Hello

We would like to travel down to Aruba with our 2 year old, I'm not sure how she will do on the plane. We love Aruba and want to share the wonderful experience with her.
Do you need a carseat on the plane? She is very tall(as tall as a 4yr old). We are from Chicago so we would fly to Miami and Miami to Aruba. She is full of energy and I'm afraid she will not like flying. We have a mini dvd player that we can bring with us also anything we could give her to calm her during the flight. I would like to hear from other parents about their traveling experience w/ a toddler. I want to make the trip a wonderful one. Thanks in advance for any suggestions

kam

Talk to doctor about a sleeping aid, keep her up so she is tired for flight, bring some quiet toys or kids books for her, check with airline on carseat for plane, don't think you need one. give her the window seat. have her make figures out of the clouds, dogs, angels, etc.

Dimetab, works like a champ and helps keep the ears dry for landing pressure. Works great for my kids when they were little, and the dr. suggested it.

I went with my 14 month old daughter last year. She was free, but had to sit on my lap during the flight (no car seat was needed). If your daughter is older than 2 she will probably have her own seat, however, if she does not, I would get to the airport as early as possible to reserve the bulk head seating on the plane (i.e. so you have additional leg room during the flight). Additionally, I would bring the portable DVD player, a few of her favourite toys and some snacks to eat on the plane.

Good Luck. We have been flying to Aruba w/my now 7 yr old & 2.5 yr old for the last 5 yrs. I am dreading the flight this year. My 2.5 yr old is a real handful. I have decided to take his car seat in order to keep him somewhat in his seat. I will def. have the DVD player, toys, crayons & snacks (if allowed). Books have also been a great idea in the past. I also agree w/other posters, if you can either give them a sleep aid or keep them tired that is the best. A sleeping child is best for all!!

Just got back with my 17 month old son. He really shocked us on the plane. He was so good. we did take his carseat and I think that helped a lot. He just sat in it and watched DVD's for almost the whole time. My son loves TV though. He also took a short nap on my lap.

Be careful with the sleep aids. They can have the opposite effect sometimes and get them wired. Try at home first if you plan on using. We just gave him some Motrin before the flight in case his ears bothered him and he was fine.

We also just came back and just flew for the first time with our 2.5 year old. She did great on the plane. Prior to our trip, I kept explaining to her about the flight and made it sound really exciting. I brought some little toys that were "new" to her which kept her entertained. We also brought a portable DVD player which was definitely a life saver. I'm not sure if her ears even bothered her, but we put in these things called EarPlanes for her which I bought from the One Step Ahead website. Not sure if they worked or not, but they did seem to make her happy. The one thing that I wish I spent more time preparing her for was the check-in/security process. She was fine when we were leaving out of Boston to go down, but on the way back had small meltdowns when she had to take her sandals off to go through security. Since you go through security twice in Aruba, that made for 2 meltdowns. Oh, and we did not have a car seat for her and she was just fine. So, the things for us for the flights were new toys, dvd player, and snacks. Good luck!

thanks for all the great ideas! i can't wait to take her.
we are flying to Florida in Nov so that will be our test!

We also brought little presents and wrapped them up. When she was good we gave her a choice to pick a good girl gift. These were a hit. I wrapped up coloning books/crayons, paint with water color books, soft water balls for the pool, sunglasses, books, stuffed animal, blow up ball and float for the pool, pail and shovel for the beach, etc. All things she would use of vacation but they were new and exciting.

I also would recommend some motrin before flying, a bottle with a straw that she could drink from while taking off and landing. They do sell ear plugs for flying discomfort but I have not tried them.

If you have a DVD player buy a couple of new DVD's and bring them out on the plane and that will keep the child busy too.

Bring plenty of small snacks and drinks too.

Tips while in Aruba:
Regular naps so they are happy and no cranky.
They love the beach and pool. Sunblock is a must.
Activities for them to do.
We also found that we would feed her prior to going out to eat. So she was not hungry and would play, color, read, and she sometimes would sleep. We then let her order dessert while we ate our meal.

We all had a great vacation. First at age 9 months and last at age 14 and Aruba is still her favorite spot to go.

Good Luck and enjoy. Jill