Traveling Overseas with a 20Mth Old ( HELP)

Hello,
S. I have experience this with my son at the same age we drove from California to Alabama to visit family before we flying to Japan!! We had a DVD Player and got all of his favorite cartoons and movies. And all his favorite snacks. My whole family we flew from California to Japan with my son pretty much slept and he fussy a little not much but only because they got seat mix up and my Husband wasn't sitting with us. On the plane ride they show movies to he should enjoy that Good Luck S.!!

T. in Japan!!

S., take a dvd player & don't worry about what the other passengers think! There will be other kids on the flight who have issues, it'll be ok :) Take crayons & coloring books & reading books, & little cars. Walk him around from time to time and just relax. Bastian will do fine!

me and my family got stationed in germany 2 years ago, and when we came my daughter was 18 months and she did great! They played movies and I brought her a coloring book and few small toys but to be honest she sleep for the most part.

Hi , we have traveled so many times with the little ones . I almost think we have it down to a art,lol.... just make sure you have something for the little one to suck on . it will help with the ears big time . and all I did was hold my little one the whole time . Mommies are nice and comfy to the babies . And believe it or not most traveling people know that if they see a child they know its not your fault if they scream on the whole trip. lol... mine did it once . i thought i was in hell at the time ...What we do is , if my husband is with us , then he gets all the other kids(the older ones) and I get the baby. He does all the ticketing and checking in bags . the bigger kids(4 at the time) thought it was fun to help daddy...lol... so that way I could handle the littlest one .... Now the bags, lol all i did was pack snacks for the kids and us , some coloring stuff , and little toys for the other kids . and i took in my back pack all baby things ....we had just very few carry ons so that way it was easier to walk from plane to plane ...The most important thing is to try to just keep calm. its hard to do , but you can do it . and who cares what others think.. Have a nice trip and enjoy your trip...
D.

My son was 2 1/2 and my daughter was 7mos when we moved here in Germany. We were stationed in NY then flew to Hawaii for a 2month vacation then from Hawaii flew to Germany...crazy long flight, LOL. We survived our journey by sched. our flights at night when the kids are ready for sleep. And also make sure you bring lots of activities for your son like coloring books, i would recommend the crayola color wonders. books, some of his toycars and i even brought playdoh. Oh one more thing, make sure you bring some snacks that he likes. Dont stress out so much, you'll be fine. Good luck on your trip!! ;)

We flew from Germany (Frankfurt) to BWI when my daughter was 17 months old. We took her favorite books, stuffed animals, enough snacks to feed an army (which was handy since they didn't have a meal for her even though her ticket was paid for) and a portable DVD player and a binky. We did have her car seat to help keep her contained. I let her walk up and down the aisles when she needed to get some energy out. With the exception of 1 passenger who glared at me...and I glared right back at him....everyone was wonderful. In fact, they were happy to chat with her, play peek-a-boo, etc etc. Overall, everything went really well. Don't forget extra clothes for the inevitable accident :-)
good luck!

S.

Sarah,

I am a mom with two active boys age 4 1/2 and 2. We have made the very long PCS and home leave trips from the states to Korea (14 hours) and Manila, Philippines (23 hours door to door). My advice - pack your patience! I found that if I was relaxed my boys were relaxed. Try to fly if possible duirng thier down times. I preferred to fly at times that were closer to their sleeping times. Also pack thier favorite foods- I found neither of my boys will eat airline food - and i can;t blame them. Give yourself plenty of time at the airport - if you get through security early find an empty section of the airport for the kids to run and play. Encourage as much activity as possible prior to getting on the plane. Many international airports have kids play areas which are a wonderful. Pack new small toys that you can unveil as the going get rough. Make friends with the flight attendants - they can be a true help. Pack extra diapers and food - you never know when you might be delayed. Dress your children in disposable clothes (ie older things that if they get dirty you can just throw away). I also reccomend getting a small like 2oz spray bottle - you can fill it with water and spray your childs face b/c the air is so dry. I also found that favorite toys, books and comfort items are indispensible. I have done this trip a number of times solo with my children and have found that it is never as bad as I thought it might be. Good luck! And don;t forget to register your child for thier own airline rewards cards - my 4 year old has silver status on two airlines.

