What time of day is it best to fly with a toddler?

Oh, a couple of points - the car seat doesn't help us because she
never ever sleeps in it anyway. She doesn't mind sitting in it so much
(esp when it's OUT of the car), but she will not sleep in it ever.

We thought about ear plugs but honestly I think the sound and rumble
of the plane are what help her sleep more when flying. The noise is a
loud constant hum, which seems to lull her to sleep. She generally
sleeps better on the planes than at home!

Although we've just discovered that Thai Buddhist Monks chanting seems
to lull her to sleep too. For the first time ever she fell asleep in a
non-bed/non-plane location listening to the Thai monks chant.

On Apr 4, 3:25 pm, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
wrote:
I am planning a vacation and based on a previous experience would like
to avoid flying after my daughter's bedtime - she threw a huge tantrum
when I couldn't let her walk in the aisles (drinks were being served).
It was the first time we were flying and I found it extremely
uncomfortable. She was about a year and a half old then, and sitting
on my lap. This time she'll have her own seat, now that she's two
years old.

I'm wondering if maybe the tantrum was a one-off, and it's really
better to fly when the child will sleep.

What's been your experience?

The earlier the better. You lessen the chance of delays/missed
connections that way -- and while those are bad enough at any time of
day, it's 10 times worse when stuck with a toddler.

We've flown at 6 a.m. a couple of times with the kids, and while it
was not fun waking them at 3:30 a.m., we found they tended to fall
asleep once we were aloft. That's happened from 13 months all the way
up to 8 years, and more often than when we flew at other times of the
day (including night or nap time).

I'll also tout my standby toy for flying with toddlers -- stickers.
You have to watch VERY closely to make sure they don't go in the
mouth. But they're cheap, varied, lightweight and convenient, not
likely to do permanent damage to anything they stick to and novel
enough to hold a toddler's attention.

Lori G.