AshleyHurl
My husband and I will be taking an overseas flight in 2 months. Our girls will be 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 by then. Beyond the snacks and pacifiers, what other things would be helpful? Our dvd player would surely die quick and I don't see them having plugs on the plane. LoL! (We are taking a Rotator, for those military minded folks) Should we bring a car seat for the youngest or would she be a tad too old for it? All these lil details have been left to the military wife to figure out. So please, help me :)
Answer
I'm a former Flight Attendant and I can confirm that yes, your younger one would do better in a car seat. I fly a lot between Europe and California with my three children and I always take a car seat with us.
To transport it, you can buy an overpriced GogoKidz or just do what I do and strap it to a small metal luggage cart. I use an extra bungee cord and she'll even be able to ride in it if she's tired. Then again, you can try to use your stroller. Either wedge it inside or bungee cord it to the back (depends on the design of both). Try it at home first!
It was a really good idea to use it onboard when the airlines lost three of our four bags last winter but my daughter was safe on the 2 hour drive home since we had our car seat with us. Use it onboard and you'll have it at your destination without the worry that it's broken or lost in the hold. The adult seatbelt doesn't hold 2 and 3 year olds very well and your older one is about the minimum anyway.
None of mine ever took a pacifier so I never had them with me. There is a common myth that children are supposed to suck on something during take-off and landing but actually, they only need to be awake at the *top* of descent (landing is too late) so please let them sleep if they do so on take-off (which they often do).
As far as the portable DVD player, I'm not familiar with that brand. Can you buy a second battery? Recharge both and exchange them inflight? For a long haul trip, you need at least 5 hours play time (one movie for each girl, if you want to see it that way).
My girls are just a bit older and they flew at these ages too. What I found worked well;
-coloring anything, books, paper, just a pad with washable felt tip pens
-Those boards that wipe clean
-story books (no one will mind if you read to them)
-small puzzles they can do on their tray table
-stickers (why are these such a hit? Easy to buy, easy to carry, get a bunch!)
-dolls. Mine love Polly Pockets which are to easy to pack. Barbies fit in their backpacks and bring lots of changes of clothes.
Other parents swear by pipe cleaners. Again, lots of stuff you can do with those and they fit in a bag easily.
Get them new presents, which don't have to be expensive. An extra Barbie dress, coloring book, etc. Estimate one new toy about every two hours of flight time (or less if it's excessive). Keep the new stuff yourself and dole it out during the flight.
Have each child pack a bag of their choice of toys. Edit it!!! Especially with security in mind.
Any electronic toys, bring batteries or make sure they're recharged. Have the rechargers with you in case of a delay or if you have a layover.
Nothing can make ANY noise. Annoyingly, a lot of those electonical "pets" (Pet Shops and Tamagochis?) have sound that doesn't turn off. Double check but don't bring anything that beeps or squeeks unless you don't mind being very unpopular in your cabin!
About 8 years ago, I wrote an article on the subject of flying with children for a local newsletter. On the web, all the information I found was written by people who had never worked directly for the airlines. I wanted to promote the use of car seats on aircraft for both safety and comfort. I have more general flying tips, many of which came from the many, many military families who were on my flights over the years, so feel free to visit;
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com
My dad was a captain and I was born at an Army hospital so I'm particial to military folks, many of whom are having a time of it right now.
My contact info is at the end, if you need anything else. If not, have a great flight!
I'm a former Flight Attendant and I can confirm that yes, your younger one would do better in a car seat. I fly a lot between Europe and California with my three children and I always take a car seat with us.
To transport it, you can buy an overpriced GogoKidz or just do what I do and strap it to a small metal luggage cart. I use an extra bungee cord and she'll even be able to ride in it if she's tired. Then again, you can try to use your stroller. Either wedge it inside or bungee cord it to the back (depends on the design of both). Try it at home first!
It was a really good idea to use it onboard when the airlines lost three of our four bags last winter but my daughter was safe on the 2 hour drive home since we had our car seat with us. Use it onboard and you'll have it at your destination without the worry that it's broken or lost in the hold. The adult seatbelt doesn't hold 2 and 3 year olds very well and your older one is about the minimum anyway.
None of mine ever took a pacifier so I never had them with me. There is a common myth that children are supposed to suck on something during take-off and landing but actually, they only need to be awake at the *top* of descent (landing is too late) so please let them sleep if they do so on take-off (which they often do).
As far as the portable DVD player, I'm not familiar with that brand. Can you buy a second battery? Recharge both and exchange them inflight? For a long haul trip, you need at least 5 hours play time (one movie for each girl, if you want to see it that way).