I took my son when he was 18months. We took a backpack of supplies. Note book to scribble in, portable DVD player w/ a few favs, a few favorite stories, & any games he might have enjoyed at the time. He was a binky baby so of course that helped with take off & landing. Ask your doctor about Dramamine or anything That might be safe to help you baby sleep if he does have issues. Also & MP3 player with any song that he likes may help as well. Of course the sleep aid is a last resort. My son's doctor actually recommended it, we didn't end up using it. He played peek-a-boo with the people around us most of the 8 hour flight. I hope this helps, PCSing is always a challenge I know. Our last PCS was me on a plane with our 4 children alone, my husband had to leave early. As far as the drive goes same thing, plus lots of stops. The more stops you plan the easier the trip.

Hello S.!!! We traveled from italy to the states last summer my daughter was 23 months old and actually urned 2 while we were there. We few into Va then flew to Jacksonville the next day then drove up to Georgia 4 days later. We spent 11 days in Georgia and then drove to Louisiana and flew back home to italy 10 days after that. the flight can be a little crazy and then the airport time.the best advice i can give you about other passengers inblock them out. i know it is hard but your child will be just as frustrated with the long trip as you are. and if other people don't uunderstand that your child is out of his element alo then that is their problem. Another thing is I bring snacks and lots of toys I find the travel magnadoodle works wonders. I would get up every now and then and let her walk around so that she wouldn't feel so confined. she was over all very good. i hope this helps Ciao Ciao

I am a stay at home with an 8yo, 6yo, and a 12mo old. We have traveled more times than I can count. First I can say is patience. Than try to plan traveling condusive with naps that way it helps cut down a little on crankiness. I have also learned that traveling with a portable dvd player is such a God-sent idea. It helps keep them occupied at least for small intervals. My other "ideas" are pack snacks, let them pack a bag of their favorite toys, (and possibly ones you can "bribe" them with....-I thought I never would and now I do.) And with flying I pack "special flying gum" (it is the only time they are allowed to have gum-and I tell them this.) but it helps when their pop on the plane. I give it to them when we take off and when we land. I hope this helps....but these few things help with me and the transitions in traveling. Again hope it helps and good luck with your move.

Hi S.,

I am a military wife also (my husband is in the Marine Corps)and we are currently living overseas in Istanbul, Turkey. I am a stay-at-home Mommy of a 19 month old who keeps me on my feet all day! Believe me, I had the same concerns you did about traveling! We traveled with my son, 18 months old at the time, to the States for the holidays. This was a long trip of at least 15 hours with all the layover time in between flights. My son is a normal rambuncious 1 1/2 year old that doesn't really want to sit still for any amount of time. My husband and I made sure that we had evening flights so that there was more of a chance of him sleeping. We also flew Lufthansa because their customer service by far exceeds any other airline right now and they are VERY accomodating. They gave me a bassinet that attaches to the wall in front of me to lay my son in during flight. When booking your ticket you have to let them know you are traveling with a toddler and request that special front row. It helped so much! He slept most of the flight. All children are different, but I'm sure you'll be fine. I had no idea what to expect and for us everything was fine. Yes, there will be the occasional cry for freedom, but that's when you calmly walk up and down the aisles for a few minutes with him. Good Luck!

