threw stuff from one into the other, then stuffed it all back in one suitcase after arrival. I use a handscale at home to check the weight.

Relax your usual routine and let him eat, sleep and drink when he needs to. Ignore any advice to keep him awake or whatever to make him sleep on the plane. This often backfires and the overstimulated tot wont settle down. Bring more diapers than he usually goes through and a change of clothes. Also have a sippy cup for the drinks so he doesn't spill.

when my kids were toddlers, I would buy little knick knack trinkets and then wrap them individually in tissue paper and tie them with a ribbon bow. The kids would take forever to unwrap them, but they enjoyed the thrill of unwrapping something...and it would burn like 10-15 mins while they tried to figure out how to untie the thing.

The trinket would last about 1 hour, so we had a few available to last the entire flight.

We just took our 2.5 yo DEN-LIH, and I was surprised at what worked and what didn't work. His favorite toy of all was a 29-cent bag of fuzzy pompoms I bought at Michael's and put in a zip top bag (not a ziplock but a bag with the white plastic slider on the top - Baggie brand, I think?). He played with those for HOURS - taking them out of the bag and putting them in an FA-provided plastic cup, then putting them back in the bag. He was seated between his grandparents and they would sometimes ask him to sort them by color or count how many were in the cup, etc. Every once in a while he would drop them and cry "oh no, my balls!" which made me giggle every.time. because I am really a 12 year old boy at heart.

Cheerios and pipe cleaners are fun too - it's a snack! It's a craft project! It's a bracelet!

The other lifesaver was the Travelling Toddler Accessory: http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Seat-Travel-Accessory/dp/B000JHN3AS It attaches your carseat to your wheelie bag, which 1) creates a stroller for your toddler and 2) enables you to bring your carseat on the plane with minimal dramz. Like a PP, I would NOT recommend checking your carseat, CARES or no - have you seen what the airlines do to checked bags? It may appear fine but could have damage in a hidden spot that would later affect its safety - I simply wouldn't risk it for my kids.

Also, my kids are always more relaxed in their carseats - both (my younger son was 7.5 when we went to Kauai) took nice long naps on the plane, comfortable in their familiar seats. I don't think my toddler would be as comfy in the CARES harness...

Finally, I don't think the FAs will let you bring the stroller on board unless yours folds up super tiny (and I mean short, not just skinny). You can check strollers for free - just make sure you put it in a bag with ID and don't bring the super expensive ones because most airlines' COCs state that they do not cover damage to strollers (Frontier snapped a handle off our Peg Perego but generously offered to pay for the repair). We were also able to check a Kelty kid carrier backpack for free.

Cheerios and pipe cleaners are fun too - it's a snack! It's a craft project! It's a bracelet!


Oh, I am so stealing that idea. That's brilliant.

blueflamingo - welcome to FlyerTalk! Great suggestions and guidance here...thanks for posting and please do stick around!

Yes that was a very entertaining post Blueflamingo! I enjoyed that one, especially the losing the balls comment. I remember my child lamenting how she had lost her marbles once and then didn't understand why I found that so funny... (on the ground. Don't take marbles on an airplane folks-please!!)

I prefer the metal luggage cart over the traveling toddler for a couple of reasons. One, as an ex-F/A, I know how many of those rolling suitcases come on board and how difficult it can be to find room. When you fly with a child, you want your stuff and you want it with you. You don't want it stowed in the overhead 10 rows away. And you certainly don't want it gate-checked if there's no space!

My "fear" is that the handles, which were only made to pull a suitcase, plus car seat, plus child sitting in it might result in having to drag all three through the airport if the handles gives in.

So that's my thinking but you can work with that. For example, make sure you're using a very good, strong suitcase and/or keep your bigger toddler out of it. One parent has the rolly bag while the other has the Really Important stuff for the flight in a backpack. See where I'm going with this?

I like having a backpack because I can put it at my feet, stuffed down ready to dive in and pull out what I need.

So amusing how the simpler things keep toddler occupied in the confined space of an airplane seat. A blob of clay or tearing pages out of the inflight magazine can kill a good portion of a flight.

