Travel with 2 Yr Old

Hi!

When I flew with my two year old to Wales we brought lollipops for the ears! The little dum dum ones worked well. The best thing we had on the plane was the dvd player and even while we were there because she could hang out and watch one of her shows in the morning just like at home. I brought playdoh as well, they sell the little containers of it which are easier for packing. I always found that my daughter rose to the occasion when I was nervous about traveling with her.

Safe travels!

Looks like today is about air travel!

Take some favored toys, and a new one for when things get rough. My son loved colouring and playing with stickers at that age, with plenty of supervision.

For the ear issues:

Bring lots of snacks and his sippy cup. You can get water and juice from the flight attendent and put it in his sippy. He can drink this during the end of the landing (and take off)process. For takeoff, you can buy water/juice after you pass security. I know this is more expensive, but it is a resource.

Also, having a "yawning contest" with him during landing if the drinking and snacking do not help.

Cuping his ears can also help. You can pack some dixie cups and each of you can cup your ears and sing a song or make up a story.

My son was 17 months on our last flight. We used his pacifier and drinking from his sippy. We bought a seat so he was in his car seat. We also fed him snacks like little oranges, or other less messy foods.

Make sure you have his bed pals. Blanket, stuffed animal etc. The hardest part was getting to and off the plane with all his stuff.

Check with the airline and see if you can gate check things etc.

It can be anything him/her to suck on, candy(sugar free or not), a sucker, instead of gum to pop his ears during air pressure change take off and more importantly landing.

You got lots of good advice! Yes, it's the swallowing part (sippy cup, lollipop) that makes it effective in keeping the pressure from building in the ears. As far as tips, we used to get a few new items for each of the boys and keep it from them till we got on the plane. Can be a little car, legos, whatever your child likes. Just make sure not to give to them until the flight, so it will be new and hold their interest. Not sure on the play doh, I thought I remember reading that it was being taken away @ security points, similar to liquids. You may check ahead of time @ the resort for special activities for children. And don't forget to pack his favorite blanket or animal. Have a wonderful time!

Earplanes!! Look at Walgreens or even at the airport (where they are of course more expensive! :-) ) They are little rubber "screws" that you put in your kid's ears and they help equalize pressure. My son could NOT travel without them. Or if you have headphone-earbuds that actually fit inside of his ears, that will help also. The Earplanes are in the section with ear and eye drops and they make them for kids.
Take some snacks- they have snacks there but food may be "different" even if it is the same manufacturer. For all three of our kids, their very first trips were to the Presidente Hotel in Cozumel- two of them were 15 months and one was 9 months on their first trips- we had a blast and continued taking them back every year until the Hurricane wiped the hotel away! (Now that it has been rebuilt, rooms are so expensive we can't afford to go!!)
And don't fret too much about ears unless he already has major ear problems. My oldest cannot clear his ears but the other two have never had problems flying- and it was the third one that had chronic ear infections.
Have fun!!!

have him eat gummi bears or have him suck on a lolli pop....if you don't make a big deal about the flight, neither will he...just tell him that you are going on a trip and that you are going to fly on an airplane and let him know how excited you are....he will naturally share your enthusiasm.

You've gotten some great answers here! My husband and I travel alot for business and have always taken our son with us. Lollipops work the best for us but make sure you save the wrapper as they don't usually finish and you'll want somewhere to put it. We also have a fold up car play mat and we bring that with airplanes and cars. And of course we are never without at least one stuffed animal! To make him more comfortable at the hotel, I bring a pillowcase and small blanket. Before he used a pillow, I would bring a few baby blankets to put on the hotel sheet. Makes it seem more like home.

Hopefully you bought him a seat & can take your car seat with you. We flew last summer and our daughter flew in her car seat. It kept her contained in a familiar spot. The few minutes she wasn't buckled in wore me out with all her wiggling. We had a strap that used the LATCH system from the seat to strap it to the rolling luggage to make a "stroller". That was great. Does he eat fruit snacks? They might help, or just drinking from a bottle, sippy cup or using a pacifier. Give yourself plenty of time and take a deep breath. If you get anxious, he'll get anxious. Enjoy your trip!

I have flown with both of my girls when they were younger. The best thing I have found was a water bottle with a sports top. This gave is the new novel feeling so they would drink even if not that thirsty (which helped if they were not thirsty during landing or taking off). Portable DVD, crayons (not many) and a color book, small toys and such carried both of mine through the flight. If you relax and enjoy it your 2yo will probably too. I hope your flight goes well.

We use cheerios. Our daughter flew at 9 mos and again at 19 mos. Both times we gave her cheerios to chew on and she seemed ok. No pulling at the ears. As for entertainment, that is a difficult one.

I also suggest sippy cup for the landing and take off for the ears. I use this with both my kids, 17 months and 3 1/2 and they have no problems and we travel quite frequently. Little toy surprises are great(i go to the dollar store and get cheap stuff) and some familiar toys or books. Lots of snacks is really helpful, doesn't have to be unhealthy, but it was nice to have some of their favorites-goldfish, nutri-grain bars, whatever your child likes to snack on. Favorite blanket or stuffed animal for the plane and the resort helped our youngest feel more comfortable sleeping in the plane and hotel. Depending on the airline, like Jetblue, they have tv's at every seat so that is really great because they can watch whatever they want.