Travel with kids - Pls share your experience

[Casandra]

Hello...bringing my 2 boys to australia for holiday in end august. This is their first overseas trip... not sure what to expect!! They are 2 & 4 years old. Quite worried now... not sure how they will react on the plane. They usually quarrel alot...praying hard everything will turn out smoothly.

We are travelling with tour group... the thought of morning rush makes me scared..especially i am not bringing my maid along! mummies, pls share your experiences...and what should i take note of? :elvis:

 

[jedamum]

when i brought my ds1 overseas when he was 3, i brought along titbits and sweets for him to munch on. also, the inflight entertainment and meals is enough to distract him. for some kids, their ear may hurt when the plane rise up in the atmosphere, so you can give them a sweet to suck when the plane takes off..to relief the pressure in the eardrum.

we separate him with my nephew, so as to reduce the interactions on the plane - less interactions, less likehood of quarrelling.

to curb morning rush, you can either wake up earlier, or you pack your stuff the night before.

also be prepared to stay back in the bus while others tour (ie forgoing certain small parts of the trip), cos kids sometimes will throw tantrums. in such case, you can split up ie one parent remain, and one parent take the other kid to join the tour, or both parent remain, and you need to have some activities (drawing, games, toys) for the unaffected kid while you attend to the tantrum one.

also, do bring along medication...you don't want to scout Australia in the middle of the night in case you kid is sick (touch wood).

enjoy your trip.

 

[vodkager]

hi Casandra,

i just came back from Perth on 12th! =) whr will u be going? which airline u taking?

my DS just hit 1yo.. we requested a bassinet for him.. but it was really of no use unless he's slping.. bcos e bassinet is pretty high&small, he doesnt quite like to stay in there.. so i just let him stand and walk alittle..

i brought lotsa snacks and sweets for him.. scare his ears might hurt.. but luckily, it's no prob for him.. snacks & sweets are also a method to distract him since he doesnt watch movies and there's really no entertainment for him..=( e 5hrs is very hard to pass by!! but luckily he slp for 1-2hrs.. so i still gt some space to breathe.. haha..

since ur DS alr 2 & 4, i believe it should be quite easy bah.. cos they will give some colouring book or smth for them to play rite? den they also can watch cartoons on e plane mahs.. if they quarrel alot, dun put them together lo.. like one sit on e left of urs, another sit on e right?

anyway, hope u enjoy ur trip! =)

 

[cendrine]

Hi Cassandra,

which part of austrialia u are heading to ?

I was in Sydney last month.

I took the night flight when i went there by SQ with my dd and dh.
We did not get a seat for her, cos she's under 2 so considered infant but there was a special bassinet request. The bassinet was not of any use cos it was quite small, can only sleep for a while. In the end I carried her to sleep, only when she was soundly asleep, I placed her in bassinet...kekeke

As for the air pressure, her habit of sucking thumb helps to relieve. It's only her crankiness on the plane. Lasted 1 hour with her bitter cry cos she couldnt sleep well. also didnt manage to eat her meal provided. Wasted lor. There's a dora soft toy given free to the children also.

When I returned to SGP on my own, it was more on the difficult part.
I have to hand carry 4 bags on my own plus 1 box of KK donuts. Fortunately, one air steward was kind enough to assist me...:001_302:
Throughout the whole flight, I couldn't sleep cos I have to watch over DD myself. Going toilet also have to bring her as well. Oh yes, it was such a hassle to change diaper, cos so crampy..sigh and when she's asleep, no choice got to ask the cabin crew for help if i need to go toilet.

yea, do bring those medications along, just in case.

do enjoy yr trip,

cheers

 

[tamarind]

I used to bring those water bottles that have a built in straw onto planes to feed my kids. But when the plane was in the air, the water will shoot out through the straw !!! So mommies take note.

Later I just bring a lollipop for my kids to suck on.

I also let them bring along their favourite bears to keep them company throughout the flight.

 

[aby]

The furthest we have been is Tg Pinang (mission trip).. And recent one is Genting and Seremban..

Purposely bought a preloved twin stroller as they need nap and we do not want to be back at hotel room.. We will bring along milk satchets and use wide neck milk bottles, clean, hassle free..

Brought along coloring sheets, color pencils, biscuits, books, favourite toys..

