US to UK with a 1 year old--Tips and Tricks?
 

I will be flying to UK in 3 weeks with my one year old. We bought him his own seat, and with any luck he may sit in it for at least 10 seconds.

Wondering if anyone out there has advice? Will it be 8 hours of torture for me and the others on the plane? What to do, and what not to do is appreciated. I have always been the one secretly hating anyone that traveled with kids, and now I am one of them.

Also, please don't slam me for posting this, I know it is somewhat out of scope, but I am desperate.

Thanks.

Are you flying at night? When my children were small, we fed them a light dinner at the airport and had them run around as much as possible. When you get on the plane settle him out of the way ... window seat, if possible to avoid jostling. I would get them in their PJs in the rest room and shut off the lights! Mine would sleep for most of the trip.

Good luck.

You may want to try benadryl or something like that but do a test run or two before the flight as some kids have the opposite effect.

I brought gifts, one for every hour at least. Just little things that mine could unwrap and play with (a new book, a mini magnadoodle,crayons and paper, clay, etc.) I also brought a bunch of extra presents just in case they got bored quick.

If ordering the child's meal on the plane, double check with the crew to make sure they do not include candy. On the last long haul flighht they brought my youngest her child's meal and it included 4 full size candy bars!

Make sure you not only bring extra clothes on board for your child (at least 2 changes) but also a change for you and whoever else you are traveling with.

Even with drinking a lot of water and milk on the flight both of mine never pee'd so don't freak if the same happens to you.

HTH
Cristina

We are stationed in the UK with our young son. The first time he made the flight with us from the UK-States, and back again, our son was 5 months old. Then we did it again when he was 1 year old. So I have some experience with your situation....

You say you bought him his own seat on the plane.....but you have not mentioned the car seat he will be sitting in, in the airplane seat you bought for him. You must make sure the car seat is AIRLINE CERTIFIED, or they won't let you bring it on board for use on the plane. There are car seats out there that are car certified, but not airline certified, so make sure you have the correct one to use on the airplane. Believe me, the airlines flying between the States and the UK do check this. We had to order our car seat online from the States, because we were very surprised to learn through our research and by visiting various retail stores, that many UK/European car seats are NOT airline certified, for some odd reason. I know for a fact that people from over here do fly abroad with their children, so I don't understand...

Another option might be to use the car seat-type thingie provided by the airline itself. Don't just assume it will be available - request it ahead of time.

As far as the suggestion to drug your child before you fly.... I know people who do this and swear by it, but I'm against it. I would not dream of giving my child Benadryl or any other drug unless he was actually sick, but it's up to you.

Now, one last thing....

As I said, the second time we flew between the UK and the States with our son, he was 1 year old. I realize all children have different temperaments, but just as an example:

At the time of the flight, our 1 year old had been walking for a couple of months. He was sooooo frustrated that we would not allow him to roam freely all over the plane. Our flight was absolutely packed, not an open seat anywhere, and of course, the stewards and stewardesses were going up and down the aisles with their food/beverage carts. We tried the surprise toys thing too, but that only worked for a while. Basically, our son wanted to run and climb. He was pretty quiet the whole flight, thank goodness, but he did have occasional flashes of temper in his frustration at having to stay in one place for a long period of time. He was also very tired because he had trouble sleeping, too. He slept like a log when we arrived at our destination, though!!!

Hope you and your son have a wonderful trip.

1. Have your son drink something (for the swallowing effect) during take off and landing to minimize pressure and pain in the ears.

2. Favorite books/stories might work well, at least for a short time.

3. If your airline has in seat tv screens, don't hesitate to use it as a babysitter for as long as it works!

4. Is a portable DVD player with a favorite movie or 2 out of the question?

5. Let your child walk up and down the isles (with you, of course)when there's no food/drink service.

6. Oftentimes, other passengers/flight attendants may try to entertain your child. Let them and enjoy the few minutes peace!

7. Bring lots of little people snacks.

8. You know your child's likes/dislikes best. If you do your best to occupy your child, you can ignore the nasty looks you may get if and when your child acts up! Have a great trip!

Thanks everyone. This is immensely helpful. Appreciate the advice.

Yes, I am flying at night. And I am hoping he sleeps, but am not optimistic?although he is a great sleeper he has never been one to snooze in strollers or car seats.

