First trip with a 2 year old

[YesterDark]

Well now I feel silly.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Yeah, I am going to have to disagree with that as well. A child car seat isn't keep your child any more safe in a plane. A car seat is designed to keep your child safe during a collision by protecting the neck from whiplash or compression and keep your child from slipping underneath a belt.

A plane's seat belt is meant to keep you in place during turbulence and landing. It's why they allow children under a certain age to sit on your lap.

Actually, every safety agency (including the NTSB, AAP, SafeKids, & the FAA) all strongly recommend using a child restraint on an airplane and pointedly state that it is the preferred and safest way for children to fly.

The reason you are allowed to have a lap child (children under the age of 2yo) is strictly financial. A family w/ a young baby may choose to drive instead of fly if they have to pay for a child's ticket and flying is safer than driving...even w/ a lap child, so they allow the lap children. It doesn't mean that a lap child is safe, just that they are statistically safER than if the family drove.

While air crashes aren't common, they can happen...but more likely is turbulence and the G-forces are usually far too strong for any parent to hold on to their child. While there has been a push to do away w/ the allowing of lap children, especially by one of the former FAs from the Sioux City crash in 1989, there has been no change and our carry ons and coffee pots are more secure on an airplane than our youngest passengers.

 

[cinderaimee]

A lot of great suggestions here already! Another option to bringing a carseat just for the plane (if you're relying on disney transportation) is a CARES harness, which uses the plane's seatbelt to create a 5 point harness. I brought one when my younger boy was 2 and the thing was a lifesaver keeping him in the seat. I skipped it on one flight and it was miserable trying to keep him buckled!

The other thing I would say is make sure you plan to give your 2 year old time out of the stroller. Find play ares or just space to run around. Mine hated the stroller by the end of the trip.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Actually, every safety agency (including the NTSB, AAP, SafeKids, & the FAA) all strongly recommend using a child restraint on an airplane and pointedly state that it is the preferred and safest way for children to fly.

The reason you are allowed to have a lap child (children under the age of 2yo) is strictly financial. A family w/ a young baby may choose to drive instead of fly if they have to pay for a child's ticket and flying is safer than driving...even w/ a lap child, so they allow the lap children. It doesn't mean that a lap child is safe, just that they are statistically safER than if the family drove.

While air crashes aren't common, they can happen...but more likely is turbulence and the G-forces are usually far too strong for any parent to hold on to their child. While there has been a push to do away w/ the allowing of lap children, especially by one of the former FAs from the Sioux City crash in 1989, there has been no change and our carry ons and coffee pots are more secure on an airplane than our youngest passengers.

Thank you for posting this. Child safety is so important. My son hasn’t flown yet, but I get eye rolls for having him rear facing in the car (2.5 years old).

 

[goofy289]

iPad for movies, Imagine Ink or Melissa and Doug Water Wow pads for the plane.

For the parks a stroller fan would be very helpful to keep her cool.

And fun snacks

I just bought a few of those Water Wow pads and she loved it! So those will definitely come on the plane with us! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[goofy289]

Car seat. This one gets controversial if you are staying onsite and won’t need it there, but it was much easier to keep her in her airplane seat when we had her car seat. She was used to her car seat meaning you can’t get up and move around. She airplane seatbelt gives too much wiggle room. We got a cheap Cosco brand airline approved one from Walmart just for travel because they are light and easy to get through the airport.

A toddler sized baby carrier. This is another one that can get eyerolls, but it is a life saver. They make specific toddler sized ones or you can get a standard Tula or Lillebaby that would work unless your 2 year old is especially heavy. You can’t bring your stroller in the lines. It is much easier to toss your 2 year old in a carrier on your back than to try to hold them or wrangle them in line. That changes a bit if your child is on the older side of 2, but we found our almost 3 year old wanted to be held in most lines last year. Save your arms, bring the carrier, but one meant for the size of your child. You will be miserable in one meant for a little baby. I’ve found 2 different carriers at resale/consignment places for under $60 each. Online swap pages are good for them too, and you can resell it after the trip. Bonus, if they are almost asleep and you put them in a front carry position, you can still get on any ride they can do except a horse on the carousel while they nap. Also putting her in the carrier put her at almost my height for the fireworks and I didn’t have to hold her.

