Tips for kids ears when flying....help???

[Taurus8484]

Hi everyone......We are about to go on a 2.5 hour flight for the first time with the kids. DS1 will be nearly 4 and DS2 will be 2. What are the best tips to help with their ears on the plane?? DS2 still will have dummy then so is that the best option?? Some friends are saying no as he will spit it out?? Looking for options for both kids. TIA.

 

[icklemonster]

Best advice I was given when my daughter was 2 was to give her a baby bottle with a size 1 teet on. My daughter loves milk but because the flow was so slow it took her 20 minutes to drink it so her ears stayed clear. When we flew more recently with her - aged 3.5 we told her to drink through a straw sippy cup. She didn't complain once. We then did the size 1 teet trick with DS on that flight. Worked a treat. Made for a very different flight compared to when my daughter was 17 months, when she screamed solidly for an hour! Hence why I spent so much time looking for hints and tips for the next holiday. We also gave her a present to open every hour for being good (only like tiny stocking filler type things). That was a 10 hour flight though. Good luck xx

ETA - remember it is only for take off and landing should their ears get affected.

 

[BlingyGal]

I've flown several times with my daughter (between 9 months and 20 months old). Bottle of water/milk helps if breastfeeding isn't an option.

On our last flight, when she was 20 months, she didn't want to drink anything on take off or landing and she was totally fine. No ear problems. So, your kids may not have any issues to begin with.

I think that they don't need to be swallowing the entire duration of takeoff/landing (ie: they don't need to drink continuously) - assuming their ear tubes are 'normal', a few swallows every few minutes to relieve some of the pressure should be enough. Pressure build up in the ear isn't always painful either; annoying but not always painful.

 

[jessmke]

I've flown 5 times with my DD before she was a year old and never had any problems with her ears. I would often breastfeed her to sleep during take off but didn't do anything special for landing and she has never had an issue.

 

[MindUtopia]

We never had any problems either that I remember. When I was a kid, I remember my mum saying to yawn or we chewed gum. Personally, I wouldn't give gum to a toddler obviously, so we didn't do that, but I imagine I probably did yawn and make her yawn (since obviously if you can make yourself yawn, naturally they will yawn too). It wasn't a big deal though. Managing the toilet with a potty training 2 year old was way more traumatising at the time!