How can I help my 10 month old travel on an airplane comfortably?

Question

I know travel on airplanes is difficult for children especially with the change is pressure, how can I limit her discomfort? Do the make ear plugs that small?

Answer 1

Bring a bottle for her to drink while the plane is taking off and landing.  Make sure to have a sweater in case the plane is cold.  Bring snacks for her and some small toys to hold her interest.  There will be plenty of new things for her to look at and that may keep her busy a while.

Answer 2

I'm a former Flight Attendant and I now fly a lot with my three children. To  be honest, this business about pressurization is highly overrated. I've never had any problems in any of our many flights and I rarely saw it at work.

Would your 10 month old really tolerate ear plugs? I'm not sure what purpose they serve since you want his ears to adjust, not prevent it.

It's actually a myth that children need to suck on something for take-off and landing. My children fly between Europe and California about twice a year, since each was 4 months old and I have never, ever done anything special with them for take-offs and landings.

ENT specialists simply recommend that the child is awake for landing;

http://www.entcda.com/AAOHNSF/earsandalt...

So does the FAA;

http://www.aap.org/patiented/flyingbaby....

The delicate time is not during take-off or landing/touchdown but at the *top of descent*. This is usually 40 minutes to an hour before landing and everyone's ears have to reverse the pressurization. I can confirm that when I worked, if any passengers had ear problems, this was the time. Not just children either! They actually felt *better* as we got closer to landing.

The BEST way to avoid ear issues is to take your little guy to the doctor a few days before flying. My son was good at getting symptomless ear infections. Make sure yours' doesn't have one of those. The doctor will look in his ears and make sure they're clear and infection-free. Healthy ears can handle pressurization changes.

Bring some baby paracetamol or tylenol if he seems uncomfortable but so many times, people think the baby's ears are suffering and I suggest to take off the hot sweater...and the crying stops! Another time my daughter was crying and we were *still on the ground*. Someone asked if it was her ears! Babies often cry during boarding. But don't not do anything about his cries, thinking it's his ears!

For more information, I wrote an article on this subject going more into detail on packing, security, etc. There are a lot of articles on the net but most are written by people who never actually worked for an airline. It's based on both my personal and professional experience of flying with kids, mine and the many passengers I had. It's totally non-commercial and other parents have contributed;

http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com

Have a good flight!