Advice for flying with baby

[canman]

Pay for a seat for the toddler. Your lap/legs will thank you, and the bit of extra room is nice.

The first time I flew with my son he was about 13 months. By that time he had been on several long car trips, with minimal stops, so he was accustomed to sitting in one place for long periods.

We treated the airplane just like being in the car, you stay buckled in for the duration. Granted our flight was only around two hours, but even on longer flights you can use the 'always in a carseat rule' to your advantage and keep the wandering around to a minimum.

A bottle or sippee-cup of water or juice is helpful for the ascent and descent, as others have noted. A few snacks and a limited number of toys (quiet toys, thank you) and books will. help pass the time.

Change diapers in a timely manner, for the comfort of your child and your fellow passengers.

I am a frequent flyer and see plenty of young children on flights. I am also a father and grandfather and thus understand that children can be difficult at times. I am usually reasonably tolerant of children as I find most of my experienced fellow travelers to be. I have helped 'babysit' more than once, talking or reading to a young child..I do not mind that.

What I have little tolerance for is bad parents. It is not cute to let your children run around, be loud, kick the seat, climb around on people, etc etc.

In general children that are well-socialized travel well.

Spot on! A good parent should not have any issues flying with a child of 15 months. I have 3 sons and a grand daughter and have flown with them several times as infants.

At 15 months I doubt that a bassinet will be an option and you really do not want your child in your lap for a long haul so a seperate seat is a must. A few here saying don't fly with a baby and on a certain level I can sympathise; we have all been on a flight with a screaming brat whose parents seem to not have any control over.

I'm not talking about crying because of ear pain on decent, that is understandable and people should have empathy with that, it's the spoiled brats who cry for hours on end for no reason that drive people nuts.

Make sure you have a full bottle to give your child as soon as the plane starts its decent, this can help alot in clearing the ears. Some toys and an Ipad with some favourite cartoons is a good idea. Try to keep the bub awake as long as possible before the flight and you may want to consider an antihistime to help keep the sinuses clear and also help with sleep. the air in a plane is extremely dry so a moisturizer is a good idea to help stop skin from drying out. On a long flight kids are going to get restless, no getting around it so maximising sleep and something to keep them busy when awake is the way to go.

[mgjackson69]

Very selfish to fly with a baby IMO.

I flew with my son twice while he was young enough to be considered a baby.

He was quiet, did not get out of his seat, did not kick the seat in front of him. The only people that seemed to know he was there were the flight attendants, as he was ”flirting” with them and earning Dad free drinks

I am not sure how I was being selfish...

[TheyCallmeScooter]

it's the spoiled brats who cry for hours on end for no reason that drive people nuts.

Children cry because they're unhappy and in pain. They have a reason. They're not crying for fun. Good grief, they're not dependent women.

[IMA_FARANG]

Not to be rude, but the one thing I wish all parents with young children (infants) knew is that infants do not have the instinct to naturally swallow when the pressure builds up in their ears and sinuses during takeoffs and landings.

Learning to swallow to relieve pressure in their ears and sinuses is a learned response.

By the 2nd year most children have learned this and have learned the swallow response.

This is why young infants often begin crying when the plane takes off or lands..... the pressure in the ears and sinuses causes pain for them. (caused by the change in cabin air pressure with altitude changes)

The solution is simple.

Just place the infant over your shoulder and gently pat them on the back until they burp, which will equalize the pressure in their sinus and ear cavities.

But be aware, if they have just eaten or nursed, you may get a little "return" of whatever they just had to eat.

Normally, ,once the pressure is equalized they stop crying very soon.

Your fellow passengers on the aircraft will probably be happier also.

Just so you know, I'm a grandfather, and I've been there before.

[mgjackson69]

Getting the baby to burp might work as well, I have no reason to disbelieve you.

Getting the wee one to suck on a bottle, sippee cup, or pacifier seems like it would have a higher percentage of success than coaxing a burp out of them.

[draftvader]

Carry the baby in your lap, book early enough to get bulkhead seat with a mounting for bassinette.

You'll have to hold the baby takeoff & landing and can place "it" in the the bassinette during the flight.

The bassinette has a weight/age limit. When we last flew it was 1 year or 10kg (whichever came first). You might get a bulk-head but only if there are no families with smaller children. The last time we flew we flew to LHR via Moscow. Our flight from BKK-Moscow was bulkhead, side 2 seat configuration and the check-in staff (who were besotted with our little chatty girl) left an empty set behind us. Moscow - LHR was full but we were bulkhead. Coming back we had an old crone check us in at LHR at 6:30am who obviously felt that I had jilted her at the alter in another lifetime and shoved us half-way down the plane to Moscow. From Moscow to BKK she'd weaved her magic again and we were mid 4. We were lucky that the girl to my left was a kindergarten teacher, the man to my wife's right had 4 of his own and the staff onboard took pity and let us have a bassinette for our girl (1.5 years and 9kg at the time). The flight, however, was pure hell for all of us. Not much to be done bar take our little girl to the toilet every 30 minutes as that was "exciting" for her and kept her quiet.

Pack favourite toys. If you don't get bulkhead take it in turns to get up and walk about with your little one then in turns to get up and walk about whilst your little one sits in the empty seat. Most of all DON'T BE SHY about claiming and empty seat near yours before the "bong" of the "bing bong" seatbelt light off sound. You'll be grateful....so will everybody else!

[irishken]

Yet another topic on advice for flying with a baby gets hijacked by the undesirable fathers of the world with the usual nonsense.