BrimhamRocks: I am shocked to hear about the car seat. I imagined that I could just bring the car seat we always use, but now I will make sure it is airline certified. Who knew? This is invaluable information, thank you, thank you for the inside information. You probably prevented a mini-disaster, as I know he will not sit in the regular airline seat.

Cristina?good info on the extra set of clothes for us as well. I would not have thought of that unless you suggested it, although it does make perfect sense. Also glad to know dehydration is common with kids on planes, so I won?t worry.

If anyone else has suggestions, please keep posting. I am sensitive to the fact that kids can be a pain on a long flight, and want to make my son and everyone around him happy. If I could buy drinks for the passengers that end up sitting next to us I would. . . too bad they are free already. . .

Irego: Sorry, I didn't see your post, but thank you as well. Question: will I get strange stares if I sing "The Wheels on the Bus", complete with hand motions, 17 times in a row? Ha ha. Lately, his favorite toys are all loud (Mozart Music Box) and inappropriate for the plane--but will bring Teddy and blankets with hopes of sleep.

Would love to do DVD, but son has not discovered the joys of movies yet, or sitting still.

SRC51102 - the fact that your kid doesn't watch movies yet probably means you're a good parent! And, re: The Wheels on the Bus... just remember that happy noises are always better than screeching noises!

We flew last year from NYC to Nice via Paris and then home from Rome with our then 1 year old. We kept him occupied by buying a few new toys and then breaking them out, en route. We also stashed a few of his favorite toys a few weeks before we left so that we he saw them, they would be "fresh". Boredom is your biggest enemy!

In terms of Benadryl, etc - BE CAREFUL. Some children become hyperactive and its hard to gauge. We tried that with success on the test at home (after consulting with his Dr.) However, en route this past April to the West Coast, it had the opposite effect and kept him awake the whole time.

If possible, try and get the bulk head seats. They have a bit of room in front of them and you might be able to set up a little play area. That kept our little happy for a few hours.

One other suggestion, you can easily buy most of the things you need for him there in terms of diapers, food, etc. We brought enough for a few days but we had no intention of bringing 18 days worth of diapers and food. In fact, I think our son actually liked the French baby food better than the one's from home.

Good luck and trust me, it's not that bad.

We fly to the UK often to visit family. For what it's worth, here is what I have learned:

Don't try to get the bulkhead if you are using a carseat; carseats normally do not fit in bulkhead rows because the armrests do not lift. If you are flying a US carrier you will be allowed to use your FAA certified carseat with no trouble, as long as you have not booked a "forbidden seat." In addition to the exit rows, carseats are also not allowed in the row immediately in front of an exit row. FAA rules require that the seat be placed either in the window position or in the exact center seat of the center section on a widebody. The FA's WILL enforce the rules on seat placement, regardless of what the reservation agent told you. If you have not already, call and tell the airline that you plan to use a carseat; they may have to re-assign your seats.

If you are flying a European carrier, don't be surprised if they do not allow you to take the seat on board. Be sure you have some cover to put over it if it is sent down to the hold. European-made carseats are made to be secured with a lap/shoulder belt, they are not considered safe if secured with a lap-belt only, so they are not certified for aircraft. If you cannot use the carseat, you will be given a seatbelt extension to use during takeoff and landing, when you will be asked to put your baby in your lap and secure him to your seatbelt with the extension. These "belly belts" are banned on US carriers as unsafe, but they are normally required by European carriers if the baby is too big for in-flight bassinets, but under 3 yrs. old. (Pointing out the illogic of that to the FA will not win you any friends; don't bother.)

Carry on 24 hrs worth of food/supplies for your child, to cover the possibility of delays; including 2 full outfits and one for yourself in case he throws up on you! (That should include large ziploc bags.) Don't count on him eating the airline food. Over-the-water flights will have milk available, and the FA's will rinse out bottles or sippies for you, but they won't thoroughly clean them, so bring extras, along with a little bottle of dishwashing liquid, so you can wash them in airports.

