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Some people have trouble with ear pressure on takeoff or landing, and that could be pretty scary for a toddler who can't understand why their ears feel like they're about to explode. Your child might have the same problem, so a nonstop flight would reduce their exposure to this pain.
Plus getting on and off planes, and through airports, is five times more work when you have a little one with you than when you're traveling alone. A nonstop can save you a lot of stress.
Another factor to consider is customs. If you land in another U.S. airport before getting to your final destination, that means you'd have to get off the plane, pick up your luggage, go through customs, and check your bags in again before you get home. In other words, you would need to go through baggage claim and baggage check-in twice. (The same would apply if you change planes in Mexico before you reach your travel destination.)
I usually enjoy the take-offs and landings, so for a long time was all about the layovers. Yes, typically, the more layovers the cheaper the airfare.
Now I try to fly non-stop if possible in particular since I learned that the Big Four U.S. airlines still fly wide bodies domestically and every once in a while, if I plan it right, I can catch a big bird from the East Coast to the West Coast. And if the airline needs to position the plane on the West Coast for overseas travel, it is a really big bird.
My daughter's first flight was at 11 weeks - and that was coast-to-coast. She's done the coast-to-coast trip a total of 6 times. She did LA/Sydney round-trip (lap kid), SF/Honolulu twice (own seat), and Sydney/Honolulu twice (own seat).
The shortest of those flights is 5 hours and the longest is 15 hours. The only problem we ever had was when she was ~6 months and we were sitting on the runway and we couldn't get up to change her diaper. She was not a happy camper.
That said, it just really depends on you and your kid. Cancun isn't that far from BWI so a quick layover is probably ill-advised. On our flights back and forth to Australia we would spend a day or two on the West Coast before heading back east and a day or so in HI never hurt anyone either.
Snacks, tablet w/ kid headphones, coloring books, snacks, toys, games, juice/milk boxes, and more snacks - all necessary items. On the 10-15 hour flights, when she was awake and starting to get fidgety, we would take turns walking her around the plane. She was really into it when she was little - getting to look at all of the different faces and random people smiling at her. The 2 hour layovers were always good for having a meal and finding a less busy area to play in while we waited for our connection.
Having the extra seat in the middle makes a huge difference in terms of comfort and stress levels - especially for a ~2 year old. Luckily, the trans-Pacific flights leave late at night and they put the families in the bulkhead rows with bassinets mounted on the wall (on Virgin anyway) so it was a bit of a bonus. When ours was 2 we weren't big on any screen time at all but on a +15 hour flight you have to give a little. Still, we didn't push it, and there was only so much she would watch anyway. When she wasn't sleeping snacks and games were a good distraction. That and good old fashioned teamwork. We would tag out every 20-30 minutes because I didn't have the attention span to play Peppa Pig for 2 hours straight and taking turns kept it fresh for her as well.
Wow, Am I the only one that thinks you should do the layover? If you are flying into Atlanta, then you will need that one hour layover to get to correct gate to board for Mexico, especially with a toddler. Atlanta is a big airport and it takes time to get where you need to be. Too, it would give all of you (toddler included) time to stretch your legs, use the restroom, grab a bite. I would definitely opt for the layover.
Enjoy your all inclusive- by far the best deal and most fun ever for my family! ( That has been some years back- (maybe all inclusive aren't as great anymore?)
I do layovers, too, especially with an active toddler. For anything more than three hours, if you can do a two hour flight, two hour layover and another two hour flight it would be perfect. You hopefully can keep him occupied in his seat for two hours with stickers and TV and stories, then break for a run and lunch and outside voice in the airport, then back on the plane for (hopefully) a nap. ETA: google says it's not even four hours - go straight through, unless he's a super active child.
If you are getting him his own seat a carseat is awesome to keep him contained (they can't undo the straps), and if he sleeps in one at home he'll be more likely to sleep on the plane.
The one thing I would never do is a one hour layover. You will be keeping him under tight control the whole time and be rushing and stressed. It's a recipe for disaster. Far better to have long enough that you can let him play freely and actively.
Don't forget to take an empty water bottle for each person on board to pour drinks into. An open drink plus active child plus confined space equals disaster.