My girls are just a bit older and they flew at these ages too. What I found worked well;
-coloring anything, books, paper, just a pad with washable felt tip pens
-Those boards that wipe clean
-story books (no one will mind if you read to them)
-small puzzles they can do on their tray table
-stickers (why are these such a hit? Easy to buy, easy to carry, get a bunch!)
-dolls. Mine love Polly Pockets which are to easy to pack. Barbies fit in their backpacks and bring lots of changes of clothes.
Other parents swear by pipe cleaners. Again, lots of stuff you can do with those and they fit in a bag easily.
Get them new presents, which don't have to be expensive. An extra Barbie dress, coloring book, etc. Estimate one new toy about every two hours of flight time (or less if it's excessive). Keep the new stuff yourself and dole it out during the flight.
Have each child pack a bag of their choice of toys. Edit it!!! Especially with security in mind.
Any electronic toys, bring batteries or make sure they're recharged. Have the rechargers with you in case of a delay or if you have a layover.
Nothing can make ANY noise. Annoyingly, a lot of those electonical "pets" (Pet Shops and Tamagochis?) have sound that doesn't turn off. Double check but don't bring anything that beeps or squeeks unless you don't mind being very unpopular in your cabin!
About 8 years ago, I wrote an article on the subject of flying with children for a local newsletter. On the web, all the information I found was written by people who had never worked directly for the airlines. I wanted to promote the use of car seats on aircraft for both safety and comfort. I have more general flying tips, many of which came from the many, many military families who were on my flights over the years, so feel free to visit;
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com
My dad was a captain and I was born at an Army hospital so I'm particial to military folks, many of whom are having a time of it right now.
My contact info is at the end, if you need anything else. If not, have a great flight!
Anyone try the electronic cigarettes?
viva_la_pe
I want to quit smoking and have been reading good and bad things about the e-cigs. Has anyone tried it? Was it successful? Thoughts, comments or concerns please!
Answer
Google for message forums about them, tons of info out there.
They are more than just water, but its nothing harmful. They use propelyne glycol (pg) and vegetable glycerin (vg), plus liquid nicotine and food flavors. People have used scare tactics with the pg, because it is an ingredient in anti freeze. BUT, it is ALSO food safe, in a great deal of our food supply, as well as fogging machines and children's toys. The vg is also food safe. Scare tactics around that are because its also sold as a skin protectant.. like you can use it as lotion. But again, in our food supply, fogging machines and kids toys.
On top of that, both chemicals are in regular cig smoke.
They feel different. They taste different. You will never find one that tastes like your cig, I went to fruit flavors.
Nicotine dosing can be hard to get right. They all advertise that one of the filter cartridges is like a carton, but in general i found it was more like a pack, give or take. The nicotine is dosed in the cartridges about the same as a pack, as well. (so, to know your nic dosage, find out how much nic is in one pack of the brand you smoke, that will equal the dose for the entire cartridge.)
Do a lot of research for model types and such. Read read read. Avoid buying kits upfront, just buy a single battery and flavor, so you can know if you like that flavor or brand or model. After you know you like what you have, then feel free to stock up, but if you dont like it, and want to abadnon the idea, or try a diff model, you arent out that much.
Google for message forums about them, tons of info out there.
They are more than just water, but its nothing harmful. They use propelyne glycol (pg) and vegetable glycerin (vg), plus liquid nicotine and food flavors. People have used scare tactics with the pg, because it is an ingredient in anti freeze. BUT, it is ALSO food safe, in a great deal of our food supply, as well as fogging machines and children's toys. The vg is also food safe. Scare tactics around that are because its also sold as a skin protectant.. like you can use it as lotion. But again, in our food supply, fogging machines and kids toys.
On top of that, both chemicals are in regular cig smoke.
They feel different. They taste different. You will never find one that tastes like your cig, I went to fruit flavors.
Nicotine dosing can be hard to get right. They all advertise that one of the filter cartridges is like a carton, but in general i found it was more like a pack, give or take. The nicotine is dosed in the cartridges about the same as a pack, as well. (so, to know your nic dosage, find out how much nic is in one pack of the brand you smoke, that will equal the dose for the entire cartridge.)
Do a lot of research for model types and such. Read read read. Avoid buying kits upfront, just buy a single battery and flavor, so you can know if you like that flavor or brand or model. After you know you like what you have, then feel free to stock up, but if you dont like it, and want to abadnon the idea, or try a diff model, you arent out that much.
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