Hello S., I have flown from Germany to Alaska many times with two littles all by my self and there is no guarentte on anything working, things that helped thou
bring his favorate toys
buy a few special new toys that day in the airport or on the way just for the flight
bring his favorate food and snacks and plenty of it he may or may not want it and you may end up wearing some of it cause of the lack of space
he will want to run around let him in the airport as much as possible plus when you are on the plane once the flight attendence have gone thru with the food and snacks let him walk up and down the lanes, don't stess if he gets fussy he will sense this and get more fussy if other passengers want to help LET THEM it gives you a break and gives him a new face. since he is to young for gum for the take off and decend I game mine a big sucker to suck on during this time frame to help with the ear popping or even his sippy cup/bottle will help. i got advice about giving my kids certain forms of over then counter meds before a flight to help incourage them to sleep on the flight, well sometimes it they seem to just make them more cranky and sometimes they seem to help i found that that just having a happy normal tired baby from running around and playing then holding them (if they like to cuddle) worked the best
try to get an extra seat if you can so he can lay down and sleep when that wasn't possible i would ask for a couple extra blankets and make a bed on the floor below my feet on my kids seats so which ever one was sleeping could down there and if they both managed to sleep at the same time the other could sleep on the two seats. Also remember you won't be the only mommy on the flight with a little on, there will always be the ones that are perfect angels and the ones that seem that today is there day to show their horns. Good luck

Hey S.,
My husband and I recently traveled to Germany (Wiesbaden) with our 3 year old from the states. Let me tell you I know how hard it is to travel with a toddler! We just recently got here to Germany (Dec 17th, 2007) and we are still in the process of settling in. During our 10 hour trip here on the plane it was pretty easy to keep her occupied with the personal T.V's they had onboard the flight. They have cartoons and kids movies that are very helpful. Other times we chose to give her personal toys that fit in her travel bag (and we let her pick those toys out before the flight). Also as a tip remember to pack snacks for him during the flights because they only served us dinner and breakfast but they did not have any snacks for us on the flight. We also traveled from North Carolina to Ohio and we bought the travel DVD player so that our daughter could watch DVD's such as Blues Clues or Dora during the car ride. The travel DVD player attaches to the back of the front seat and costs about $99 at Target in the states. Hope this helps.
A.

Hello
We recently PCS'd with my daughter who was almost 3 to Japan from San Diego. The flight actually wasn't as bad as I had feared. (1) We bought the longest battery DVD player we could find. Even if she will not always wear the headphones, just watching pictures of any familiar or non-familiar videos can help for a while. (2) I also bought a leapster L-max and introduced it and the games on the flight. There is a coloring game intrinsic to the component and other games like Thomas the tank engine, Dora, Nemo etc. Even if the games are ahead of him, just pushing the buttons and making the screens change etc can buy a few hours (and several quite restaurant evenings after your trip). (3) Finally there are some pocket board magnetic sets out there that he can make different designs on and the pieces are not likely to end up four rows behind you. Frankly the flight was the easy part. The week of adjusting to a new time zone that wasn't even in the same ballpark as San Diego's was the hard part. I now get a laugh out of people who only fly from the west to the east coast and complain. Finally I would also recommend a change of clothes for him and potentially you. It's amazing what comes up/out on a flight.

I think you found it easier then when you came over and he was 8 months old. But I suggest you pack snacks you know he likes just in case he does not like the plane food and pack some toys of course not to noise toys. He probably surprise you how well he does on the plane. If possible pack a DVD player so you can play movies he likes. Get up out of your sits from time to time and let him walk around. Good Luck to you and a safe trip back to the states.

I recently just flew to Texas from Germany and then back to Germany for Christmas with my daughter, she is 23 months old. She did a lot better than I ever imagined she would do! With the help of a PORTABLE DVD player and her coloring books and crayons, she was occupied most of the time. Of course each child is going to be different about what keeps them stimulated. The dvd player really did come in handy, because even though they had personal movies in the back of each seat when we flew, they didn't always keep my daughter's attention. She really loves her Shrek movies and her Backyardigans. So I just made sure the dvd player was juiced up and had back up batteries and we were good. Along with having snacks too! Because you never know what they are going to serve and if your child will like what they serve. Back up snacks and juice is always good. Make sure and get up and walk with your child, just like us they need to get up and stretch their legs. I'm sure you'll do a lot better than you think you will. :)) Good luck!

