What should I do when my babies start to cry on the airplane?
Saturday, June 19th, 2010 at
10:49 am
This is my first plane trip with my triplets who are 15 months old. They are generally good well behaved babies, but I’m worried that they’ll disturb other people on the plane, and I think they will cry when their ears start to pop. What could I do to keep them as quiet as possible on our flights? (We’re going from Detroit to Melbourne Australia to visit my relatives for three months, so its a pretty long trip)
Filed under: Baby Clothes
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Its simply impossible to believe that even the most angelic 15 month old in the world will not create a great deal of noise on a plane trip that will total in excess of 20 hours. Three 15 month old children will create utter havoc and make life a living hell for hundreds of your fellow passengers.
By what right do you think you have a right to impose this burden of misery and suffering on others to suit yourself?
I love to travel but when my daughter was still too young to be quiet for hours on end I gave up traveling by air rather than be so thoughtless and unspeakably rude as to impose even her perfectly normal level of childish noise on others. Only when she was old enough to understand the need not to disturb others did I resume my travels by air.
Postpone your trip, or go by boat, but do not bring three little children into a sealed container with a captive audience of a hundred or more people, every one of whom has the right to as peaceful and quiet a flight as is possible and most of whom will want to sleep for a large part of the lengthy trans-Pacific flight.
Give them something to eat. It’s hard to cry and eat at the same time. Also, if they chew on something, it will help their ears to pop.
I would suggest checking with their doctor for some advice. The real problem is the take-off and landing. That’s when they would have the most problem with their ears. It’s the sudden air pressure changes that cause this discomfort. If they have any problems with fluid behind the ear drum or running nose, you may try giving them a decongestant 30 min prior to take-off and again 30 min before landing. If they are still using a bottle, give them a bottle during this time too. The sucking can help prevent that pressure. Hope this helps!
Swallowing is much more effective for equalizing pressure in ears than chewing – even for those who do serious chewing, which 15 mointh olds don’t.
While I think you should ignore the grump who said you should not inflict your kids on the rest of the passengers, I do think a bit of a sanity check may be called for. Please tell me it’s not just you and three little ones on a long flight.
When a friend and I (it’s a long story) flew a long way with an infant (PNH>SIN>AMS>JFK) we brought lots and lots of earplugs to offer to all near us on the planes. Very few people took them, and they may not have helped much anyway, but the offer seemed to please people.
There are two things you want to have working for you as needed: Novelty and familiarity. Bring favorite books, toys, cuddly things, for comfort comfort and soothing. And bring new books and toys to stimuate and engage. Plenty of their favorite snacks.
Have in your immediate possession twice the number of diapers you expect to need, plus complete chages of clothes for everyone