Give me your baby/toddler airplane horror stories

[Jarmo]

On Sunday, we take our not-very-good-at-sitting-still toddler on a 3 hour plane ride to MCO. I'm preparing for a couple tantrums, and I'd like to be able to tell myself "it could be worse".

So, what's the worst small human meltdown you've seen on a plane?

Edit: I meant to post this in the family section, but this is a strangely fitting mistake

 

[bumbershoot]

You should try Rescue Remedy. It's a flower essence and it used to just be in health food stores, but is now all over. We started using it for our cat on July 4th, then when we saw how brilliantly that worked (a drop in her water = no freaking out) we started using it. We called it the "bicker stopper" for me and DH, and it really helped DS as a toddler, as well. We still use it. Awesome awesome stuff, and it's small enough that it goes right into the 311 baggie. I highly recommend it.

If the child is under 2 I hope you bought him/her a seat (looks like a girl in the picture, but you didn't say either way) and if so, use a carseat. They are terrific for helping the child know "this is the time that we SIT".

For ear issues if she's (just going with the picture) big enough, EarPlanes in the kid size might help, though it's hard to convince a bitty kid to keep them in their ears for the long amount of time they need to be in ears to actually help (for a 3 hour flight we would just have DS keep them in the whole time). We have ingredient issues so I can specifically recommend the Trader Joe's organic, cane sugar, natural colors lollipops to help with takeoff and landing.


We sat near two 1.5 year olds on our recent flight. One was in a carseat and one was a lapbaby. The lap baby was ALL over the place. Mom had lots of patience; most around us did not (including me). Her daughter behaved in the exact way my son wanted to behave on a plane at that age, but she let the girl, and I didn't let my boy. It was VERY annoying to have the constant up and down. The carseat kid had one screechy moment that was finally solved when mom stopped it with the solid foods and the bottle, and just nursed him. That's all he wanted, and all the way up to that hunger moment and then once she went along with his need, he was awesome. (carseat-kid for the win!) The lap baby kid was in a constant state of irritation; in the seat she wanted down, down she wanted in the seat, etc. Too much freedom IMO. Even my 11 year old (the former 17 month old lap baby who caused my arms to ache for days following our 4 hour flight) was annoyed with her.

 

[Jarmo]

She was 10 months old in the profile picture, now 22 months. No seat on the way there, but she does have her own seat on the way home, so at least our struggles will be cut in half!

 

[elaine amj]

My last flight home, a baby cried and cried and cried. I usually tune babies out but this one bothered my napping (don't worry - I never get annoyed at the parents - I've been there!) so I eventually dug out a tiny bottle of bubbles I keep in my purse and handed it to the dad with the kid. He was so confused ROFL! The wife told him "it's bubbles (dummy)". Finally he figured out how to blow a few bubbles and the baby quit crying.

Since ours was not a nonstop flight, we had to get on yet another plane. on this one, two sets of tiny tykes were fussing at the back of the plane. I strolled back with my magic bottle of bubbles and gently blew a few after asking the moms for permission. It helped with one, not with the other. Still, it was well worth it and the flight attendant loved it - said she would add one to her work bag

When mine were little, we did long, long flights so I had an extensive bag of tricks. Bubbles were my favorite. A couple of small bubbles blown gently works great at distracting a fussing child and stays fairly contained. While my kids are well past this stage, I haven't completely gotten out of the habit of keeping bubbles in my purse. Helped on my last trip to Disneyland too when there were a couple of tiny kids behind me who were fed up of waiting in line

As for my own horror stories, nothing was worse than the time I took my 3 yr old DD and almost 2 yr old DS on a super long 30hr flight across the world. If they were happy, they were squealing, if they were unhappy, they were screaming. NEITHER was a good option! I will admit to resorting to candy a couple of times.

 

[minimemom]

Mine is of a different nature, but still applicable

My son was three weeks old the first time I flew solo with him. 15 minutes into the flight, my stomach began to churn.

I took a few steps and threw up on about five rows of passengers. I spent the entire flight puking, while a random stranger watched my three week old.

Since then, I have flown over 100,000 miles with my kids and they generally do very well (although it is the MOST stressful time of my life). I think people see you trying and are very forgiving.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

On our last flight to MCO there was a mother in the row behind us with 2 toddlers. And the whole way there she kept telling them to sit down in their seat and stop doing that - whatever that was, we don't know. If it weren't for her yelling at them, the flight would have been fine. I think she would have been better off to use a "care harness" on them to keep them in their seats.

 

[pooch]

I strongly recommend car seat. Not sure why you'll have one on the way back but not the way down. I took my DGS (the cutie in the blue bathing suit!) who was 2 at the time. Hopped right in and fell asleep 10 minutes into the trip. I think routine is key here. Little kids are used to sitting in car seats in a vehicle. Plane should be no different.

