I want to start this by saying that we have
an excellent 2 year for long haul travel. I think 2 year olds can be grouped
into the “movers” and the “talkers” and although Bea likes to move, she doesn’t
fall into that category of being unstoppable. What can I say, we are lucky.
I remember at some point googling “how to
travel with a 2 year old”. Let me tell you, there is lots of information out
there. Some really good tips. And I know
some of you reading this have probably done more long haul plane trips than I
have.
However, everyone has different ideas, and
some ideas will work for some little ones and others it won’t. Here are some of
the ones that work for us.
- Always bring food. Bea seems to eat twice as much on a plane as what she normally would eat. Maybe because she has nothing better to do. I try to pack quite a few of her favourites, as well as a few bonus treats that she wouldn’t normally get. A Vegemite sandwich, cream cheese and crackers, a muesli bar, banana, and some dried or fresh fruit.
- For take off and landing I always have 2 drink options on standby. This is something I have always done since we first flew with Bea when she was 4 months. I always have some water and some milk. When things are going bad in the ear situation I like to be able to mix it up in the drink department and offer her a few different things. So far (fingers crossed) it has worked.
- Entertainment. Be prepared. I always try to make a trip to a 2 dollar shop of equivalent to buy something new for each big trip. Something that you can bring out just when your food arrives and you want to occupy them. It doesn’t have to be big, a new book, a small figurine, a new set of crayons. Someone else I know makes play dough. I have even read about some people wrapping old and new toys for the plane just to buy an extra few minutes of time occupied. A good idea. Here is a previous plane present that was a lot of fun, and here is one that we got given.
- Books. Bea loves to read so we also pack about 5 small, paperback books. We have recently come across the mini Dora books which have been fantastic for travel purposes.
- Extra clothing. I have never thought of Bea as being a good enough sleeper that I could get her changed into PJ's on a flight, give her nighttime ritual and she would fall asleep. This is the reason why I have never bothered with pajamas. However, I do always make sure I have a spare set of clothes, warm socks, and I bring a pashmina. If you haven't discovered Lamington socks before, given them a go, they are fantastic. Pashminas or scarves are great for all manners of things, a pillow, warmth, something to pad out the hard bits on a seat. The last flight we did I strung it up over the top of the seats to block out the cabin lights.
- Headphones. A few plane trips ago, maybe when Bea was about 18 months, we purchased a pair of kids headphones for the flight. The plane ones never work, and we figured we had enough travel ahead of us to justify the purchase. The first few times she hated it, but now she loves them. She even wears them at home now with her music.
- Extra wipes. Planes involve more mess, more spills, more crumbs than usual. Or maybe it is just that the mess is concentrated in one spot. Regardless I always seem to use a lot more wipes on a flight than usual.
- A flexible attitude. Go with the flow, take a deep breath and try to relax. I try to think of the flight from Bea’s perspective. She sees it as an opportunity to have one on one time with her parent without them running off to do something and with lots of exciting games and TV shows in front of her. It’s exciting, far too exciting to sleep. Try to let them enjoy it.
What are your favourite travel ideas? Please share if you have some other good ideas or tips, we have a few long flights and minivan trips ahead of us!
Melinda xx
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