I think you've just about covered everything there Sallybear .

Elaine

what about a fave blanket too?

Was just going to say a blanket!
And a drink.
Buggy is a good idea too
Fab for hanging the bags on

i usually find that a sleeping pill does the trick

A fully charged Gameboy Advance complete with a brand new game!

Chloroform, baseball bat, mallet or large hammer, these are the things my kids use on me during the flight!.

Ours are now 10, 14 & 17 and have been flying to Florida for 4 years, luckily never had a major problem apart from our middle one throwing up about 15 mins before landing at Newcastle on the way home!. He'd managed 3 weeks of flights, rollercoasters and stuff yourself stupid buffets without a flicker then 15 mins from home he decides to let it all go
Ours now take MP3 players (very cheap in Walmart!) so they've got about 40 hours of music to choose from, a couple of puzzle books and Charlotte stll takes 1 medium sized stuffed toy complete with it's own passport (which I'm stupid enough to make for her).

We usually wrap up a few small toys and hand them out during the flight. It seems to keep them occupied playing with what they've unwrapped and thinking of what is still to come.

Shouting and screamimg definately don't work, I save that for the wife!

Andy

Hi

What a great thread!

I think travelling with children is an experience in itself!

I have 3 children.10,8 & 3.

Every holiday they each have their own backpack.
About 2 weeks before we leave i start to buy things to put into each one, such as books,tapes/c.d's,stickers and small puzzles.Also,as mentioned before colour pencils and paper.
This year i have noticed that 'scooby doo's'(those plastic lace things that can be made into key chains!) have made a come back ,so i am taking a pack of those too!
I think the trick is not to let your children see what is in their bag until you are on the plane.
Of course you can ask them if there is anything they really want to take as well.
Also,don't forget to pack some things away in your case, to put in their bags for the return journey.
I personally go to charity shops for the books and small toys.With a good clean they are usually as good as new and don't end up another expense for your holiday travel!

I think the travel tablets are a good idea too.
Whenever we are to encounter a long journey,i always make sure all my family has taken one.So far i have had no travel sickness from anyone so i am either very lucky or they are doing their job!

I wish EVERYONE travelling with children the very best of luck!Its lovely to see their exciting faces as you begin the journey but very exhusting for all those trying to 'entertain' them.

Wishing you all, lovely stress free holidays!

Ahh keeping the bags contents secret, that sounds good, I love getting to the airport early but my girl is mad on cars and i always keep a tenner in change for the racing car machines, we spend hours on them and we read and watch planes, and have a laugh in all the shops trying on ties and perfumes, we always have to wach our wrists so we dont stink up the planes with perfumes haha

I'm going to take some little tubs of playdoh (from elc) on the plane for my 2 year old and lots of comics and stickers. For my son (8) hopefuly like someone suggested a game boy advance with new game will probably help.
For myself, I'll take a pack of diazapam, should do nicely!

play doh - great idea as our daughter (3) loves it. We always do the little goody bag idea. A pack of cards works a terat for my son (5) as he loves fish and the memory game.

We always try to choose early flights as getting them up early means they are always tired by the time they get on the plane after the early start and the excitement of the airport so have a sleep for part of the journey.

This will be our first long trip with them though so keeping them going and occupied for 9 hours is a different game.

yeah we are on an early flight and with the travel time to the airport...hmm let me see......will have to get up at about 4am haha :-)

she'll be excited but shes bound to fall asleep on the plane sure enough

To all who are worried about entertaining children on flights. here's my experiences. First time flying 8 yrs old, hand luggage small satchel A5 size with a couple of books in it and I can't remember what else, favourite teddy bear carried in my hand. One thing I do remember and bear in mind this was early 1985 is when we got to security I put satchel on the belt to be scanned but hung onto 'Snowy', very friendly security man asked me if 'teddy wanted to go for a ride' so 'Snowy' was put on the belt without 8 yr old getting upset. Next time I had just turned 10 and by this time had Personal stereo which I'd only been given a couple of weeks before. Can't remember what else. Then flew again in 1988, 1990 and then every year at february half term until 1993. Went to college and didn't get feb half term so we went to Portugal (mum and dad have timeshare) in october 1994. Then went back to Portugal in 2002 and then again in February this year. Flight time just under 3 hrs. Over last two years my husband and I have travelled between Northern Ireland and England, we live in NI and my parents live in England, to cut a long story short I came to NI on holiday in June 2002, got friendly with an local man, we stayed in touch, fell in love, I moved over here in January 2003 and we got married 24th April last year. If children are taking electronic gear remember it can't be used while seat belt signs are on and also some airlines are stricter than others on what can and can't be used. Strictest I've heard of on these forums is Aer Lingus who ban everything apart from Personal tape players, laptops and calculators. You can still buy personal tape players from Argos and most other places that sell electronic stuff. Also remeber toy guns must be in hold luggage and if they have the small miniature skateboards/bike things, the screwdriver has to go in the hold as well although if you read scissors on planes thread that maybe at discretion of staff on duty. Good toys are ones that don't have too many pieces so that they don't get lost if dropped. Card games good idea but if you get turbulance then seat belt signs go on and tables can't be used. Finger puppets would be good although this does depend on age of children. Books can be good as well. Puzzle books and I hope someone will know what I'm talking about on this one, the puzzles that are plastic and you start off with the full picture and then you slide the pieces around to jumble up the picture then you move them again to try to remake the picture, not only are these cheap to buy but also can keep child occupied and it can be put away and then got out later. I personally wouldn't take play dough as I'd be worried about mess unless I knew it'd come of table with baby wipes. We don't have any children so I'm going by what I've seen on planes and what I've read on these forums. Lonely planet has a good forums section and there is a forum for families with children. The address is http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com the section about travel with children is called 'kids to go' and there's also a forum on electronic gear as well called something like 'camera's, computers, phones and gadgets'. If you put then name of an electronic item eg CD player in the search box it'll give you a list of all relevant threads. people on there can sometimes be a little sarcastic (read between lines) but it's very friendly and it's used by people from around the world but from my experience mostly UK, Americans and Australians. Hope this has helped someone. I've travelled recently in recent years with Easyjet and BMIbaby.