Give the child a drink on takeoff and landing, swallowing will help his ears. If he does start making a fuss, do quietly apologize to your fellow passengers, no matter how embarrassed you are; they will appreciate that you care that it is bothering them. Take quiet toys. Books are OK, but try to read them quietly. One of the best air-toys I found at that age was a deck of picture flash-cards, the sort that shows the picture with the word underneath. Babies like looking at these and flipping them, etc. Also great are the little Dorling-Kindersley board books that have lots of photos in them. Cheerios are endlessly entertaining.

Gate-check your stroller and make sure that it is properly tagged for gate delivery; you will need it to navigate through the airport. Take off the hood & all accessories and put them in your checked bags; less chance of breakage that way.

BTW, if your child is an applesauce junkie, bring a (plastic) jar with you in your luggage. It isn't a common food in the UK, and may be very hard to find. Also, British Cheerios taste different than the US variety, be warned.

OH, I almost forgot something VERY important. Make sure that you have him in an overnight diaper for the flight, even if he is awake. Sitting in one position for so long often causes regular diapers to leak.

What I remember from my first long trip with a one year old was that he took down and put up the folding table about 200 times. ;-)

I used to freeze a teething ring at that age, in case they need to chew. Put them in clothes that camouflage (every small child should have a dress outfit the color of tomato sauce.) Another stress saver was something called "Diaper Doublers." Don't know if Walgreen's stil carries them - they're a pad that goes inside the disposable diaper. Very convenient and much less bulky than diapers. Get a couple of lift-and-peek books and point-and-name books, and a couple of beanie baby size stuffed dolls. You can play all kinds of games with those! Run around the waiting area with him until the last possible minute. Even if he is breast-fed, have a bottle of dehydrated formula, just in case. Good luck!

I have a two year old and we are expats living in France, ever since my son was 6 months old. We have flown to the states and back several times, so I'd like to add to the advice.

1) Great that the flight is at night and that you bought a seat for your child. I have never had my son's carseat checked, but airlines and employee's vary so much on this. If they give you a hassle at check-in, take it to the gate anyway (tell them you will gate check it), the gate agents may let you on with it. If the gate attendent won't let you on with it, tell them you will gate check it, then, check with the actual flight attendant. If not, you can always gate check it. But, we have a Britax car seat, no one has ever asked or checked.

2) Request a bulkhead seat for your family. If you get at set of seats to one side, you will have enough room to physically sit on the floor and block your child in and he/she can play on the floor before (hopefully) going to bed. Once again, you may have to call several times with this request. Often they won't give you the bulkhead, it is usually reserved for handicapped and bassinett-needing people. Keep calling back until they assign you a bulkhead seat OR go ahead and request the bassinett (a small bassinett that will plug into the bulkhead for your baby to sleep in, your one year old might be too big for it, but maybe not). Don't feel guilty about potentially taking away a handicap seat. They will move your seat all the way up to the day of the flight if a handicap person needs it. If you can't ever get the bulkhead beforehand, request at check-in and then again, if necessary at the gate. This has been our saving grace on overseas flight.

3) Not sure if you need this, but most airlines will provide you with babyfood if you request it. They bring it out with the meals, regular jarred baby food. Most people don't know this. Also, since you bought a seat for your child, he/she is entitled to a regular meal. I've had attendants try to not give my son a meal because he was under 2!

4) My son loves to read and I've found that the small lift-a-flap books work great. I also hide toys a week beforehand, so they all seem new to the baby once we get on the flight.

5) I'm also leery of the benadryl. There is no way to know how the child will react to it in the air. It probably wouldn't cause a problem in most cases, but I would hate for it to make my son sick when we are stuck in a plane over the Atlantic with no way to get reliable medical help if need be.

Good luck with your trip!

Lots of good advice on this thread.

Someone mentioned they have a Britax seat...

We also have a US Britax car seat, which we use on all our flights. I say US, because we first looked at Britax car seats here in the UK. I had heard some great things about that name brand, and thought....ok...Britax...doesn't matter if it's US or UK, should be the same, right? Nope. The UK Britax car seats are not airline certified, but the US ones are. We even called the Britax manufacturer over here in the UK, and they confirmed that for us. Makes no sense to me, but oh well....LOL.

Definitely bring (as a carry-on) at least 24 hours' worth of food, diapers, and at least one extra change of clothes, as suggested. You never know if you might get delayed or stuck somewhere overnight.

