I am preparing for an 8 hour flight with my toddler! Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Well it doesn’t have to- a friend recently gave me some very good advice- “have high expectations of your children.” I had actually never thought of this before, though my husband and I have always taken our son along to everything we do with high hopes that everything will turn out well. But we hadn’t actually put words to what we were doing- having high expectations of him. Well said. And it’s applicable in any situation, whether sitting through a restaurant meal with friends, visiting an art museum, or traveling across the pacific ocean.
My sister who has lots of experience traveling with her son (his first flight to Hawaii was at 8 weeks!) told me about a great resource:
Even though my son has already traveled by plane many many times, including two 11 hour flights, I thought I’d check it out to see if there was anything I could add to my bag of tricks.
Here is my favorite tip:
“Once the flight is under way, it’s time to play Santa Claus. (Santa flies, too, right?) Every hour or so, give your little one a gift to unwrap. The presents don’t have to be fancy or expensive; they might include books, snacks, or stickers. But it’s best to give items your child has never seen before, since these will hold his interest the longest.”
I loaded up on books, stickers, cars, and Legos yesterday. We should be fine. Oh, and I’m counting on a 3 hour nap. Is that too much to ask?
UPDATE: ok, so I just finished wrapping all the little gifts (like I needed one more thing to do!) and I think I might have gone a little overboard:
Here’s my 2nd favorite tip from the site:
“Strengthen your child’s immune response with water and Vitamin D. Travel exposes us to new and different viruses and bacteria. Travel is also very dehydrating. Bring leak-proof water bottles for you and your child so you can move these pesky critters through your system. Latest research shows that Vitamin D plays an important role in stimulating the body’s immune response. Since your body synthesizes Vitamin D from sunlight, it’s also one of the least expensive nutrients to get. expose your child to direct sunlight on the face and arms for at least 15 minutes a day the week prior to leaving on a trip.”