TTT - Flying Solo

I missed last week's installment of Toddler Tips Tuesday.  I figured no one would notice, but sure enough, I was called out on the missing post.  Apparently I do have a few readers, who knew?  Sorry for the missing tip, I just couldn't get it together last week.  But I had heartburn about it and almost threw some dribble together at 11:55pm Tuesday night so I wouldn't miss this weekly post.  In the end I just couldn't come up with a tip.  It's hard to offer tips to others when you're needing tips yourself, you know?

But I'm back with tips galore this week.  I fully realize I already gave y'all some tips for traveling with a toddler and  flying with a toddler back in March.  But this week, my tips are about flying ALONE with a toddler.  A rambunctious toddler to be exact.

Lukas and I flew out to California last week to visit my big brother and his son.  Mr. Cob, being the big time litigator that he is, was unable to join us. My fear of being stuck on a plane for five hours with a rowdy 21 month old boy almost overpowered my desire to go West, but in the end I decided that it was worth the potential disaster to spend time with my family.  We survived the flight there and back, with minimal tears (from either one of us) and after buying out half of Target the night before our flight, I'm back with some new tips for flying with a toddler.

Flying Solo Tip #1 - Shell out the Cash.  If you can spare the money, buy your little guy or gal their own seat.  Even though kids under 2 fly free, it is safer and better for everyone if you each have your own seat.  Two seats = more room = happier kid and parent = happy plane ride for all.

Flying Solo Tip #1A - Shell out a Little Bit of Cash.  If you are don't want to shell out an extra $350 (the going price for a ticket to Cali) for a seat that your toddler may or may not even sit in, then they can sit on your lap for free.  I must admit that this is my chosen course for all flights we've taken with Lukas thus far.  (We once lucked out on a flight on Southwest and ended up with all three seats in a row even though we only paid for 2 - one of the benefits of flying Southwest is choosing your own seats and no one will choose to sit next to a small child if the flight isn't full!) 

Ok, so here's my tip if you are flying with an infant on your lap and you are flying DELTA - upgrade to "Economy Comfort" where you'll enjoy three to four inches of additional legroom and priority boarding. The Economy Comfort seats are located in the first few rows of the economy class cabin, behind first class.  And if you can, choose the row directly behind first class and you'll have even more room.  The price for Economy Comfort varies depending on the length of your flight - to California it was an extra $59 each way and for my upcoming flight to Boston it was an extra $29 each way.  So while Lukas didn't have his own seat, we had more room than a regular seat in coach and he was able to stand up and move around at our seat.  I am telling you, it is well worth the money!

Flying Solo Tip #2 - Leash Um.  Ditch the stroller (which can be cumbersome when traveling alone with a child if said child doesn't want to actually sit in said stroller) and put a harness on your kid.  Yes, leash him or her (if they can walk, of course).  The ongoing joke in my husband's family is that Mr. Cob's grandparents put a leash on his father when he was little.  I've always laughed at the joke, but those days are over.  I now fully support keeping a child on a leash harness. 

If you have ever been to the Atlanta airport, you know it is the busiest airport in the world.  And by busiest airport in the world, I mean a parental nightmare. A sea of people in a hurry to get from point A to point B and a feisty little one who finds it hilarious when you tell him no and continues to run away faster when you tell him to "come here" do not mix.  This is where the harness comes in.


Eddie Bauer Backpack Harness

For $14.99 at Target (on sale online now for only $12.74) you can buy yourself the peace of mind you deserve when traveling alone with a toddler.  Lukas happily wore his little backpack (which matched mommy's black backpack - a fact he pointed out often) and I held the strap that attached to his backpack preventing him from running away from me.  This was a lifesaver.  My biggest fear was losing him in the airport, but he could no longer escape once I put this little backpack on him.  He had the freedom he wanted while I was able to maintain ;physical contact with him at all times. 

(Sidenote: Along the lines of toddler loss prevention, I saw these temporary tattoos on pinterest last night and will be purchasing some for my little guy for future trips, park visits, etc. 

picture courtsey of tottoos.org

What a brilliant idea!  Check out tottoos.org to purchase some for yourself.)

Flying Sol Tip #3 - Passing the Time.  In my prior post I mentioned the two toddler in-flight necessities: food and entertainment.  So remember to pack plenty of snacks and books.  This trip I also brought along a sticker book which I was told could provide hours of fun.  Well, Lukas loved the Thomas the Train sticker book, but he's not able to peel the stickers off himself.  So while he played with the stickers for an hour, I was also involved for an hour tending to his request to "help please" every 20 seconds. (At least he was polite, right?)  So, just a fair warning on the sticker front: parental involvement is required.

I loaded up my Ipad with some Thomas the Train, Sesame Street and Dinosaur Train episodes and even purchased child-sized headphones, but Lukas refused to wear the headphones and quickly lost interest in the programs since he couldn't hear them.  He was, luckily, entertained with various toddler apps for quite some time though. 

Flying Solo Tip #4 - Relax.  Kids are kids.  Kids are loud.  Saying shhh just adds more noise to the mix and doesn't help my kid quiet down.  So after only about 10 minutes on the plane, I just decided to let Lukas talk as much as he wanted and even encouraged him by engaging in conversation with him (as much as one can engage with a toddler).  Everyone around us knew of his love for "jumbo jets" before we even took flight.  He animatedly (read: loudly) pointed out all the cars, trucks, jumbo jets and people on the tarmac.  And he yelled at the TV screen as we watched the Olympics in flight ("running", "momma, home run!", "soccer!" - all said at a full on scream accompanied with lots of clapping).  The people around us may have been annoyed, but I figure it's better to have a happy, loud toddler, than a crying, inconsolable one.  So, just relax and don't worry about anyone else around you.  Flying is a big adventure for your little one, so let them enjoy it!

What are your tips for flying alone with a toddler?