When the seat belt sign goes off, and there are no carts in the aisles, feel free to take him for a walk. So many times I see parents forcing unhappy toddler to stay in their seats. Unnecessary and don't make other people suffer from the crying. Aisle laps, get up and do them and then later, you might find he's better about staying put or even getting a little nap in (giving you a break!)

I travelled alone with my then 7 month old on a long haul flight. Brought a bag full of toys, favourite and new. He did not play with any of them. The only thing that kept him busy and was interested in playing with was the small water bottle they give on Air Canada with your meal and plastic cups.

We're travelling again in 4 weeks to Hong Kong, this time he will be 20 month old. Not bringing many toys this time. Definitely taking the ipad and some of his colourful cups (he likes stacking them and putting things in and out).
He hates being seated for long time, so we've booked the last seats for him to go for a walk when he wants to.

I have made many flights with children around that age (third kid was just born, and the others have each had status on AA).

We pack a bag with toys:

wikisticks (http://www.amazon.com/Eight-Wikki-Stix-Primary-Colors/dp/B000GL1DJ0/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1317604061&sr=1-2-catcorr). They're useful because you can do playdoh like things and yet they're reasonably clean.
little figures (airplanes, boats, something appropriate to where we are going)
dolls
stickers
flap books
other books
drawing supplies
cutting supplies (scissors that don't cut hair - legal) - useful for cutting up American Way magazine and SkyMall
snacks


Upgrades are great - it makes it more comfortable for you, and there's better attention for the kids. my advice is to ignore complaining customers if there are any.

We always check our car seats, but always in a car seat bag (http://www.amazon.com/J-L-Childress-Wheely-Seat-Carrier/dp/B000BNKIMQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1317618794&sr=8-5). We also pack things around it in the bag (diapers, blankets, etc). The CARES restraint is fantastic.

Umbrella Strollers are absolutely legal to carry on, but it is usually a fight.

As for your biggest concern - get a luggage cart. Sit him in it (they often have a seat like a shopping cart), then do the rest.

At the airport, let him run - find a place that doesn't have a lot of people, and just run around. I chase mine up and down the airport to get them tired out. Also, DFW AC has a children's room, which is nice, because it can get him some entertainment and you can get water, snacks, etc. easily.

Good Luck!

Thanks for all the suggestions folks! Trip is Friday morning and I'm less concerned than I was. I'll be adopting quite a few of the tips here, and I'll let you know how it goes.

Umbrella Strollers are absolutely legal to carry on, but it is usually a fight.

I don't know about the rules but one of the greeter's jobs was to "catch" parents trying to bring strollers on board. There simply wasn't room for them. We only had a few closets and all were in business and first so only customers sitting up there could use them. Strollers were not allowed in the overhead bins.

Gate check the stroller along with the car seat (never check a car seat at the counter) Just a friendly reminder!

Strollers were not allowed in the overhead bins.


What airline was this? The OP is on AA, and AA very clearly states that strollers are allowed onboard as long as they fit in the overhead bin

http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/specialAssistance/childrenTraveling.jsp?anchorEvent=false&from=Nav#stroller

Wow, that's surprising. I worked for two companies which didn't allow strollers in overhead bins. On one flight, an old lady got bashed on the head so they were strict about this. Canes and metal luggage carts were also not allowed (canes were put on the floor next to the passenger so they had access to it).

If you are instructed to put a stroller in the overhead, push it entirely to the back of the bin and keep your eye out as people remove items from that bin. Stuff can really come flying out.

Also, my beef with strollers on board is they take up a lot of space. These days, luggage space is at a premium, especially with baggage fees and all those rolly bags. There just isn't enough room. Taking up so much space with an item you wont need for the flight might not make you popular with your fellow passengers!

Taking up so much space with an item you wont need for the flight might not make you popular with your fellow passengers!

Now THAT, I agree with. Of course, for a fair number of passengers (and a fair number of people on these boards, although obviously not this one), simply having children on board (particularly in business or first), makes you unpopular with fellow passengers, so I tend to disregard most of their complaints! ;)

If there is an IFE on the plane.. I would pay for it and turn it on..

Maybe bring some books..

having headphones will keep them preoccupied with the movie thats on, or any music selections on the plane..