How do people keep there kids from twisting and moaning for such a long time on a flight without wanting to throttle them?

I need advice on what sort of things I should take to make it less stressful for myself.
I will be taking the usual crayons and colouring books,which will keep her entertained for roughly 10 minutes.Also a few quiet toys and a million bags for sweets.But 10 hours is such a long time for an adult let alone a 2 year old,I`ve just ran out of idea`s.

Don't panic - it rarely as bad as you think its going to be !

Hi,

My Daugther was three when we went on our first long haul flight, we took the usual books,pencils snacks etc which kept her occupied for quite a while and she slept for about 6 hours which was an added bonus.

I used to stress myself out before as well but it is never as bad as you think it will be, you'll never stop them moaning or moving about either, I'm sure it gets worse the older they get. My Daugther is now 8 but I still spend weeks trying to find intersting things to keep her occupied, we're off to Thailand in April so I'm dreading the 12 hour flight.

Hazell,

What time is your flight and what airline are you using?

I don't have children and have never travelled with small kiddies, but I think I'm correct in assuming that most Airlines these days provide FREE on board 'Childrens Fun Packs'. There should also be a radio Channel dedicated to liitle ones, so perhaps she could listen in to that for a while. I'm sure the Flight Attendants will ensure that your little one is kept well occupied. Hopefully she will fall asleep for the best part of the flight?

I don't have kids either, but I am a traynee teacher, I work with disabled children, and we go on long coach journeys, this is what I do with them, and I'd suggest this with you...

Go to the pond shop, and get a load of cheap toys/party favours/sweets/drinks etc... and make a 'magic bag' mix them all up, and when she starts to get restless, tell her to close her eyes and pick something from the 'magic bag' they won't even be that heavy on your hand luggage, as the party favours are so small and light, and if you got the cheap dolls from poundland, the plastic is so thin that it weighs next to nothing... the newness will keep her amused for so long... the kids I look after have problems like ADHD/Autism/Downs and it works for them, it should work for you. For added fun, even consider wrapping the toys seperatly, it'd be like a mini xmas!

Please remember to let her have boiled sweets or lollipops for take off and landing to get a sucking action to stop the pressure in her ears, this will avoid earache.

Pack plenty of juice for the flight, and take regular walks and toilet trips.

So, my proposed packing list for you to take, feel free to add or deduct anything;

Magic bag, maybe £5 worth of cheap toys, party favours and sweets, remember, plenty of lollipops, there are sugar free ones now available in asda. Have a look in poundland, wilkinsons, home bargains, b&ms etc"¦ for the toys.

Calpol, just in case!

Her favourite teddy or comfort blanket.

Colouring books, let her pick her own before she goes.

Story books for both of you to read on the plane and beach, she'll feel like a big girl reading on the beach.

Obviously, there are quite a few additions, there should be films on the plane, there are a lot of kids films and everyone gets their own personal tv (I think it's the case for all or most tour operators)

I'm not sure if she's a bit young for this, but I do a 'magic timetable' for my special needs kids, where when we are starting on the journey, I take coloured pens, and paper, and tell them to draw different pictures of what we'll be doing, I then write the time of the event, draw a picture of the clock, what it will look like. Ie lunch at 1pm picture of food and the clock being 1 it works a treat for the kids who like to know whats happening all the time. I tick off the events as they pass.

When you get there, they're generally good with little kids, they'll probably see the struggle you're having with the little'un and bring you to the front of the queue.

Remember to bring some spare clothes with you in hand luggage as well, in case of accidents or spilt drinks.

There's probably no need for me to tell you this, and my field is completly different to your question, but maybe you could nick some ideas?

Good luck, and happy flying

dramaqueen