 

[beckydisneyb]

My last flight home, a baby cried and cried and cried. I usually tune babies out but this one bothered my napping (don't worry - I never get annoyed at the parents - I've been there!) so I eventually dug out a tiny bottle of bubbles I keep in my purse and handed it to the dad with the kid. He was so confused ROFL! The wife told him "it's bubbles (dummy)". Finally he figured out how to blow a few bubbles and the baby quit crying.

Since ours was not a nonstop flight, we had to get on yet another plane. on this one, two sets of tiny tykes were fussing at the back of the plane. I strolled back with my magic bottle of bubbles and gently blew a few after asking the moms for permission. It helped with one, not with the other. Still, it was well worth it and the flight attendant loved it - said she would add one to her work bag

When mine were little, we did long, long flights so I had an extensive bag of tricks. Bubbles were my favorite. A couple of small bubbles blown gently works great at distracting a fussing child and stays fairly contained. While my kids are well past this stage, I haven't completely gotten out of the habit of keeping bubbles in my purse. Helped on my last trip to Disneyland too when there were a couple of tiny kids behind me who were fed up of waiting in line

As for my own horror stories, nothing was worse than the time I took my 3 yr old DD and almost 2 yr old DS on a super long 30hr flight across the world. If they were happy, they were squealing, if they were unhappy, they were screaming. NEITHER was a good option! I will admit to resorting to candy a couple of times.

What an awesome idea!

 

[Jarmo]

Bubbles are her favorite food. We will definitely try to bring some to keep her occupied!

 

[canadiandisneymommy]

It was awful the first time I took my then 2.5 year old on a flight from Detroit to Orlando. On the way there,the flight coincided with his regular nap time so he slept almost the entire way. On the way back, our flight was delayed by several hours and we didn't get on the plane until 10 pm. He was cranky and tired and cried and refused to stay seat belted. He literally crawled underneath the seat in front of him and refused to leave and fell asleep there for a little bit before waking up and crying again. I was so embarrassed and at my wits end. Nothing I did could console him and there is only so much you can do in that situation. Now I take an ipad with me and he's been fine on planes.

 

[diznymom]

No melt downs, but. I was on a non-stop flight from DFW to California. The tot in front of me got sick. I'll take meltdowns any day over the odor of sick. Luckily one of the stewardesses (with the mom's permission) dumped a package of coffee over the tyke. And not a moment too soon. The coffee took all the odors away.

 

[winterman]

When we went to WDW in April, DGS (2 months short of 3 years old) had his own seat and was in his car seat. He was great. Took a nap on 2 of the fights. DD was well prepared with movies to watch and snacks to eat. I think the key is the car seat. It was a pain to carry, especially between connections, but well worth it.

 

[mischief32]

We have a DD 9 now but she has been flying for years. Last September on the way back from MCO a baby did #2 in their just at take off and the plane smelled the whole way back. It was only a 1h 45m flight direct but we all remember that smell. It gets stuck in your nose for hours. Not the parents fault.

 

[nkereina]

One time there was a 3 or 4 year old sitting behind me and he kept putting his feet on the seat. He wasn't pushing on the seat, but I could feel it in my lower back. The father never even noticed. I think being aware of surroundings and attempting to stop potentially disruptive behavior will be noticed by fellow passengers and they'll appreciate that. Good luck!

 

[Gracie09]

My last flight home, a baby cried and cried and cried. I usually tune babies out but this one bothered my napping (don't worry - I never get annoyed at the parents - I've been there!) so I eventually dug out a tiny bottle of bubbles I keep in my purse and handed it to the dad with the kid. He was so confused ROFL! The wife told him "it's bubbles (dummy)". Finally he figured out how to blow a few bubbles and the baby quit crying.

Since ours was not a nonstop flight, we had to get on yet another plane. on this one, two sets of tiny tykes were fussing at the back of the plane. I strolled back with my magic bottle of bubbles and gently blew a few after asking the moms for permission. It helped with one, not with the other. Still, it was well worth it and the flight attendant loved it - said she would add one to her work bag

When mine were little, we did long, long flights so I had an extensive bag of tricks. Bubbles were my favorite. A couple of small bubbles blown gently works great at distracting a fussing child and stays fairly contained. While my kids are well past this stage, I haven't completely gotten out of the habit of keeping bubbles in my purse. Helped on my last trip to Disneyland too when there were a couple of tiny kids behind me who were fed up of waiting in line

As for my own horror stories, nothing was worse than the time I took my 3 yr old DD and almost 2 yr old DS on a super long 30hr flight across the world. If they were happy, they were squealing, if they were unhappy, they were screaming. NEITHER was a good option! I will admit to resorting to candy a couple of times.