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post:

We bought some "Who Loves Baby?" soft photo albums by a company called Sassy. We used our computer to print pics of family and friends, and made sure to print them in a size that fit into the sleeves. We just used regular printer paper, not the more expensive photo paper. The important thing was just to have the image. Our son looked at those things constantly, all through the flight, and we would talk about who they were, how much they loved him, etc. His face would light up, especially every time he saw pics of us holding him, or of his grandparents.

Even now, as his 2nd birthday approaches, we still print out current pics every few months, again just on plain paper, and he loves to look at and talk about the family he's only seen twice in his life.

Check with the airline carrier some have policys that reserve the bulk head seats and provide a mini crib/bed that attaches to the bulkhead wall so you child can lie down and sleep .

Thanks everyone. This is really great advice, and it made me think about a lot of things. I now feel more prepared, and plan to use several of these suggestions. Hopefully others flying with young ones can read this and benefit from your experience.

With luck, my son (and those unfortunate enough to have to sit next to us) will enjoy the flight. I guess the next step after this will be getting him used to the time change...??? Which I hear is not so bad. Luckily we will be there 4 weeks.

Thanks again!

As if I wasn't long-winded enough the first time round...

Re: jet lag. It has been my experience that babies tend to adjust at the rate of about 1 hr. per day. London is 6 hrs. ahead of where we live, so the tykes were back on schedule by the 7th day. Might be just our family, but my cousins find that to be about accurate when visiting us, as well. A good stroller will make all the difference, as jr. can sleep in it until his body catches up with the time change, but the adults can go about as they will.

RE: the Britax seat thing; I wondered that as well. I compared a cousin's Britax with my very similar US model, and there *is* a difference in terms of the way that the belt threads through the shell. Because of that, the UK govt. will not certify them for use with a lap-only belt. (Of course, no car made for the EU market has had lap-only belts for many years now, so I'm sure that there did not seem to be much point in that.) Lots of recent US-marketed autos still have lap-only belts in the center rear position, so US-made seats must be compatible with that. The US FAA publishes standards for using carseats in aircraft; the equivalent UK agency does not, or at least they didn't as of 2001. I know that because I was curious and wrote to them about it. They thought it was a very odd question, and said that they had no authority to try to set standards for a device that was designed for use in an automobile. Here is the website for the UK's Civil Aviation Authority: http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/default.asp?page=1344
If you'll note, they clearly say that it is up to the airline to decide whether or not a particular seat is acceptable. My personal experience with UK-based airlines is that they would let me use an infant seat, but consistently refused to allow my US-made, FAA-certified toddler seat on board. Worse than that, I found that I often had to argue with the UK gate agents of US-based carriers, in order to get the seat allowed onboard on the return flight. However, the rules are in their computer systems, so if you politely persist, they will look it up and concede that you do know what you are talking about.

Flying to the UK with a one-year-old child?? Are you bloody daft?? Leave the snapper at home. But, if you can't, bring a BIG BOTTLE of cough syrup and keep ladeling it down his throat. Like mother's milk.

I think there should be a pool taken up anytime there's a thread about children and traveling to see who can guess when the first "Leave them home" will pop up.
I would not have done too well because I would have expected one much sooner.

Sadly, Joelle, I must have my rose colored glasses on, because I didn't expect one at all.

I guess it takes all kinds to make the world spin around.

SRC51102, I hope your family has a wonderful trip. Perhaps when you get back home, you could post a follow -up and let us know how your little one (and you) dealt with the flights.

There have been some helpful tips...
I guess this answer is off topic but I am going to post since I experienced this working in the airline industry....
1) Do not forget the travel docs for your child! You would not believe how many people ASSUME it is not needed. Oddly enough there are adults that do not realize or think to get a Passport. I had a lady once call in because she was denied boarding. She was furious because they would not take her Drivers License as ID for an international flight...no kidding...
2) Make sure that you all have a seat assignment so that there are hopefully no surprises at the airport.
3) Child seats used on an airplane have to also be FAA certified..so whoever said that was indeed correct..
4) Bring extra little snacks,juice etc..you never know if they will run out of something..especially now with so many cutbacks.
5) Usually the children are better behaved than some of the adult passengers...so I would not worry about that aspect of the trip.
6) Kick back and try and relax so that you are not dragging when you get to your destination.....