The twin stroller is so useful!! They are so contented sitting on it.. Eat, drink, color, sleep and even dance sitting on it.. :red:

Enjoy ur trip!!! ancing_wub:

 

[BChew]

When i first brought my 2nd son to Perth when he was 3 1/2 yrs old, Boy.. he was quite a handful. He demanded to get off the plane despite i told and showed him that we were in mid air. He wanted the window to be shut when it was required to be open. He didn't wish to belt up and complained about the ear pressure. :embarrassed:

Luckily, he only got so cranky when we were about to reach the venue soon. I had in fact dope him earlier so that he could sleep most of the time. You could get his/her doctor to prescribe the medicine. Btw, the medicine is a type of cought mixture. I know that we were mean to treat him this way but honestly, i will never hesitate to do again if we are going for our next trip (now, he's 6 1/2 yrs old). :we2Randy-git:

Oh, like the others say, bring along medications with you and hand-carry it. Don't wish to lose them during your flight. Most important of all, remember to take your children's painkillers with you. Not only it is useful if they have fever, it is also good if they have body ache. :wong19:

 

[BChew]

Oh.. I saw the Planet travel store at Marina Square selling those ear pressure relief kit for children. Maybe you can consider that? Sorry, i still dunno whether they are good or not, cos have yet to try on my kids and will only be travelling end of the year.

Also, hand-carry extra clothes for them to change if they happen to soil themselves. Sweaters too especially taking the night flight.

 

[larkspur]

I brought my girl to bangkok just this April when she turned 25 months. Flying to the bangkok was okay but on the last day, she developed high fever and luckily i brought her medication which i got from her PD. On the flight back to Singapore, she was so cranky and crying throughout the 2 hours flight and only stopped when the plane landed. No amount of sweets, books or toys could get her to stop crying. Then she got stomach flu and high fever on and off for 1 to 2 months plus.

now me and hubby decide no more going overseas trip for my daughter and son until they turn 4.

 

[lulu_booboo]

just came back from holiday with hubby and boo in dubai... my advice to mums who are travelling with kids... if kids are less than 2 yr, still better to get them a separate seat on their own rather than use the bassinet 'coz the bassinet only good for babies less than 1 yr old, otherwise, too small and cramped.

my boo refused to sleep in the bassinet 'coz she cannot turn around and get comfy. in the end, i gave up my seat for her to sit and sleep in and sat on the floor on the flight to dubai... so uncomfortable, esp since i was 28 weeks preggers at that time!! wanted to get her a separate seat for the flight back but flight was full... only way is to buy 3 business class tickets!!! for that price, i rather sit on the floor! :err:

 

[shopaholic]

Hubby brought my daughter (then 3yo) to meet me at HK (as I was in Seoul on a business trip and then flew to HK for a short holiday). Dd was very well-behaved on the plane, watched the movies provided by the in-flight entertainment system. Cathay Pacific also gave her a goodie backpack which contained some pencils and stationery for her to doodle/colour on. Then hubby also brought along some biscuits and snacks for her to eat on the plane. He also let her wear a mamy poko pant in case he's not in time to bring her to the toilet.

We also brought along her usual milk powder for her to drink, her fav Barney soft-toy, a few days' supply of diapers/toiletries/clothings, sweater and some basic medications.

 

[~mysterious-m~]

1st time we bought our son to travel, is to New Zealand..
this Feb!
the 12 hrs flight frm Sg to Christchurch was such a torture to our butt.
luckily, my son is quite well behave.
we let him tk the window seat, & he is very excited.
he watched the cartoon channels.. & will only call me when he's hungry or when he need to use the toilet..

i brought along snacks for him.. but he didnt really eat them as SQ provided nice & yummy kids meal with toys.
haha!
the only thing is , he fell sick when we were at NZ cos of the weather.
& the medication we brought wasnt gd enough to cure him.
so in the end, we got to bring him to the hospital there...
& i have to slp late bcos i got steam the bottles, feed him & put him to bed before i can go to bath & bed.
then i have to be the 1st to wake up to do the routine again...
with tour group, couldnt expect the whole group to just wait for us if i tk my own sweet time.
sooo tiring!!!

i think its quite troublesome to travel with kids =X
so many thing to bring.. & if they fall sick, double the trouble..

dont think i will wan to travel anytime soon...

 

[jopeck]

we brought our 3 kids to Bangkok in Dec 2005... it was quite an adventure! For one thing, we learned that we needed to schedule things very differently when travelling with children. Nap times were still needed unless adults were willing to carry everyone along - in which case, how to do anything???

I remember the last afternoon, we were determined to shop. Ended up, my hubby carried #2, I carried #3 and #1 was in the pram... thank God my parents were around to help out!

Since then, we've only done short trips to Malacca.

Each time we travel, I bring a full supply of most common meds - eg paracet, Actifed, Smecta/Lactoforte... and one of their fav toys (one each). Then we get them involved with what they can see outside the vehicle they're travelling in... usually works.

Good luck with the travel!

 

[priscilla]

My boy started travelling when he turned 3 months. I found that it is easier to travel when he is young.

Now at 4, we will have to let him pack along a bag of books cum toys to bring along and of course lots of snacks that we buy along the way.

He enjoys travelling and looking at the scenery.