Flying with a toddler

Donna Metler wrote:
Security restrictions have changed since I last flew with DD2. Can I still
pack some activities for her to take on the plane? Also, would it be OK to
take one of her straw cups empty, then get something to fill it on the other
side of security? What about snacks?

It's only a 2 hour flight, and she'll have her familiar car seat, but 2
hours with a bored, hungry toddler would be an eternity, and the flight is
late enough that she probably will hit the slot between nap and bed, since
airline schedules aren't set for optimal toddler travel time.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...ted-items.shtm

You can also check your local airport. Some will post any
additional restrictions on their website, or will tell you
if you call them.

Short answer is that you should be able to buy drink past the
security checkpoint and bring it on the plane.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Security restrictions have changed since I last flew with DD2. Can I still
pack some activities for her to take on the plane? Also, would it be OK to
take one of her straw cups empty, then get something to fill it on the other
side of security? What about snacks?

It's only a 2 hour flight, and she'll have her familiar car seat, but 2
hours with a bored, hungry toddler would be an eternity, and the flight is
late enough that she probably will hit the slot between nap and bed, since
airline schedules aren't set for optimal toddler travel time.

Ericka Kammerer wrote:
Donna Metler wrote:
Security restrictions have changed since I last flew with DD2. Can I
still
pack some activities for her to take on the plane? Also, would it be
OK to
take one of her straw cups empty, then get something to fill it on the
other
side of security? What about snacks?

snip a little

You can also check your local airport. Some will post any
additional restrictions on their website, or will tell you
if you call them.

Short answer is that you should be able to buy drink past the
security checkpoint and bring it on the plane.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Probably but not guaranteed - we got very delayed flying back from the
States in October. We were at Chicago O'hare and they closed all the
vending points on the airside of security. We had bought water before
they were closed for our long night flight but that meant that we
couldnt get back through security landside to go and get food and drink
for our evening meal if we wanted to keep our water. It was a very
frustrating experience with a very tired 6 year old. We didnt board
until after midnight. Thankfully on the plane we had a very kind and
understanding cabin crew who looked after us well.

Anyway, that was transatlantic in october - I'm sure in most
circumstances it works out a lot better. If the op gets stuck she could
always ask one of the cabin crew to fill up the straw cup.

We did have a minor hiccup with my dds prescription liquid antibiotics
as they were larger than the 3 ounces stipulated.. Security argued
amongst themselves whether it need to be in a baggie or not - they
concluded that as it was prescription it didnt but its worth taking
along spare ziplock bags in case.

Anyway after all those ramblings, the TSA website gives you all the regs
http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm
--
Sarah

Go to the web page of the airlines you are using and see if they don't have
a place for restrictions or call them. They will know firsthand what you can
take and what you can't. Every one of them is different.

Sue

"Donna Metler" wrote in message
. ..
Security restrictions have changed since I last flew with DD2. Can I still
pack some activities for her to take on the plane? Also, would it be OK to
take one of her straw cups empty, then get something to fill it on the
other
side of security? What about snacks?

It's only a 2 hour flight, and she'll have her familiar car seat, but 2
hours with a bored, hungry toddler would be an eternity, and the flight is
late enough that she probably will hit the slot between nap and bed, since
airline schedules aren't set for optimal toddler travel time.

Security restrictions have changed since I last flew with DD2. Can I still
pack some activities for her to take on the plane? Also, would it be OK to
take one of her straw cups empty, then get something to fill it on the
other
side of security? What about snacks?

It's only a 2 hour flight, and she'll have her familiar car seat, but 2
hours with a bored, hungry toddler would be an eternity, and the flight is
late enough that she probably will hit the slot between nap and bed, since
airline schedules aren't set for optimal toddler travel time.

The restrictions are no liquids, other than small quantities which you are
allowed, each has to be less than 3oz and they all have to fit into a quart
ziploc, basically it allows you to take through a small number of travel
size toiletries.

They do prefer you not to have anything that looks like it has liquid in it,
but for a toddler, you need that cup, so take it, just save yourself some
time by having it out, with the lid off at security, if they see it deep in
a bag on x-ray then they'll likely want to get it out and check it's not got
liquid in it - at least they should be doing!

As for toys, absolutely no reason not to take them, just check they aren't
one of the very small number of toys that has some component filled with
liquid.

Cheers

Anne

Donna Metler wrote:
Security restrictions have changed since I last flew with DD2. Can I still
pack some activities for her to take on the plane? Also, would it be OK to
take one of her straw cups empty, then get something to fill it on the other
side of security? What about snacks?

It's only a 2 hour flight, and she'll have her familiar car seat, but 2
hours with a bored, hungry toddler would be an eternity, and the flight is
late enough that she probably will hit the slot between nap and bed, since
airline schedules aren't set for optimal toddler travel time.





DD8 just flew in February and DH just flew in March. We had no trouble
but then DD has been flying for about 5 years. Check with your airline
or airport for specific details.

Mainly snacks will be ok if they are solid (no jello/pudding type
things). No drinks even in sealed containers but an empty sippy cup
would be fine. Formula or breast milk is allowed if traveling with a
baby but I assume that yours is older than that. You may be able to get
bottle water on the other side of the check point or on the plane. Any
toiletries or meds need to be pack in a quart size ziploc bag and less
than 3 oz each. DD has a saline gel that she puts in her nose to
prevent nose bleeds and I made sure that we had a doctors note for it.

If you think you can pack her toys in a backpack small enough for her to
carry it might be best. Make sure they don't have fluid in them or
anything sharp. Some airlines allow child safe scissors. DD spent a lot
of time looking out the windows and coloring. She loves to fly though
and does it a couple of times a year.

