Tuesday, April 23, 2013

What kind of toys worked when flying with kids(less than a year old) on long flights ?

Q. I have a 10 month old, will be flying to Asia, I have purchased a seat for her but she does not enjoy being strapped in the car seat for long. I am contemplating checking in the car seat, at the same time wondering if the airlines provides you with necessary things to secure a child this young ? My first time flying with her so want to do every bit of research so make the journey comfortable for her and other fellow passengers. Please feel free to pass on any tips as well. Thanks.

A. We’ve only flown with a really young child once, and it wasn’t as long of a flight as you’ll be taking. My son was 13 months old, so a little older than your baby.

We checked the car seat and did not bring it on the plane. We’d flown with our daughter once when she was a toddler and used the car seat on the plane. It was awful--the seats are so close together that she literally had nowhere to put her feet. The man sitting in front of her insisted on reclining his seat, which made it worse. If she bumped his seat (which she could not help doing every time she moved), he turned around and glared at us. He even made a few comments about it, and when I tried to explain that it wasn’t the poor kid’s fault, he got very huffy. We decided to never try to bring a car seat on the plane again. I don’t know why the airlines suggest it, when they don’t even fit onto those stupid seats!

To keep my son occupied--we brought along a few quiet toys, some small books, and LOTS of snacks. It’s not a tactic I normally use, but to keep him happy on the plane I pulled out something new each time he got restless. His favorite activity was searching for Cheerios in a small box. I’d put a few Cheerios at a time into the little box, and he’d dig around for them. We also brought some of those Crayola Color Wonder markers and paper. The markers only write on the paper, so don’t make a mess. Your baby might be a bit young for something like that, but if she is starting to enjoy scribbling on paper, the markers might keep her busy for a while.

I’d suggest getting some small, inexpensive, quiet toys that your daughter has never seen before. They will be new to her and more interesting than her own toys. Pull them out one at a time, as needed, whenever she gets restless. She’ll probably also like playing with your keys or your cell phone--my kids always liked those things more than they liked their toys! Bring along some picture books that are new to her as well. The novelty of everything will keep her occupied for longer.

Also, it’s a good idea to have something on hand for your child to drink during take-off and landing so her ears don’t hurt. I don’t know what the current regulations are for bring things like juice boxes or bottles onto an airplane, but make sure you check that on the airline’s website before you leave.

Here are some websites with more tips for traveling with children:

http://www. flyingwithkids .com/ best_travel_tips .htm
http://www. flyingwithkids .com/ travel_tips .htm
http:// parenting.ivillage .com/mom/travel/0,,45jl, 00 .html
http://www. faa .gov/passengers/fly_children/
http://www. onestepahead .com/custserv/ shop_smarter_article .jsp?pageName=Flying_Tips

This article lists restricted items on planes. It does say that formula, milk, and juice for infants and toddlers ARE allowed. http://www. tsa .gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/ permitted-prohibited-items .shtm

Have a safe and happy trip!

ps you might want to pack some Advil or Tylenol for yourself. :)


How to help infants in the car?
Q. We are traveling 5 hours to upstate NY this weekend with a 3 year old and a 6 month old. The 3 year old is fine in the car, but the 6 month old screams the whole time. Does anyone have any suggestions as to help this? It is not car sickness or reflux, I think it is just boredom. Thanks a million for all of your help in advance.

A. My husband and I took a trip from MA to PA (6-7 hour trip) when my daughter was 10 months old. The best way we did it was to wake her up in the middle of the night (1:00am) start driving and let her fall back to sleep in the car. Then when she woke up at 6:00 we only had an hour or two left. We stopped and had breakfast, changed her and let her play for 20-30 minutes. When we got back in the car we only had 1 hour left and she was great.

We brought books and toys and don't forget the pacifier (bring a few so when he/she throws it you have more). Plus you have an added bonus, the 3 year old can sing songs and show pictures and toys to him/her. Teach the 3 year old to make faces to make the baby smile and sing baby songs. Give him a reward for helping you! Good Luck!


What car seat(s) work best in these two vehicles?
Q. I have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee and my boyfriend is in the process of getting a late 2000's Ford Focus. Any suggestions on a car seat (infant &/or convertible) that fits well in both of these vehicles and functions easily but also safely?

A. Well, if the Ford Focus is a 4 door then from what it looks like it should have plenty of room for a convertible. The Graco My-Ride is one I'd try, you might need to put it in the middle of the backseat between the front seats to get it to lay back but it should be fine. I've actually heard a lot of good things about the Radian XTSL and that it seems taller but because it's actually shorter in the base it fits some cars better. The Grand Cherokee shouldn't give you any sort of trouble, so much room in that one in the backseat that I remember.

I did find this site, and they say that the Graco My-Ride doesn't fit well in their Ford Explorer. But what I'd do there is take the car to Babies R Us or a Toys R Us and try their 'model' in your car to see if it'll fit. You have to make sure it reclines fully for a newborn though. But that gives you the freedom to try them out. People list several of the Britax fitting.

Keep in mind you want to be able to keep them rear-facing at least to 2 years and 30lbs according to the AAP's more recent recommendation (though 4 years is the safest.) So a convertible may be wiser if you want to spend less money in the long run. I remember doing a comparison and since the Radian lasts 8 years it's basically the only seat you'd buy (no infant, convertible, then booster seats, just the one) and it starts to be close to the same price as if you went with having to replace them as the baby grows and goes from 5lbs up. Second link is the importance of keeping them rearfacing.

I was able to keep a Britax Decathlon and Graco My-Ride rearfacing in my old Dodge Reliant which had a very small backseat by putting them in the middle between the front seats until my daughter didn't need the recline as badly. The My-Ride was a bit harder to get to recline better without being between the two though, so I would look at the Britax line at Toys or Babies R Us and see if that will work. You sort of nest it between the front seats.

Add: Fourth link, I found this person complaining that safewise the Ford Focus has the hardest time fitting car seats safety wise, so you'll want to make sure you try it out before buying the seat. Of course they're talking European car seats, so maybe that will make a difference, but it's something I'd be warned about. Fifth link is from someone else asking a similar question and the Radian being recommended because of it's thinner width making it fit 3 to the backseat better (which to me again would make it easier to nest between the two front seats so that it reclines fully, but if your focus has a sort of lump in the middle back seat that might not even be a good place to put the car seat. :(0

Last link, promise. It's the carseatdata car seat search engine. Maybe that will help as well. It's not updated though and doesn't have some of the newer car seats (like the Graco My-Ride, Radian XTSL, or the Britax 70 line) but it should give you an idea of how it will fit and where. Looks like most folks haven't had problems putting them in the middle.





Powered by Yahoo! Answers

No comments:

Post a Comment