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I was wondering if anyone could help me with some ideas to keep a 10 month old and an almost 3yr old occupied on an 8hr plane trip to Hong Kong??? Its a day trip so I cant see much sleep happening!! I am not into drugging my kids either....I am so stressed its going to be chasing kids up the and down the plane for 8 hours! haha. Has anyone done this with young kids??? :help:
I've done a long plane flight with a 18 month old & it wasn't very fun. BUT I think 3 years old is a better age too, will be easier to occupy and settle.... the younger one will be hard to keep organised. One thing is certain airlines have air host/ess focused on families & those travelling with young ones, so find out what they have available. Certain planes have individual video programs with childrens programming going constantly which can help. Activities like drawing etc are always good. I let Matilda have markers for the first time on the plane... she loved it. Snacks snacks & more snacks. And the occasional walk up & down the isle & hang out with the air hosts when they aren't serving is a great plan. I saw on some travel show recently air nannies... which go with some flights I think to Asia, but I'm not sure who or where.... sorry maybe someone else saw it?
Hi Mummabear
First of all good luck with it all and try not to stress about it (easier said then done!!). I have done heaps of flying with Gabriella including Perth to Hawaii when she was 18 mths old. And now with 2 we are regularly flying Karratha to Perth and vice versa.
Best thing I could recommend is a portable dvd player - best purchase we ever made! I think from memory LG brand had the longest battery life (around 3 hours of play) which is the one we got. That way you are not relying on the "inhouse" programs and you can bringa long some faves of your own. Can also play cds on it too so if the kids like singing it is great for that too.
Also suggest some new toys or books that the kids havent seen before. Gaby is a big reader so half a dozen books always keep her entertained as well as colouring books. Even a card game such as snap will while away the time. Make sure you also have their fave toy/bear to snuggle up to.
Lollypops are messy but take a while to eat and are good if all else fails bribery!
Ask to sit either in the bulkhead seat (more leg room but the tvs are usually in side of your seat as opposed to seat in front and therefore a bit fiddly) or the last row at back of plane before toilets. There is usually a bit of room at the back where the kids can walk a bit and not be running up and down the aisles.
Anyway good luck with it all and hope some of that helps!!:)
We did a 3 hour trip to Cairns last year when Glenn was just 1yr old & Evan just 3yr old. The flight there was awlful! It was a really late flight & my oh my were they tired & cranky! Mostly Evan. He was bord out of his brains & they stuck us right at the back. There reasoning for sitting us at the back was that it was closest to the baby change table. BUT we couldn't recline our seats one little bit as the seats were against the wall & I had no storage space above my seat as that spot was used for Airline staff stuff, so all of my needed items were a few seats down. When ever I needed something I had to get up. We constantly had people standing near us waiting to use the toilet. Glenn was still BF at the time & it was very difficult to keep him focused on his feed with people standing right there. I felt like I was constantly being looked at. Not that I cared about BFing in public but it has hard to keep Glenn on the boob. Once he did finnally fall asleep ( about 15 minutes before we landed!!) I was so uncomfortable because I was trying to keep him comfy but couldn't recline back what so ever. Evan did walk up & down the aisle a few times but everyone thought he was just the cutest thing so that was ok.
The flight back was a bit better, Other then being stuck right up the back again, the boys were easier to keep amused as in was an early monring flight so they were not as tired/cranky & could see out the window etc.
My only advise is DON'T DO LONG FLIGHTS ON JETSTAR/VIRGIN ETC if you can pay extra for a bigger plane!
The great outdoors flying with children the other day had some info on this stuff - liek what Christy was talking about.
They said take lots of small toys wrapped up, and give them at the rate of 1 an hour. Make sure they are cheap fun things cause you might want to leave them behind on the plane.
The airline that has the air-nanny was a middle eastern one I think - not Emirates, but something like that. So not much help for you I'm afraid.
Definitly get the bulkhead seat with the basinette. Regardless of whether the little one will sleep in it or not, its still somewhere to sit tehm for a few minutes while you eat your dinner or whatever. Book that seat now.
Book a kids meal - it will come out before yours so you can feed the kids before you need to eat.
Enlist the help of the stewards etc. Tell them the moment you get on the flight you would love as much help as they can give you. Ask them for tips on keeping the kids entertained.
I found my last flight to NZ with Jenna (I was by myself, she was 9m and borderline walking) was horrible. The staff were really unhelpful, I was stuck with all the businessy type people at the front of economy (so they were glaring at me when Jenna was screaming) and I kept getting told off. Jenna wasn't allowed to lie down across seats to sleep, she wasn't allowed to crawl in the isle, they gave me terrible mushy babyfood for her. It was a nightmare!
Finally, get into your head before you go, that no matter how your children behave, no other passenger has the right to make you feel guilty. You are enjoying the experience even less than they are, so they least they can do is lay off you.
You will get through it, and hopefully it wont be too bad :) And besides - there is a holiday at the other end!! YAYAYAYAYAY