Plane travel with 5 yeard old.

[BellaClaudia]

Please help to make it comfortable
First time little flyer. What do we need to k now? National flight.
3 hours.

Do we need some special traveling contraptions at this age? car seat or something? no boosters allowed though on the plane that I know.

Also what activities would you recommend for the flight and for one week trip to vacation spot.

what would you pack. how would you pack.

what I am forgetting to ask?

[Super~Single~Mama]

I don't have a 5yo, but I've been flying my entire life, and at that age some good age appropriate quiet games/books would be perfect. It's only 3 hours, so thats really nice and short, and I don't know if you do electronic game sets, but this would be the PERFECT time to bust them out if you do them occasionally but not all the time.

Otherwise, books, some quiet small travel board games are also great, and depending on the airline they may have a movie (my little brother once convinced the flight attendants to show a movie on a flight that wasn't supposed to have one cause he was super disappointed and they didn't want a whiny kid on board lol), and so some comfy headphones would be a good idea too.

have fun!

[meemee]

well are you doing check in baggage or are you taking all in the carry on?

make sure she swallows during take off or landing. or yawns to relieve the pressure in her ears.

if you have laundry on your facilities then i would take the bare minimum. a couple of pairs of shoes and maybe 3 outfits. that should all fit into your carry on.

where activities are concerned we would do all the stuff we cant do at home. have some card games and board games for indoors time. we probably would be out the whole day coming home to sleep. or if its a resort then try out all the activities we have there.

if she is a reader and colourer i would definitely bring or upon landing buy some books and colouring stuff. definitely some arts and crafts kinda thing.

a 3 hour flight is not that much time. we have been on longer days driving road trips and flown for days across the world. somehow it has all worked out.

oh yeah maybe some snack for the flight as i dont think they serve any snack anymore.

[SoulCakes]

I wouldn't overpack games and activities for a three-hour flight. My daughter is five and we fly constantly, but they're usually international which means we have access to unlimited movies and games. I generally don't hear a peep out of her for about six hours.

I don't know if you're big on movies, but they're a lifesaver when it comes to flights. You can purchase a small portable dvd player pretty cheaply. Books and games are good, too, but it usually means you have to be actively involved for the full three hours (which, good for some, not for all).

Anyway, don't worry about it too much! Five is a great age to be flying, because their attention span is longer and they're old enough to learn about how the plane works and to really love flying. Have a great trip!

[cjam]

My kids (3 and 5) don't have time to get bored on a 3 hour flight. Take off, drink delivery and landing prep consume a big portion of the flight and my curious monkeys watch it all. Window seats are a great distration. We usually only have time for a couple of short books. Just be sure to have something to chew on and drink at landing time in case little ears get sore.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by cjam

My kids (3 and 5) don't have time to get bored on a 3 hour flight. Take off, drink delivery and landing prep consume a big portion of the flight and my curious monkeys watch it all. Window seats are a great distration. We usually only have time for a couple of short books. Just be sure to have something to chew on and drink at landing time in case little ears get sore.

This is what I was going to say. For such a short flight, there almost won't be time to *do* anything. I'd say bring a snack, if there is no food service, and maybe a card game or book. You may not even have time to watch a complete movie. I certainly wouldn't buy a DVD player for such a short flight if you don't already have one.

[LuckyMommaToo]

Once my kids are over 40 lbs, I don't lug carseats on the plane anymore, and boosters are definitely not allowed.

I'd do snacks, a sticker book and my ipod touch (both kiddos love the little games I've downloaded). I also wouldn't lug a dvd player and dvds for such a short flight.

Have fun!
-e

[LuxPerpetua]

Usborne has a fantastic book called Flip Flap Airport. That occupied my dd (4.5) on our recent airplane adventure. I also take things like Wiki stix, silly putty, and finger puppets. We got a travel version of The Orchard by Haba that she loved. Also, paper and crayons.

Blessings on your travels! Have fun!

[terrordactyl]

bring some lollypops/gum for take off and landing the constant sucking will make there ears not pop

[BellaClaudia]

Great suggestions everyone!
Thanks

[EVC]

This summer we took a LONG flight with our 4.5 year old. It was SO much better than I thought it would be! She did great!

We brought crayons, coloring books, a chapter book for reading, a dot to dot book, and a book of mazes. Between that, a few snacks, and the in flight movie(s), we were set

[japonica]

We travel back and forth between Australia and Canada. We're going again next month, with at least 23+ hours flying time, never mind stops...

My DD is 5 years old. We've always packed her videogame (it used to be her Leapster, but now she's on to DS) and cartridges (I usually buy one or two new ones and save them for the flight), the portable DVD player with her fave DVDs, books, games (either travel ones or card games etc.), coloring books (with crayons not markers--nothing like trying to find a marker lid under someone's seat). She's pretty savvy with the in-flight entertainment system though so she watches the kid channels on it just fine.

Like the PPs said, lollipops or gum, favorite snacks...also wet wipes, maybe a change of clothes...I had my then 18 month-old spill an entire ginger ale on my lap during a one hour flight. No biggie, but I would have loved to have changed clothes quickly and easily once we landed at the airport than having to wear sticky pants through the car rental place and until we got to our hotel about 1.5 hours later.

For 3 hours though, it should be a breeze. We bring so much stuff on our long haul international flights that it feels like I should hire Sherpas.

And five years old is usually a pretty good age to travel with. I'm travelling 23+ hours with a five year old AND a two year old (yikes) which is another matter entirely...LOL.

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by cjam

My kids (3 and 5) don't have time to get bored on a 3 hour flight. Take off, drink delivery and landing prep consume a big portion of the flight and my curious monkeys watch it all. Window seats are a great distration. We usually only have time for a couple of short books. Just be sure to have something to chew on and drink at landing time in case little ears get sore.

Ditto.

We travel with a portable DVD player. It is as much for me and DH (neither of us love flying and need a distraction) as it is for DS. I always take a new, family appropriate movie along.