Oh you might want to make sure you have gum if she chews it for take off
and landing. Make sure to have shoes that slip on and off easily for
check points. If you are going to be traveling often I would recommend
sending a travel note with her. It tells who she is, who she is
traveling with and to where, and contact numbers. We also worked on
what she should do if she got separated from her aunt that she travels
with. When she was older we worked on identifying the info on the
boards so she knew her gate and flight number.

If you have any questions I'll try to answer them.

On Apr 10, 8:33 pm, "Anne Rogers" wrote:
Security restrictions have changed since I last flew with DD2. Can I still
pack some activities for her to take on the plane? Also, would it be OK to
take one of her straw cups empty, then get something to fill it on the
other
side of security? What about snacks?

It's only a 2 hour flight, and she'll have her familiar car seat, but 2
hours with a bored, hungry toddler would be an eternity, and the flight is
late enough that she probably will hit the slot between nap and bed, since
airline schedules aren't set for optimal toddler travel time.

The restrictions are no liquids, other than small quantities which you are
allowed, each has to be less than 3oz and they all have to fit into a quart
ziploc, basically it allows you to take through a small number of travel
size toiletries.

They do prefer you not to have anything that looks like it has liquid in it,
but for a toddler, you need that cup, so take it, just save yourself some
time by having it out, with the lid off at security, if they see it deep in
a bag on x-ray then they'll likely want to get it out and check it's not got
liquid in it - at least they should be doing!

We've flown on 4 trips with DD since Sept, 2 of them international,
and what I've found is it doesn't matter what the TSA regs are, the
local security staff has its own idea of what's allowed and even if
you show them what the TSA site says, they won't budge. In our
departure city on one trip, the agent insisted no liquid in bottles
whatsoever, baby or not. I couldn't even drink it (it was juice), I
had to toss it. On that same trip, on the transfer at another airport
(where you have to go thru security again), they saw the empty bottles
and said "you could have filled these up for the baby."

In the US, you *can* buy water/liquids once you pass security and
carry that on board. Alas, at Schipol in Amsterdam, there is another
security checkpoint at the gate - this for an inter-European flight -
and we could not bring any liquids on board. All had to be tossed,
baby or not. (I am used to their over-the-top security for the US-
bound flights, but usually for inter-European flights they're more
relaxed).

On our flights yesterday, at least for our 9 month old baby, we could
bring sippy cups and bottles filled with liquids through security,
both on the international and domestic portions. I did remove all
containers with liquids (water and juice) so they could be scanned
separately, along with the quart-sized ziploc of less than 3oz each
baby stuff (diaper creme, tylenol, etc).

I had my homemade pureed foods in tupperware type containers, also
inside a plastic bag, and pulled those out so they could be sent
through the Xray machine separately as well. DO bring food! Very few
airlines are serving ANY food these days, and snacks are fine, as long
as they're not liquid!

As for toys, absolutely no reason not to take them, just check they aren't
one of the very small number of toys that has some component filled with
liquid.


Just make sure the toys don't have sharp edges, otherwise, no problem.

We've flown on 4 trips with DD since Sept, 2 of them international,
and what I've found is it doesn't matter what the TSA regs are, the
local security staff has its own idea of what's allowed and even if
you show them what the TSA site says, they won't budge. In our
departure city on one trip, the agent insisted no liquid in bottles
whatsoever, baby or not. I couldn't even drink it (it was juice), I
had to toss it. On that same trip, on the transfer at another airport
(where you have to go thru security again), they saw the empty bottles
and said "you could have filled these up for the baby."

I don't know if things have improved more recently, but there does seem to
be a standard set of posters, displaying what you can and can't take, so if
an agent goes against that, it would be quite easy to point it out, though I
expect individual airports would have the right to have stricter rules, but
they should at least be displayed. Of course there is always the "can I see
your manager/supervisor trick". It didn't matter for you as it was juice,
but other families may be travelling with formula or ebm - they can't just
ditch it, baby needs it's food. I'd check the individual airports website as
well, but all the ones I have looked at have been copied and pasted from
TSA.

In the US, you *can* buy water/liquids once you pass security and
carry that on board. Alas, at Schipol in Amsterdam, there is another
security checkpoint at the gate - this for an inter-European flight -
and we could not bring any liquids on board. All had to be tossed,
baby or not. (I am used to their over-the-top security for the US-
bound flights, but usually for inter-European flights they're more
relaxed).

This surprises me, we travelled through Amsterdam and I'm aware of the
security at the gates, we were on a US bound flight so we knew we couldn't
have anything and I know they don't have the small quanties in a zip lock
exception, but thinking back, it was definitely amsterdam where I saw a sign
about baby milk, I remembered it specifically as it was the only time I'd
seen a poster specifying breastmilk and formula - again, it was fine for
you, but not if the baby needs that milk, so any alterations are going to be
individual operator error, and the requesting to speak to a supervisor is
the way to go.

On our flights yesterday, at least for our 9 month old baby, we could
bring sippy cups and bottles filled with liquids through security,
both on the international and domestic portions. I did remove all
containers with liquids (water and juice) so they could be scanned
separately, along with the quart-sized ziploc of less than 3oz each
baby stuff (diaper creme, tylenol, etc).

which is exactly what they should be doing, my reading is that diaper cream
etc. doesn't have to meet the 3oz size as it's a baby item, but it may well
be easier to do it that way if it's not too much hassle. We took a large tub
through without problems though.

I had my homemade pureed foods in tupperware type containers, also
inside a plastic bag, and pulled those out so they could be sent
through the Xray machine separately as well.

I'd expect that, I had prepared apple sauce and had it in the bag with the
other stuff.

It's all an aside for Donna though, her toddler is past 2, so it's standard
adult rules.

Anne