Not all flights are the same and circumstances can trigger a change in a baby's mood very fast which can turn the flight from good to bad very fast. Last time i flew the captain did not turn off the seat belt light for 3 hours so i could not use the bassinet and i had flown on the 9 pm flight to coincide with my daughters sleep pattern. It made the journey harder than it should of been but i managed ok.

Also not all baby's are the same so what works for one probably wont work for another, just try your best and keep your cool if they get upset. The larger planes are great cos they have a couple of galleys to walk around to and try pass some time

[otocheater]

Fly with BA is the best...if you check in early you will get a good seat for baby. Or another is EVA also comfortable...

:-)

[55Jay]

Yet another topic on advice for flying with a baby gets hijacked by the undesirable fathers of the world with the usual nonsense.

Not all flights are the same and circumstances can trigger a change in a baby's mood very fast which can turn the flight from good to bad very fast. Last time i flew the captain did not turn off the seat belt light for 3 hours so i could not use the bassinet and i had flown on the 9 pm flight to coincide with my daughters sleep pattern. It made the journey harder than it should of been but i managed ok.

Also not all baby's are the same so what works for one probably wont work for another, just try your best and keep your cool if they get upset. The larger planes are great cos they have a couple of galleys to walk around to and try pass some time

Those who prefer not to be near screaming children whilst trapped in a pipe at 38,000 ft., does not make them undesirable fathers, or any other negative term you can dream up in an attempt to denigrate them.

It makes them normal human beings because that situation is NOT normal, it is NOT desirable and most often, it is NOT something even parents with 2 brain cells between them, will ever try to make somebody else feel guilty for.

Having children only changes your perspective. It does nothing for the rest of us.

Thank you for your consideration.

(Signed),

The Rest of the World.

[irishken]

Yet another topic on advice for flying with a baby gets hijacked by the undesirable fathers of the world with the usual nonsense.

Not all flights are the same and circumstances can trigger a change in a baby's mood very fast which can turn the flight from good to bad very fast. Last time i flew the captain did not turn off the seat belt light for 3 hours so i could not use the bassinet and i had flown on the 9 pm flight to coincide with my daughters sleep pattern. It made the journey harder than it should of been but i managed ok.

Also not all baby's are the same so what works for one probably wont work for another, just try your best and keep your cool if they get upset. The larger planes are great cos they have a couple of galleys to walk around to and try pass some time

Those who prefer not to be near screaming children whilst trapped in a pipe at 38,000 ft., does not make them undesirable fathers, or any other negative term you can dream up in an attempt to denigrate them.

It makes them normal human beings because that situation is NOT normal, it is NOT desirable and most often, it is NOT something even parents with 2 brain cells between them, will ever try to make somebody else feel guilty for.

Having children only changes your perspective. It does nothing for the rest of us.

Thank you for your consideration.

(Signed),

The Rest of the World.

The way you go on its like this is a new situation.It is normal. Kids have been flying for years and will continue to do, so get a boat next time if you wish or would you rather people with kids had no holidays, no trips home from working abroad or visits to see old or dying parents just so you are happy.

I never want anyone to feel sorry for me when i'm flying with kids. My kids, my responsibilities

Maybe if you have kids one day your perspective will change and i'm sure it will

[55Jay]

Yet another topic on advice for flying with a baby gets hijacked by the undesirable fathers of the world with the usual nonsense.

Not all flights are the same and circumstances can trigger a change in a baby's mood very fast which can turn the flight from good to bad very fast. Last time i flew the captain did not turn off the seat belt light for 3 hours so i could not use the bassinet and i had flown on the 9 pm flight to coincide with my daughters sleep pattern. It made the journey harder than it should of been but i managed ok.

Also not all baby's are the same so what works for one probably wont work for another, just try your best and keep your cool if they get upset. The larger planes are great cos they have a couple of galleys to walk around to and try pass some time

Those who prefer not to be near screaming children whilst trapped in a pipe at 38,000 ft., does not make them undesirable fathers, or any other negative term you can dream up in an attempt to denigrate them.

It makes them normal human beings because that situation is NOT normal, it is NOT desirable and most often, it is NOT something even parents with 2 brain cells between them, will ever try to make somebody else feel guilty for.

Having children only changes your perspective. It does nothing for the rest of us.

Thank you for your consideration.

(Signed),

The Rest of the World.

The way you go on its like this is a new situation.It is normal. Kids have been flying for years and will continue to do, so get a boat next time if you wish or would you rather people with kids had no holidays, no trips home from working abroad or visits to see old or dying parents just so you are happy.

I never want anyone to feel sorry for me when i'm flying with kids. My kids, my responsibilities

Maybe if you have kids one day your perspective will change and i'm sure it will

You, your kid, and your perspective, can take a boat. And leave the rest of us in peace.

Don't get me wrong. I love kids. At sea level.

[Thongkorn]

Just had the fantastic experience of sitting next to a couple from Dubi, There rug rat never stopped winging once, 6 hours of a spoilt brat whining. All ,it need was a good slap , Sorry but bad parenting is always blamed on the child, If and when i return i will insist i am moved if it happens again , after years of flying this was the first and last time i will put up with it. sorry But thats how i feel

[girluk77]

Great to see so many people have read my initial post, responding with irrelevant comments!

Sent from my C5303 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[arunsakda]

Everyone was a baby once, I myself flew PanAm across the pond even before I exited Mums tummy!

Some make noise, some are little lambs. There is nothing such as a child free zone

but If you want more space and quiet book Business Class. Callous Brutes.

[wprime]

Fly economy, nobody in business/first wants to hear your baby.

[55Jay]

Fly economy, nobody in business/first wants to hear your baby.

How bizarre! Mr. Nobody just sent me a text saying the very same thing about Economy.