Pre-Departure Child "Burn-Out"
Sep 23, 2002, 6:20 am
#1
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Join Date: May 1998
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
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Pre-Departure Child "Burn-Out"
I was at IAD yesterday waiting in the boarding area for my flight to start loading, and off in the corner there was a parent who was what could only be described as, inciting their child to riot.
Running back and forth with them. Swinging them around. Hide and seek. That sort of thing.
It was mildly annoying and the parent could sense that I was concerned this kid would be one of those hyperdiapers that can ruin a nice quiet flight. So he approached me and commented, "Don't worry. I'm doing this to burn him out. He'll sleep like a baby once he's strapped in if we go through this now."
And indeed he did.
Running back and forth with them. Swinging them around. Hide and seek. That sort of thing.
It was mildly annoying and the parent could sense that I was concerned this kid would be one of those hyperdiapers that can ruin a nice quiet flight. So he approached me and commented, "Don't worry. I'm doing this to burn him out. He'll sleep like a baby once he's strapped in if we go through this now."
And indeed he did.
Sep 24, 2002, 3:05 pm
#3
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Denver
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Posts: 866
I too found this to be an effective way to quiet my two kids when they were that age. I (or my wife) would typically chase them up and down the concourse for about 15-30 minutes and once on board out went the lights.
I suppose with some kids the opposite could happen but never with mine thankfully.
I suppose with some kids the opposite could happen but never with mine thankfully.
Sep 28, 2002, 3:14 pm
#4
Original Member, Moderator: Hotel Deals and MilesBuzz
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Washington, DC
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As I mentioned in another post, we are flying IAD-LAX-SYD next month. We planned our trip with a 36 hour layover in LAX so we may go down to Carlsbad and spend the entire day at Legoland before boarding our late evenng flight to SYD. A day a visual stimuli overload and amusement park rides will guarantee a kid that zonks out for 10 hours straight!
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Addicted to airline miles? Check out: Mileage Workshop --- "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." - Frank Zappa (1940-93)
[This message has been edited by MileageAddict (edited 09-29-2002).]
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Addicted to airline miles? Check out: Mileage Workshop --- "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." - Frank Zappa (1940-93)
[This message has been edited by MileageAddict (edited 09-29-2002).]
Oct 1, 2002, 8:59 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Northside in tha house
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PremEx:
And indeed he did.</font>
And indeed he did.</font>
We just scrubbed a cruise with the wee little ones as they are too much in their "terrible 2's" mode. Though we are still hanging on to the hope of an x-mas midcon trip with 2 flight segments.
Thanks for the inspiration, PremEx!
Oct 6, 2002, 6:11 am
#7
Join Date: Sep 2001
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Doesn't work with my kids. Winding them up like that doesn't cause mine to "burn out", just gets their expectations set to continue when they get on the plane. My kids are very physical and active, my approach is to keep them calm and relaxed with books or game boys. It's about the same approach you'd do as an adult.
Oct 7, 2002, 10:23 pm
#8
Join Date: Aug 2001
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gregseattle:
We just scrubbed a cruise with the wee little ones as they are too much in their "terrible 2's" mode. Though we are still hanging on to the hope of an x-mas midcon trip with 2 flight segments.</font>
We just scrubbed a cruise with the wee little ones as they are too much in their "terrible 2's" mode. Though we are still hanging on to the hope of an x-mas midcon trip with 2 flight segments.</font>
.
Oct 7, 2002, 11:21 pm
#9
Moderator Hilton Honors, Travel News, West, The Suggestion Box, Smoking Lounge & DiningBuzz
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I have a colleague whose theory of child development is that there are really only two dependable stages: The Moist Stage and the Sullen Stage.
Oct 11, 2002, 6:22 am
#11
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
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I too practice "burn-out". I bring a small rubber ball and we find an empty corner and play catch while waiting to board. We are usually the last or close to last people on the plane. My husband boards a little before us so he can install the carseat.
So far, out of about 10 RT in her 2 short years, this practice has worked well. The least amount of time we spend on the plane= happier flying all around. But that's just my kid, it may spool others up and just make that flight harder.
Vanessa
So far, out of about 10 RT in her 2 short years, this practice has worked well. The least amount of time we spend on the plane= happier flying all around. But that's just my kid, it may spool others up and just make that flight harder.
Vanessa