cfntmpn

I am flying my niece, my sis and dh to Disney while I am in CA for business. I will be flying out a week ahead so the 3 will be traveling together.

DH has flown all over the world - not a problem.

Sis is a basket case - afraid of everything - though I love her to death, she already has a prescription of xanax to get her through the flights.

Niece has never flown.

DH & I would love to truely surprise the niece. Sis (mom) thinks we should "prep" niece so niece doesn't freak out and get scared on the flight. They will be flying dtw-msp-lax, so they will have a big day in the great blue sky.

I would love some advice for those who have experiences with "first time" young fliers. Do you recommend any of the videos out there for little ones, do you think a true surprise would be too overwhelming?

Elainee

Bring your own dvd player with movies she likes. If she is a gameboy addict..bring that. In other words, take no chances..bring her favorite things. Also FOOD, just in case there is nothing to eat served by the plane. Just keep your sister from scaring her and she will be fine. Remind her that its a long day and don't kick the seat in front of her.

jtrandolph

At 7, and especially if she has a scardey-cat mother, I would definitely prep her, telling her as much as you can what it will be like, and how much fun it will be. She will probably sense's mom's nervousness and the more she knows about what to expect the easier it will be on her, FWIW.

cfntmpn

Oh believe me, the DVD player, CD player and all of the treats will be packed!

cfntmpn

I dont' know if it makes a difference, but I forget to mention that I have already taken "said niece" on a Ferry Boat across Lake Michigan, the South Shore from South Bend to Chicago, and she has dragged her luggage from the train station to our hotel in the middle of winter in Chicago - so she is somewhat of traveler in her own right.

J62

For a first time flier with a basket case mother, the worst part will be taxi and takeoff and DVD and CD players must be off and put away at that time.

You could have her bring a drawing pad and some colored pencils and have her draw interesting sights like other airplanes.

padams421

Niece will probably be fine, and doesn't need much prepping. However, she does need to carry on a small backpack with her favorite snacks (non-messy- no yogurt, etc), small toys (electronic toys such as a gameboy are great), paper and crayons, a book and perhaps a doll or favorite stuffed animal. My boys have also taken mini-ipods (shuffles?), decks of cards and puzzle books (mazes, dot-to-dots, etc.). We also have travel versions of chess and a couple other games. A portable DVD with a couple several movies would be fantastic.

padams421

Hit post too soon-

The reason to have a backpack with stuff for her is so she is entertained at the airports and in flight, and she's too busy to notice her mom freaking out. I hate to fly but my boys are so busy playing gameboy that I don't think they ever notice when I tightly grip the armrests during turbulence.

richbutnot

Make sure she knows the plane is going make funny noises and bump around a little bit and that it is all perfectly normal and nothing to be scared about. I agree with giving her her own backpack.

Barbara

I think the more you "prep" your niece, the more she'll think it's a huge deal and she'll get nervous. Start talking about noises and she won't even want to go. If it's treated as no big deal, she'll be fine. I agree with the backpack idea.Let her choose some things and put a few surprises in too.

gail

Even by age 7 kids have seen enough movies, etc with both inside and outside of planes, airports, that she will have a lot of info already.

Instead of prepping as such, I would talk of the adventure of it all - how exciting it is when the plane speeds down the runway, how you love seeing clouds from the windows, how much fun it is to kick the seat in front of you (sorry - only kidding about that but I couldn't resist).

travel_addict

Don't forget some gum to help with ears popping too.

Also, someone told me when I was younger that being on a plane during turbulence is like being on a bus on a bumpy dirt road. And I always remember that too!

Mary2Go

I agree with Gail and Barbara, kids these days are so sophisticated they would probably take a space shuttle flight in stride. My sons first flight was when they were eight and four and they were not phased a bit. I almost think the less said the better. Once you start talking about bumps etc, it gives too much food for thought especially if her Mom is phobic.

seasweetie

It's a great idea for your your niece to have her own backpack, but put surprises in your carry-ons as well, ones that she doesn't know anything about - she'll be wonderfully curious. Also, teach her the rules. I started flying with my daughter on my own when she was 9-months - now she's nine years and before we fly, I say, "Ok, what are the rules?" and she can recite them like a scholar: Always stay in your seat with your seat belt fastened; no kicking the seat in front of you; no fussing, screaming, or whining, and no asking 'when are we going to be there'." The rules, combined with colored pencils, sketch pads and a healthy imagination, have worked like a charm for years.