I wish I could help you out. We'll be in the same boat as you all in a few months. I have heard mothers give their children some kids benedryl to help them sleep. Give them something to drink to help pop their ears. I used to be a flight attendant and I used to tell the kids that were in elementary school to breathe like a fish. Do the fish lips and have him move his jaw up and down, to make the jaw pop. This should help pop their ears if they are not sick! Plus it's a fun little game that will help keep their minds off of the sore little ears. Hope that helps!

Toys, Books, DVD player

Oh biy do I feel your stress level here! I have a 26 months old that is PDD-Nos and he cannot sit for more than 20 minutes without moving. NAd if you try to keep him in his seat he throws the mother of all fits! We are also going to PCS in March of 09 from Italy and we will have to catch two flights once we get back to the states in order to end up where we need to go. The one thing that I know will help is if we can get an evening flight out of Pisa, then I will give him some benadryl a little befoer the filght and since he is still young he will sleep thorugh the whole overseas flight. I am hoping that we can let him expand some energy before we hop on the next flight. But you never know with Sato and how they will book your flights. Best of luck to you

We traveled from VA to Germany with 12 month old twins. Before that we drove from VA to Texas with them and then back.
Take a portable DVD player and a couple of favorite DVDs. Our girls liked Baby Einstein back then, but are into Dora, Blues Clues and others now.
Also buy a couple of small interesting toys and do not let him have them until the plane ride or unless traveling in the car - they are special travel toys. A small baggie of his favorite snacks will also come in handy. Try to take an overnight flight so that he can sleep and consider giving him some Benadryl if all else fails. I have friends who swear by this.

I know the feeling. When we flew from RI to Okinawa,Japan, my son was 5 and my daughter was 16 months. my son did very well he had room on the floor to play between the seats when he got antsy. and my daughter did much better then i thought she would. She actully slept almost the whole way. but like everyone says, make sure you have some of thier fav snacks. and some new/favorite toys for them. i found both my kids like those magnet writing boards (doodle pro) you can get them in all sizes. younger and older kids love these and no coloring on seats/clothes. Sippy cups are the best for the take off/landing. DO NOT PUT anything carbinated in the sippy cup!! juice/water are the best thing for the plane, milk not so much, plus if they get air sick, milk is very messy to try to clean up. And about the noise, there will be more families than you think on that plane and the longest part of the trip will mostly be military. and the plane is very loud anyway so don't worry about the noise. Like one other mom said try to relax and make it look fun/exciting for them. Keep high sprites so they will stay excited. Have fun and good luck on your move/trip. God bless

Hi S., I suggest that you have alot of small, quiet toys that will keep him occupied, along with crayons and a coloring book. Having books that you can read quietly to him will be good also. Having his favorite healthy snacks readily available is also a good idea. Hey you can only prepare as best as you can, but total quiet is not reality. He's a little kid and the other passengers will live through a little noise. My husband is an MP also, so I know the life. Stay encouraged you'll get through this just fine. May God's blessings go before you and your family and make your pathway smooth. Have fun in my home state! Oh, and eat some Krispy Kreme doughnuts for me!

Best advice I can give is to let him have his 'special' bag with new toys and books and colors and stuff. Let him pick out the cary-on and then fill it with surprizes for him to have on the flight. Only give him one at a time on the plane or else he'll get overwhelmed and run out of toys before the flights over. And as always keep confort items close to hand. I went from Japan to the states and then to germany with my 18mo old and she did fine. Good luck.

I flew to Korea with 20 month old and my 5 year old. This was a year ago. It really was not too bad. My advice is pack snacks that you know he likes and a few toys. I bought some new ones that they had never seen, but I knew they would like. That way they are still fun while they are new. Try not to over pack. Also, this is easier said than done, try to relax. The children were not as bad as I thought. Do not forget gum or a sippy cup (which you will have to fill as soon as you get on the plane) these help with ears popping. I hope this helps, let me know if you have anymore questions. We have flown a few times lately.

Hello S.. I will be doing the same thing in about 5mo. My daughter will be 22mo and we will be PCsing from Japan. Thanks for asking the question. I think these lady's know what they are talking about.