Flying with 1 year old About This Page:

[Meganlovesthemouse]

This will be our second time flying to Disney with our DS. The first time he was only 3 months old and slept the entire flight. Our DS will be turning one on our trip in two weeks. I am terrified to fly with him this time. He is walking and does not like to sit still. He is ok if we are walking but as soon as we sit down, he wants to get down and run.

We are flying Southwest and our plan is to take the seats in the back of the plane, hoping the flight in not full and people will not come back far in the plan. We are flying with my mom, sister and BIL so there are other people of DS can go too.

We are planning on bringing our DVD player and a Wiggles DVD. At home, our DS sits completely still during the entire Wiggles DVD. I am not sure what we are going to do about headphones.

What else can we do to keep our DS busy during the two and a half hour flight? My only other thought is I have to wake him up extremely early on the day of our flight and he may just fall asleep when we take off, but he does not like to cuddle anymore and would rather sleep in his spot.

[emilyandlogansmom]

My kids always end up falling asleep! So, let's hope for that!

1 is kind of a tricky age as that attention span, just is not there. We've always brought our DVD player...works wonders!

I would start going to dollar stores or looking in the $1 section of Target. Little things to keep fingers busy. My DS even loves cheap little calculators. I found a little shape sorting box at Target that was a puzzle, so it came apart in pieces (making it small for travel) and kept DS pretty busy. Just keep your eye out and find little things. You could even wrap them up in some cheap paper...just to give him "presents" to unwrap.

Probably not my best parenting move...but snacks work well too!

Good luck!

[daddyof2princessess]

1 was a blessing for flying! 2 was ok; by that I mean we survived. 3 is coming and we are so driving. Some depends on the child too. My oldest at 1 did great. At 2 she was good, but her sister, who is a 13 months younger, was a bit to handle on the flight. Either way go Southwest if you can and sit right up front where he will a bit of wiggle room. All in all though I say go for it!

[jagmom08]

I flew with my son when he was 1.5. I thought we were in trouble, since he is a very active little boy and has been since he could walk. He slept the whole time! I would prepare with snacks and toys and hope for the best. that it goes well.

[Colexis Mom]

Did you buy a seat for him? He might be more comfortable in his carseat than in your lap (and more likely to sit still)! Bring lots of new things, but at that age, my DS got the most enjoyment out of playing with the Cheerios!

[MinnieJen]

I buy little inexpensive toys and hide them until we are on the plane and take them out in stages. Lots of snacks and a dvd or two usually does the trick. We play the movies on a laptop with really low volume as it works better then trying to headphones on a little one. Nobody has ever complained. We also try to plan flights around nap times whenever possible. I bring a pillow onboard with me put it in my lap and one of the boys always ends up sprawled there for at least part of the flight.

[eff051102]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Did you buy a seat for him? He might be more comfortable in his carseat than in your lap (and more likely to sit still)! Bring lots of new things, but at that age, my DS got the most enjoyment out of playing with the Cheerios!

I agree! My DD always flys in her carseat and it's like being in a car for a trip,
no getting up for her. She will watch the DVD player in her seat and will also nap
from time to time. I would treat the plane like a 2 hr. car trip. Once he gets up
and around you might not be able to keep him contained which will make for a
very long flight for all of you.

[poohbr2015]

we are also flying in a couple weeks with our ds who will be 18 months. the last time he flew he was 8 months and surprisingly slept for part of each flight. I am also a bit worried about what to expect this time but we will just see what happens. We are taking the lap top with dvds becasue ds does have favorite movies and will watch them, also some new toys and snacks. we didn't buy ds a seat becasue we figure this may be the last flight where we don't have to buy him a seat and wanted to save the money! But he does like to get down and I am afraid of that.

Good idea on taking a pillow, I might have to do that. Last time I was shoving a rolled up sweatshirt under my arm to prop it since ds was sleeping on me!

[Carousel96]

My first thought was the carseat, too.
I presume he's not in the habit of getting up and walking around in the car, and a plane trip doesn't need to be any different.
What do you use to entertain him when he's in the backseat?

[hhawkins]

Happy to read the posts. I will also be traveling with a 1 yr old and was happy to read the comments.

[Calie71]

If it is an early flight I would try really walking him and wearing him out at the airport before you board, I don't know how long of a flight you have, but that will help. Also I would have the DVD player and some new small toys that will keep him busy. If he is worn out enough the white noise of the plane should put him out. Good luck and have fun.

[Meganlovesthemouse]

I called Southwest about their Toddler seat prices and it was still going to cost us nearly $400.00 to get him is own seat. So we are forgetting that plan. I will ask when we check in if there are any empty seats on our flight. If there is, I will bring our car seat with us instead of checking it.

Since our flight leaves at 7:45 am, we will be waking our DS extremely early and we are not going to let him sleep until we get on the plane. I am also packing lots of different toys. I know what his favorites are so I packing them. The DVD player will be huge for us. My BIL is downloading some new Wiggles stuff so that will be new to my DS.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will let you know how it goes.

[SARH7]

I just took that exact same flight on the 30th out of Buffalo!! My ds is 20 months and he does not like to sit still. He did fall asleep for part of the flight there....we got the kids up at 4:30 that morning, so by the time we actually got on the plane, he was ready for a nap. I brought lots of snacks, new toys that he had never seen...dvd player. We made it there without any major meltdowns...but it wasn't the greatest... He moved from lap to lap....liked looking out the window too.

[KatieD0408]

I actually stocked up on little toy planes. My DD loved them at that age, and she played with them the entire trip (and I flew by myself with her). Granted, the rest of the plane would laugh at her because she made all the plane noises we did have a pilot who was on his way home come sit with us, and played with her. He was trying to teach her all the names of the planes. Cute, but at 1 all she cared about was the fact he wore a hat.

[eff051102]

Originally Posted by Meganlovesthemouse

I called Southwest about their Toddler seat prices and it was still going to cost us nearly $400.00 to get him is own seat. So we are forgetting that plan. I will ask when we check in if there are any empty seats on our flight. If there is, I will bring our car seat with us instead of checking it.

Since our flight leaves at 7:45 am, we will be waking our DS extremely early and we are not going to let him sleep until we get on the plane. I am also packing lots of different toys. I know what his favorites are so I packing them. The DVD player will be huge for us. My BIL is downloading some new Wiggles stuff so that will be new to my DS.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will let you know how it goes.

Sometimes the Toddler Seats can cost more than an adult seat depending on the
time you are going. I wouldn't count on an empty seat to use because they will
be selling them up until right before you board. With SW if the prices go down
you can get a credit and then use that credit for a seat for your DS.