Oh, and my daughter still cracks up at the memory of both of us trying to fit into the restroom on the plane at the same time, back when I wouldn't let her go alone!

TheWeasel

Assuming they're sitting together: have the niece sit in the window seat so she can look outside. That will either be exciting and fun and distract her from any bumps/etc., or it will scare the living daylights out of her when she sees the ground falling away (or rushing up on landing). I don't know which, so use your judgment.

escargot

Years ago I was in similar situation. My sister hated to fly and would grip the armrests and if you knew her and looked at her face, you knew she was terrified, even with the 'relaxing pill' -

If yor sister has not taken xanax before, she should try whatever dosage the doctor gave her on any day she doesn't have to drive, etc and see if it calms her - they had to up my sisters dosage a bit b/c it wasn't enough.

But MOST importantly, we did not seat my niece next to her - put the husband next to her and have your sister sit in the aisle - that way she also won't have to look out the window.

Hubby will have to deal with being the one in the middle seat and give the niece the window seat and let her Dad talk to her about how much he loves flying and the two of them can look out the window during take off, etc and be all excited -and that way if there is a bump or somthing let him explain it is no big deal. -

Also consider giving her a disposable camera if she doesn't own one so she can take cool cloud photos for her journal - give her a cool journal from a local bookstore so she can write all about her trip, and paste in it w/ a glue stick her ticket stubs or memorabilia from disney, her plane ticket stub, etc - and leave room for her photos when they are developed.

I would vote against a big "prep talk" - that makes it seem to me there is something to worry about - kids tend to go with the flow.

I would also ask sister, as I used to say to mine,
(who we often even put in a row behind us so the kids wouldn't be affected by her frightened face)
to be careful talking about the plane prior to flight- if the kid overhears her worrying or making comments, she could make a nervous flier out of her kid before the kid even boards the plane, same for if hubby is the type who will keep asking wife 'is she okay?" -

If she doesn't want her kid to be a nervous about planes, she should put on a good face for the trip as best she can - and hopefully niece will take after her Dad instead on this one..

When I flew to LA last fall, I was next to a 6 yr old flying by himself, - he had all his goodies with him, DVD, gameboy, puzzle book, and some treats and he was fine. A few times when he looked nervous over some turbulence, I just started yakking with him and he seemed fine.

Good Luckk !

JeanH

Either I'm reading this wrong, or other people are. The people flying are the original poster's husband, sister and sister's daughter. Not the sister's husband?? Correct???

I also understood the original question as whether or not to even tell the niece they would be flying/going to Disney? I agree that lots of prep would be information overload. But, if she's a bit of a timid child, she may not like having it 'sprung' on her that she's about to spend a day flying around the country.
My oldest son didn't like new things, and would definitely have needed time to think this through. His first flight was when he was about eight, he was fine, but I never would have told him when we were getting ready to leave for the airport.

girlonthego

My kids love to fly. When we first started flying as a family, I was nervous. I never let on to my kids about any of this. I remember sitting next to my mother, the white knuckle flyer and I think it made me afraid. I now fly without any problems.
I would definitely not sit your neice next to her mom. I would put your husband in between or next to the child if it is a two seater. The mother will be on xanax anyway and would not be too good at taking care of a kid anyway. I would tell her the day before that she is going on a great adventure, an airplane and Disney!! How exciting. If she mentions anything about planes being scary because maybe mom said that in the past, you are going to have to tell her that it is very safe and that you travel all the time by plane. Talk more about the adventure and tell her they serve free soda on planes too!!
I have always encouraged travel to my kids and am glad they have no fears. Backpack is a great idea, so is a throw-away camera, dvd, and gameboy.

MFNYC

When my kids were little, whenever we flew, I would buy them some "surprises" for the plane ride. Little things like books, little games or puzzles, maybe some art or craft type thing that they could easily do a plane. I didn't give it to them until we were on the plane. If it's brand new it's that much more interesting to them. I also always brought some snacks. I also always had them pack their own little bag with a few things from home (cards, markers, etc).

amwosu

Nothing new to add here, just another vote for keeping niece away from her mom on the flight so she doesn't get the full extent of her mom's fear (although I'm sure living with her, the niece already knows how her mom is about other situations).

Once through security I'd have dh take niece to the newstand for a bottle of water, reading material, and snacks as a small distraction from her mom (nevermind that she'll already have some of that stuff in her backpack already).