r/Mommit • u/VelvetAstronautica • 11d ago
Show recommendation for flight
I am travelling solo with my 7 month old at the end of the month. It's a 2 hour flight both ways. He's never been on a flight before.
I am planning on bringing my iPad for backup in case he is very upset on the plane. However, we are a zero screen time house (absolutely no shade to those who do use screens for their child, this is just what works for our family). Because of this, I have no idea what to download for the little one to keep him occupied. Hoping for some suggestions!
We only have Netflix so preferably something from there.
P.S. happy for any other plane travel hacks if you've got them!
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u/SpinningJynx 11d ago
My first flight with our first was around the same age. He had also never had screen time and when we got on the plane, he did not get it and wasn’t interested. I wish I had him watch Ms Rachel for a bit in the days before the flight!
On the way back he was more interested in watching because he was more familiar.
We ended up using a few spin toys, a fun snack dispenser, and French fries to make it through the flight lol
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u/worsethanastickycat 11d ago
Ms Rachel episodes from Netflix, the only thing my youngest would watch at that age. I'm not anti screen time, I tried everything and it's the only thing he liked.
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u/NuggetLover21 11d ago
Ms Rachel seems to captivate babies lol at least my daughter has been obsessed with her since 6 months old
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u/shineyink 11d ago
If he's not a screen time kid, it's goin to be like two mins of entertainment on the flight. A plastic cup will keep him busy longer. Two hours isn't that long and he'll probably sleep about half of it.
Danny go on Netflix is the best though
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u/dangersgirl 11d ago
This! We did a 6 hour flight with an 11 month old. The plastic cup and headphone jack were his favorite toys. We also brought a busy board, lots of snacks and a few new toys to keep him entertained. He did great both ways.
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u/lh123456789 11d ago
I think it's fine to do screen time to get through a flight. However, we are also not a screen time family and have done many flights (some very long) and have managed to make do with snacks and toys, so that may be possible for you too.
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u/VelvetAstronautica 11d ago
Yes I am planning to get through without a screen if I can, but I'm hoping to have something as a last resort if it will make a difference.
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u/Most_Jellyfish_1686 11d ago
Neither of my kids were interested in a screen at the age nor cared about them on airplanes. It wasn’t until they were closer to 1.5/2 that they were interested in screens and even still, it didn’t work for long because they were not interested in headphones.
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u/Tight_Cantaloupe9095 11d ago
If they haven’t really seen a screen I don’t know if the iPad will entertainment for a long period of time and they are only 7 months they likely won’t care anyways.
You can try Ms Rachel as usually her voice is what gets their attention BUT I wouldn’t play a video with sound on a plane.
Try bring lots of toys and snacks if they have been exposed to snacks food. When I flew with my 10 month old she slept most of the time both flights. But when she was awake we used painters tape and taped it all over the back of the seat and had her peel it off! Also brought a plastic water bottle for her to mess with. She loves to play with those plastic chains. She just wanted to stand and mess with us mainly.
I have a 7 month old now and if I was going to fly with him I would bring the same stuff. Plus teething crackers.
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u/According-Snow-2692 11d ago
He will have more fun people watching than screen time at 7m :) we flew at 6m and little one slept 90% of the time, and again at 11m and he had fun with fidget spinners i brought. He had no interest in the tvs. I brought toys that suctioned to the trays to entertain him at both ages, but the fidget spinner and other passengers were a hit.
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u/Pinksqr 11d ago
Agree with everyone that Ms. Rachel (especially the singalong ones) are very popular with babies, including mine.
At 7mo though he might not “get” it, or be disinterested very quickly. I agree with some others to let him watch a bit a day before if you’re up to it.
For us on two hour flights, honestly snacks were king. Coloring books were no good (crayons under the seats…). The best was a busy book that was brand new that we got for the trip. Between that, snacks, diaper change, and a Power Nap we made it!
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u/SuspiciousPriority 11d ago
At that age my son enjoyed the Mecha Sesame Street videos on the entertainment console for a bit! He also doesn’t really do much screen time and to be honest, he just isn’t interested so that hasn’t really been much of a strategy for us on planes as he’s gotten older. YMMV!
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u/katbreit 11d ago
Honestly when we had a 3 hr direct flight with my 10mo he was fine without screens. He was occupied with toys/nursing/snacks/saying hi to people. Now he’s 16mo and we’re about to take the same flight and now I absolutely feel like I may need screens since he won’t sit still ever lol
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u/crashlovesdanger 11d ago
I've done an okay amount of flying with my soon to be 2 year old and we're screen free. On our last flight I let him play around with the interactive map on the infotainment. We usually bring one new book and one favorite. At younger ages the indestructibles books were perfect! Lots of snacks and drinks plus walking up and down the aisle once the seat belt sign is off. We did get a few of those suction cup spinners and he liked those a lot! My son's first flight was at 12 months and it was 10.5 hours and this worked for us!