Just a word of caution - not everyone loves bubbles. They leave a residue on glasses and ipads etc when they pop. They can cause other kids to suddenly want to play with them which may cause them to start acting up. The original child may want to now chase the bubbles. They are also liquid so have to be in a 311 bag. I would opt of a different distraction method in confined area.

 

[Magical JenK]

On Sunday, we take our not-very-good-at-sitting-still toddler on a 3 hour plane ride to MCO. I'm preparing for a couple tantrums, and I'd like to be able to tell myself "it could be worse".

Ummm...where are you flying out of on Sunday...and what time? Thanks for the heads up!

Kidding. I'm sure she will do great!

 

[BostonJP]

I've been very fortunate that my kids have been mostly well-behaved on plane rides. Mostly. When my middle child was only 8 months old we spent a week in Cancun, and the TA booked us on a charter flight. The direct flight there was awesome, he slept the whole flight. The flight back was one of the most aggravating air experiences of my life, though - at a layover in Punta Cana it was discovered that the agency overbooked the flight by dozens of people.

They wouldn't let us leave the plane so we sat there for over three hours while the poor charter crew had to fix the USA travel agency's mess from the Dominican Republic. My 8 month old had already napped in the first leg of the flight, and it didn't help that we were stuck in a tin can. By the time we finally got back in the air he was very antsy and restless, but it's a blessing that he kept his crying to a minimum.

On a side note the flight crew was incredible in dealing with the passengers, and the pilot even let my sons sit in the cockpit while still on the ground.

 

[PatMcDuck]

One flight, I was alone and was sitting in the middle of a large extended family. With a lap baby. The child was very fussy so they decided to keep passing him around, to see if that would help, I guess. Over seats, like row 14 to row 16, with me being in row 15, for example. I personally thought he would do better with one person, soothing him, and rocking, speaking quietly, vs complete chaos, aka baby hot potato.

Best would have been him in a car seat, with his own seat, so he could relax and maybe even sleep.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I have 2 horror stories with my own kids. My oldest was under 1 and I was flying by myself from IND to PHX. He got sick on the plane (he was about 5 months or so and a lap baby). So he got sick all over himself. I got up and changed him into the extra set of clothes, put icky ones in a sealed back and sat down. Well a bit later it happens again, but he gets sick all over both of us. Of course mom had no change of clothes, thankfully I did have another one for him. I got him changed and the wonderful America West flight attendant gave me a sweater she had to put on. I wanted to know how to get it back to her after I had it cleaned, but she wasn't worried about it.

The second is flying with a 18 month old and 6 week old by myself. My oldest was wonderful, sat in his car seat and played and slept. My 6 week old had been fine and then he screamed for over half that flight. Nothing I could do would stop him from crying. Bottle, pacifier, changing diaper, etc. He was miserable (this was mid-flight also not on take-off or landing). Turns out he had colic. I had two grandmother type ladies who came up to me at baggage claim as I was in tears talking to my mom about it. They said they understood and I had done all I could. Of course on the way back I had the same crying baby, I had upgraded to first class so we had room.

I guess I am tolerant of crying kids. What I don't like is the noisy toys that people have that repeat the same thing over and over and over. I also will get upset if your child kicks my seat. If there is a lap child next to me that parent and child need to stay in their space, not mine. We flew once and it was funny as we always purchase aisle seats. This was a couple years ago and my youngest was 16 or so. He went to get in his seat, but there was a man in it. It was right behind me and I said that the man was in my son's seat and he needed to move, turns out he was in the middle seat, in the window seat was a lady and her lap child who had to be close to the limit on the lap child age (close to 2). I know why he didn't want to sit in the middle!

Good luck!

 

[dancin Disney style]

I started flying with my kids when they were both around 4 months. I always had my kids in their car seats and never once had a problem. My very first flight with an infant was 10 hours and my DD was so quiet that when we got up to deplane the man behind me was shocked and asked his wife if she knew there was a baby in the seat ahead of her....she did not.

Over the years I've seen a lot of bad situations with small kids. The worst was an 18 hour flight that the mom got on with NOTHING for the lap baby. When I say nothing....I mean nothing. No food, toys or diapers. That kids had a serious set of lungs, he screamed for 3 hours straight.

Last year I had the worst personal experience with the little angel in the seat behind me. I had the pleasure of being kicked constantly for well over an hour until I couldn't take it any more. I then got up and asked the mom as politely as I could if she could stop her child from kicking my seat. She turned to the girl, 4-5yo, and said "Are you kicking the seat?" Child said nothing and mother said nothing. The kicking then started right back up again. I took it for another 20 minutes and then asked my DH to trade seats with me as I couldn't take any more.