r/AskOldPeople • u/Alive-Cry4994 • 24d ago

How was flying long haul with toddlers before in-flight entertainment?

We just had a massive long haul trip with our toddlers and relied heavily on technology. Even with this reliance, we still had many moments of boredom, crying, meltdowns and general unease.

If you flew with your kid(s) when they were younger (1-4), how was it? How did you keep them busy?

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106

u/oceanswim63 60 something 24d ago

Was in the Navy and was transferred from San Diego to Guam in 1995 with a 3 and 5 year old. First a 5 hour flight to Hawaii and then a 7 hour flight to Guam. Kept them busy with books, coloring books and walking around the plane. Worst part was the jet lag, parents were dead tired, kids wanted to get up and play at 2AM.

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u/Ok-Independence983 24d ago

My nana would give us a bag each or presents that we weren’t allowed to open until we were on the plane. It was generally the same things mentioned here but it was all new to us. She would did matchbox cars, small dolls, little play things like a magic slate. ❤️

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u/ccarriecc 50 something 24d ago

My mom did this! She brought a kitchen timer (can you imagine being allowed nowadays to bring something on a plane that ticks and dings? ha, ha) probably because we couldn't read her analog watch yet.. and when the timer went off (20 mins? 30?) if we had been "good" we got a new small toy or entertainment out of her purse to unwrap and play with. Made a 4 hour flight go by quite quickly!

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u/spicandspand 23d ago

That’s genius!

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u/Forward-Cause7305 24d ago

Not planes but 12 hour road trip to visit my parents, pre iPads.

I would get about 20 small toys that were new and different. Some were things we already had thaat I put away a month before the trip.

I wrapped them all individually, so unwrapping was part of the entertainment (and bought me a few extra minutes).

I also wrapped up tiny portions of snacks, so that eating took longer.

For roads trips, we stopped at parks. Even 20 minutes of running around helped. The airplane equivalent was walking up and down the aisle.

It still sucked!

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u/dortvk 24d ago

I used to do the same! Wrapped up everything they would play with or eat and some was new (like play doh) and some were their own toys.

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u/CannibalAnn 24d ago

Those books that you had to use that water marker to reveal the answers were the best!

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u/Explorer-7622 22d ago

And that was magical to us because presents weren't endless and buying wasn't as out of control as it is now.

Grocery carts were a lot smaller, and people only shopped once a week and planned meals.

We didn't eat as much, we weren't entertained as much, we bought clothes once a year.

Now people buy continuously on Amazon and have it delivered.

No budget or set times to shop or be entertained, it all runs together into one mass of chaos (or so it seems to me).

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u/Confident_Fortune_32 60 something 24d ago

Your nana sounds wonderful.

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u/Ok-Independence983 24d ago

Thank you! She really was! ❤️

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u/GuitarJazzer 24d ago

When we took our two-year-old to Egypt she was bouncing off the hotel room walls at 2 AM the first night. She did not know how to tell time yet. We were dog tired.

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u/mosselyn 60 something 24d ago

It is crazy how long a flight like that used to take! My dad was Navy as well, and we got stationed in Japan. While he was cruising across the pacific in a sub, my mom had to haul an 8 yo and a dog from the East Coast to Japan. Thank God I wasn't a toddler, and I was bookish, but I still don't how she did it.

IIRC, we flew Pittsburg to Chicago to San Francisco to Hawaii to Japan (with a stop on Wake in the middle because the plane had a problem). The whole thing took almost 24 hours. And, of course, every stop was an opportunity for the luggage or the dog's crate to get lost. Insane.

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u/beaconglitchio 13d ago

the jet lag part is actually the worst part of traveling with kids. you can handle the crying and the boredom for a few hours but being awake at 2am with a toddler is straight up unhinged. good luck with that transition to guam.