Travelling long distance with a toddler- Tips

allgirlz

Hi,

Just found out today that my sister has bought tickets for my Daughter who is 2 years old to go and visit her and her kids in South africa, yay!! My partner cannot come as he has no holidays left. So its an 11.5 hour flight from Heathrow, we will fly from Dublin and connect in Heathrow terminal 4, have never travelled on a flight with my daughter before much less on my own!! So what are the essentials for a relatively stress free journey and any tips on what to do would be gratefully recieved. Thanks..

Dfens

Great gift! OK, first make sure you have enough time for the connection, factoring in some flight delay, especially if you have to switch terminals in Heathrow - can take up to 45 mins for some switchs if I remember correctly - we learned this the hard way, nearly giving ourselves heartattacks rushing between terminals to catch a connection to Canada with a 1 year old - and no, they didn't give us a lift in a little cart even though they knew our flight from Dublin had been delayed.

Durable luggage that will be easy to use in airport - will you be wheeling dd around in a buggy? I used a large rucksack (could carry on my back leaving my hands free) on solo journey with my then 6 month old.

Ask for a seat near a bulkhead as they generally have more legroom & you can get up to bring her to the toilet more easily.

A few new little games/jigsaws/teddy/toys/books/colouring books & crayons for journey but only bring them out one-by-one as needed over the journey, pack her particular favourite item that may be asked for too.

Dress her in layers so that you can remove or add depending on cabin temperature & for arrival in S.A., I'm sure they will give you a blanket & pillow as it's a long flight but if she has a special blanket at home it might be a good idea to bring that.

Bring lots of little snacks & drinks on board for her to have during the flight as these will help break up the time a bit for her too. If she uses a soother or is still on bottles give her one for take-off as it stops their little ears popping. If not chewing on a snack should do the same.

Nappies, wipes (for sticky fingers as well as nappy change), some tissues/small cloth, spare change of clothes in case of accident.
What time do you arrive in S.A. - daytime? think of the sun & pack for her accordingly - hat, suncream etc.

Hope you both have a great time in the sun.

ntlbell

there was a woman across from us on the plane recently who used calpol to keep the child fairly quiet...I was impressed and very thankful

allgirlz

Dfens wrote: »

Durable luggage that will be easy to use in airport - will you be wheeling dd around in a buggy? I used a large rucksack (could carry on my back leaving my hands free) on solo journey with my then 6 month old.

Thanks for all that advice, great thinking about the rucksack will definately get one for the journey. Thanks again

leex

Portable dvd player can be handy if the child likes dvds.

lostinnappies

Lots of drinks for ear pressure regulations, lots of nappies (if she's still in them), colouring book, a cuddley toy and food to nibble on. After that, just the passports and tickets and OFF YOU GOOOOOOO:D

di11on

ntlbell wrote: »

there was a woman across from us on the plane recently who used calpol to keep the child fairly quiet...I was impressed and very thankful

While I understand it, I wouldn't expect parents to unnecessarily medicate their children for my comfort. Especially considering the link between paracetamol and childhood asthma.

Some tips:
- Tire her out before flight and hopefully she will sleep
- If you have a laptop or portable DVD player, this can buy you a lot of time
- Get aisle seats!

Best of luck!

K&Bross

Hi Allgirlz,

I am doing this exact same trip at the end of November with my 2 1/2 dd and 8 mth ds - on my own too. I have previously flown many times alone with my dd.

If you are flying via Heathrow then your main flight from London to SA is overnight and therefore your dd will hopefully sleep for a large portion of the journey. You didn't mention if she is getting her own seat or not - if so, then you'll have no problems, lift up the armrest and let her sleep on your lap. There is also no harm in giving her some calpol - if need be. My dd still has a soother and I found that a great help to try and get her to sleep for me. If you dd has a soother/blanket, etc. don't forget to bring that with you.

As a previous poster mentioned, make sure you take a lot of snacks/treats along with you. Makes the journey far more manageable. I have a small bag filled with 'goodies' for my dd to open whilst on the plane - just small toys to keep her amused for a few hours. I also plan on bring my portable dvd player and will recharge it in Heathrow. If you are flying with British Airways or Virgin, then you will have individual tv screens - with cartoon channels - another way to amuse her for a few hours. Make sure you order her a child meal as these are a bit nicer than the normal airline meals you get. I'm not sure about BA, but I know that Virgin also will give her an activity pack with 'goodies' to keep her occupied for a while (crayons, paper, stickers, etc).

Sorry if I have repeated what has already been said, just going over my own list of do's and don'ts for my trip. You'll be arriving in SA in the morning - let your dd have a nap when you get there and before you know it, you'll both be right as rain and enjoying the sunshine.

Enjoy.
xx

allgirlz

Great advice again thanks, I have a portable dvd player so will be bringing plenty of In the night garden and dora dvds. We are flying with virgin and she will have her own seat its too long to try and put the two of us into one chair. I will bring the calpol along but hopefully wont have to use it. I will call ahead about her meal too she is a great woman to eat so hopefully the food will be ok, we are flying premium economy not sure if that makes any major difference but the more room the better. Am so looking forward to it cannot believe we will be going so soon, I am running around all day today organising passports etc so that there will be no last minute panics, thanks again for all the great advice and good luck to you on your trip K&Bross hope it all goes well and you have a lovely break.

Dades

Dfens wrote: »

Ask for a seat near a bulkhead as they generally have more legroom & you can get up to bring her to the toilet more easily.

Make sure it's a seat behind the bulkhead. I went to SA in 2006 and ask for bulkhead seats, and our seats were in front of one which meant our seats did not recline at all - even though the people in front of us could. Imagine! (We kicked up enough fuss to get moved luckily).

On most long haul flights parents with kids are put facing bulkheads. Check with your airline to see if you can pay to reserve them early.