Snacks in massive quantities. Easy snack containers to use that close so that birds/squirrels can’t get into them. Or just remember to put them away. We had one of those with the flaps on top where they reach their hand in, but they don’t spill. We came back to the stroller to find a squirrel helping himself. 3-4 sippy cups or straw cups or whatever they like because one will get lost and one will get dropped in the mud.

Cheap glow bracelets from Walmart or the dollar store. We buy them after a holiday when they go on sale because we don’t care what color they are. They are great for keeping them occupied before night shows and good for a tiny light that doesn’t bother anyone if they get nervous in a dark ride. We also put them on their ankles at night to make them easy to find if we let them loose a little bit to play in an area. We buy more than we can possibly use and share to spread the magic.

A rain cover for the stroller. Coming out of a show or attraction to find your stroller got soaked in a pop up Florida storm is not fun.

Some books and small toys for the hotel room. I usually bring new ones they’ve never seen or some I’ve hidden away for a while so they are “new”. This gives them something to do while you get ready in the morning or wind down for the night.

A white noise machine if they normally sleep with one.

Everything you would normally take for a day at the zoo.

I’ll probably come back with more later. If you google Disney World with toddlers there are some bloggers with posts that I found useful before our first trip with toddlers. Some of them are a little overboard, but reading several, I got lots of good ideas and figured out what was frivolous.

Thanks for the suggestion! I actually tried to put her in the carrier we have yesterday and although she thought it was really fun to ride on mommy’s back, she lasted about 5 minutes before wanting to get out. I ordered her some fun things from amazon the other day, so I think she will definitely be occupied on the plane now!

 

[icesk8abc]

Thanks for the suggestion! I actually tried to put her in the carrier we have yesterday and although she thought it was really fun to ride on mommy’s back, she lasted about 5 minutes before wanting to get out. I ordered her some fun things from amazon the other day, so I think she will definitely be occupied on the plane now!

At that age, mine didn’t ride in the carrier much at home, but in lines she did quite a bit. It also helped to leave my hands free when ordering/getting/carrying food. I could park the stroller and take her with me without having to hold her hand.

 

[Caseheidi]

I totally agree with bringing your own car seat on the plane if it is airline rated. I have heard airline pilots and flight attendants call lap babies “footballs” during turbulence. It really is safer to have kids in a car seat. But more for my comfort, your child is use to this, so less afraid of the changes. This is the same reason I brought our own stroller on the trip. It was something familiar in a place full of unfamiliar. My child is sensitive to environments, and was comforted to be in something she was familiar with. At @ 19months, she would pull down the cover and block out all the overstimulation of the park. It even helped her to nap in her stroller.

I would also suggest to pack your child’s outfits into ziplock bags, and always carry two with you. More then once we found a need to change her clothes, due to things like splash pads (a few of the parks have them) and ice cream. One memorable day we went through both backups and had to go find clothes to put on her. And the ziplock gives you something to put the wet clothes into while keeping everything else in your bag dry.

We also used a harness in the parks. It was a little stuffed animal on her back with a leash for us to hold. She loved being able to do some of the walking, and we didn’t have to worry about her getting lost in the crowd. Several times we were even stopped by other parents to ask where they could get one. Many people think it is terrible to leash your child, but really it was just a way to keep us together and let her have the freedom to walk.

I think the biggest thing here is just to know your own child. If they are sensitive, then familiar things will be helpful. If they are adventurous, then it might not matter. And for the parents, we found that we just followed our child’s cues, and slowed down. When we pushed to do more, it made things more stressful for all of us. When we took our time and let the little one explore, we had great days. It is by far a different trip when you slow down and see Disney through your child’s eyes.