Some tips from when our 10-year-old was a wee babe:
- prefer direct flights. Every takeoff and landing is stressful on a little one, especially the air pressure but also the noise and motion. (hint: breast feeding is great for those times -- discreetly, under a sweater or blanket -- see massive thread elsewhere at city-data for extensive discussion about this! )
- If you must have a layover, prefer 2-3 hours rather than 1 hour or less. Why? Because you can use the time to change diapers, unwind a bit, eat, make phone calls, catch up on email, let the little one run/crawl around a bit. Less than 1 hour and you are running to the next gate which is sometimes a long ways away or even a tram ride, with stroller, baby bag, laptop, etc. all of which are easy to forget!
- TSA allows larger than 3-ounce food/drinks for a little one, for example a 4-ounce bottle of milk or apple sauce. You can double check TSA's website in case this rule has changed, but that was our experience.
- TSA employees will chat with your little one and ask what their name is and who their mommy/daddy is. They're not just being friendly; it's a policy to double check against kid smuggling or some such.
- Collapsible strollers with cargo space underneath and hooks to hold tote bags and anything with a handle are a must. When you go to the gate, go right to the counter and tell them you're hand-checking your stroller, and they'll immediately put a tag on it. They do it all the time. When traveling, up until around 4 years old, kids really appreciate a stroller, especially when you're running a little late and need to move faster than a toddler can go. Hanging the baby bag on it, or stuffing it underneath, is a life saver. A rain canopy is handy, too.
- Anyone older than a babe in arms has to purchase a seat. But you can raise the arm rests (in coach class) and let him snuggle against you, or sit in your lap after takeoff. That seat is handy for storing all kinds of stuff underneath, too.
- Traveling is great for kids. They see so many new sights, and meet so many new people; it's really good for their little brains. People love to talk to kids and it makes for a more fun and social time when traveling, especially when you go to other countries. Even going through airport security becomes kind of a family affair, with the TSA folks doting over the babies -- I've seen it! They're just people like the rest of us, with a rather unpleasant job much of the time, and nothing like a cute little kid to brighten one's day up.
I would say no layover. A flight with less than an hour layover is stressful no matter who is traveling. You will be stresses with worrying about what will happen if your outbound is delayed, how long it may take to get from one gate to another, or if your bags will make it in time between the flights. Plus there is the hassle of getting your carry on stuff from one plane to another and having to go through the boarding process all over again. A layover generally just adds more time and hassle to your overall journey and should be avoided if possible. I understand that cost is a factor especially when a easy to swallow $50 for one person difference becomes $200 for a family of 4. If possible try adjusting your travel dates to the ones that have the cheapest non stops
Speak for yourself about what is stressfull. Flights that last longer than a couple of hours are extrememly uncomfortable for those over 6ft tall. I always try to get a layover and Im glad those are cheaper. The stressfull thing to me re: the OP is trying to fly with a toddler. Nothing good comes out of that. They wont even remember the trip. When u have babies, doing little things like flying or even going to the movies is off the table for you for awhile.
Speak for yourself about what is stressfull. Flights that last longer than a couple of hours are extrememly uncomfortable for those over 6ft tall. I always try to get a layover and Im glad those are cheaper. The stressfull thing to me re: the OP is trying to fly with a toddler. Nothing good comes out of that. They wont even remember the trip. When u have babies, doing little things like flying or even going to the movies is off the table for you for awhile.
I understand that long flights can be uncomfortable for people for a variety of physical reason but there is a point where you'll have to weigh the overall discomfort vs being able to fly to a location at all. Also that is more of an issue for US domestic flights where generally you are planes with less legroom and aisle space than long haul flights that give you more legroom and there is more spaces to walk around. There are some places where in order to flight there you are going to have to endure a flight of up to 15 or more hours non-stop with no options for layovers along the way. People generally have a preference and since they are the ones making the flight selections their comfort in that regard is in their control.
However I have to disagree that there is nothing good with traveling with a toddler, contrary to popular belief, and it may be an American thing, traveling with your children with they are young is ideal because for about the first two years there can be little to no additional cost to bringing them along. Yes it will require more planning but there are resources to help parents with that, like this thread on why a one hour layover would be a bad idea.
Remembering a trip has nothing to do with having a good time while you are there and you would be surprised by how much of who you are now is influenced by things that happened when you were very young. Also the ideal time to expose children to new languages is while they are young. Like most people I am no fan of hearing screaming and crying children on a plane but I am not going to begrudge a family that is expanding their child's horizon.
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