21st Century Toddler Travel

Toddler vs 4 1/2-hour cross-country airplane trip. The tension has been building for a couple of months. Who would win? The 2 1/2 yr. old or the other passengers on the plane? This would call for intense training and preparation.

Assurance and reassurance. GrandBoy needed help understanding the concept of flying in an airplane. He's been a plane-spotter since he was a baby and knew that we're down here on the ground and airplanes are way up in the air. Very cool. Until it dawns on him that when he's in a plane, he'll be way up in the air, too. Not so cool. So he's had a love/hate relationship with the notion of flying. Repeated assurances that he'll be sitting between Mommy and Daddy the whole way helped a little. Assurances that the airplane will be taking him to see Mickey Mouse worked a lot better. By the time we got to the airport and he got to see the airplanes, he was ready to go. Sitting between Mommy and Daddy. Going to see Mickey Mouse. Assurance. Reassurance.

Toddler luggage. The latest thing is a clever little hard-sided bag called Trunki. Pack it, pull it, ride it. And it fits under the seat and in the overhead compartment. GrandBoy's looks like a tiger. It holds all of his clothes for an 8-day trip, and it is very cool. (Almost-three-yr-olds like cool stuff.) Also, he has his familiar little backpack, stuffed with familiar objects like his Curious George. Trunki + backpack = "I own this trip!" 

Bag o' tricks. Hm. How to keep an active toddler occupied in finite space for 4 1/2 hours? What about raiding the dollar stores and shelves for puzzles, play-dough, markers/crayons, games, and other time-honored diversions and gift-wrapping each little item? The plan is to dole out the goodies - and, frankly, use them as bribes - when GrandBoy gets antsy. He really likes " 'prises," though he's never been tested for this length of time. Also, tucked away in the goody bag - treats like gummy bears and goldfish. Obviously, mom and dad are not counting on this little live-wire to nap.

OK. So this was the plan put into place for yesterday's trip from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Navy SEALS could not have implemented the program any better than GrandBoy's parents. So, who won, Toddler or Passengers? I have it on the best authority that everyone was a winner and that GrandBoy was a champ. Out of all the strategies, what worked best? I'll find out and let you know.

Funny thing about toddlers. They are portable. Sort of. With a lot of strategic planning.