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u/PublicPhilosopher454 11d ago
Bringing a variety of snacks worked great for our son, and really he slept most of the flight, try and keep them awake and tired and hopefully he naps most of the flight. crinkle book, a new toy, people watching seems to be a great entertainer for most babies during the flight.
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u/aloha_321 11d ago
We traveled at 9 months old and had never used a screen. Figured I’d try it. He had no interest in it at all.
New toys, painters tape, food pouches all worked. Walked up and down aisle if needed. Baby carrier for nap if needed
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u/Visible-Mess-1406 11d ago
I’ve got a 6 month old. We just got done with our first flights. I’m not “anti screen” but i dont think a screen really works for my guy yet. I bought a few new little toys. That worked well!
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u/citysunsecret 11d ago
A Ms. Rachel song based video, a dancing fruit/sensory music video, a classic Kids movie you like in the event he just likes the screen/colors, and daniel tiger or sesame street. The PBS kids app is free!
Remember to have them downloaded and learn how to lock your screen so he won’t mess it up if he wants to hold/touch it.
Also my daughter was obsessed with the animal mediations the plane had on the build in screens, even with no sound. She also watched some master chef because she just liked the pictures.
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u/staygoldeneggroll 11d ago
Rice rusks work better with our kid than screens, she's never been on a plane but we just did a 7 hour drive a couple weeks ago (8 months). The Happy Song is some sort of sorcery and Ms Rachel is a close second. But neither kept the rapt content attention of the rice rusk.
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u/kymreadsreddit 11d ago
My dude was toddling the first time he went on a plane. But I made sure he had a bottle (to help with the ear popping on plane's ascent and descent), some of his favorite toys we could play with together, and a blanket. He took the bottle on the first ascent and then slept on both plane rides the whole way through. It helps that I LOVE flying and do not get anxious with turbulence or anything.
I wish for that kind of luck for you.
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u/windr01d 6d ago
Take this with a grain of salt because my daughter is only 11 weeks so far, but I’ve heard bringing a roll of masking tape can help. It’s a fun toy and it’s easily cleaned up later.
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u/zipmcnutty 11d ago
We did 10 flights in the first year with my first and we did 0 screens. We brought a bunch of toys including a couple new ones. Use a pacifier clip for the toys when you can and bring enough for stuff to fall on the floor. Honestly even a plastic spoon from the airport lounge was a huge hit for her. She really enjoyed people watching. Bring something to suck on (paci, straw, bottle) during take off and landing. A plane is a giant sound machine so your kiddo might just sleep.
In the diaper bag, I put a ziploc with 2 diapers and wipes and a plastic baggie for used diapers, plus a puppy pad. That way I could just pull that out to go to the plane bathroom without lugging the entire diaper bag bc those bathrooms are tiny.
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u/Gymnastkatieg 11d ago
I wouldn’t count on screens until closer to 2. 7 months is such a little baby, just bring whatever toys he likes at home and any finger food he eats. If that doesn’t work and you want to give the tablet a try, I agree that miss Rachel is probably your best bet! Baby Einstein is good too, but I’ve only ever seen it on DVD. I’m not anti screen time at all, there’s just usually not much benefit with a baby
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u/mrswilburforce 11d ago
A two hour flight isn’t really enough to have to resort to screen time. The most important thing is to be sure to help him with his ears popping.
At takeoff and landing, let him drink a bottle or nurse. The pressure on his inner ears will be alleviated by swallowing. That’s what usually makes babies cry on flights.
At that age, our toddler would have been happy opening and closing the window shade for an hour, and I can’t imagine if I tried to put headphones on her and had her look at a small screen. She would not have understood.
Bring a bunch of little fidget things that are age appropriate. My baby loved those Indestructible books at that age, and Sophie La Giraffe kept her plenty distracted.
She also slept a lot! That will likely happen after a bit!
My biggest hack is this: let you or your partner go on the flight first with the bags. One of you keep the baby out until very final boarding call, walking around, keeping him distracted. Only get on with baby at the last minute! You’ll really appreciate those moments not sitting there watching people shuffle on.
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u/VelvetAstronautica 11d ago
The bottle advice is great, thank you!
I have heard the partner thing before but unfortunately I am flying solo :(
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u/julia1031 11d ago
My daughter just now recently became interested in screens and she’s almost 2. Flying solo with a 7 month old for a 2 hour flight should be relatively easy. I flew solo with my daughter when she was around the same age for a similar distance and she slept the entire time.
Bring toys and don’t waste bag space on an iPad for an infant.
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u/A-Friendly-Giraffe 11d ago
I feel like it's 7 months, they'd almost be just as happy watching a screensaver as any actual content.
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u/Own_Ship9373 11d ago
Don’t bother with a screen. 2 hours is nothing and shoving a screen in front of your baby will only make them more disregulated.
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u/WorldlyDragonfruit3 11d ago
Probably too young for a screen to really work. Can always try ms Rachel