Hellobee Boards

I flew 14 hours with my then two year old last fall. We left at night, Korea time, and he slept for 10 hours of the flight! It was amazing. I was so nervous and it ended up being totally fine.

Not international but we flew during the day from nc to Hawaii and took the red eye back. Red eye was much better, she slept the whole way. We didn't get a lot of sleep but entertaining her constantly in the way there was rough.

What time does the red eye flight leave? We took an overnight flight to Israel (11 hours) and the flight didn't leave til midnight--we had to wake LO up to get him to the airport and then he was so amped up and overtired by the time we got on the plane it was a disaster. I think if our flight had left at 7 or 8 it would have been fine.

I prefer not to take red eye flights with kids. Plenty of people are traveling for business, even in coach, and rightfully expect to sleep. I feel stressed if my kids get hyper (hey, being on a plane is exciting for them...or soul-crushingly boring, depending on the day) and disturb others. During the day....oh well! I try my best to have them on their best behavior but feel less guilt if someone bumps a strangers seat or forgets their inside voice or cries because her sister is too close to her.

My best air travel advice is that a flight is a finite amount of time. No matter how bad it might be (and it usually isn't that bad!) the flight will end eventually. You can do or deal with just about anything for 8-15 hours.

i prefer flights first thing in the morning when they're in a good mood. we definitely had a redeye flight backfire on us when charlie was 1 and he cried and woke everyone up. being on the plane if it's their first time is also so exciting, they probably won't be able to sleep for a while.

now it doesn't matter what flights we take as much since they're seasoned travelers. it also really depends on your lo's personality and how well they fall asleep (charlie not well, olive well). if it were me though, i'd prefer a day flight!

@Mrs. High Heels: i think he'll eventually pass out and sleep a good chunk, esp if he misses his nap, and it's better to deal with an active toddler during the daytime than at night when they shut off the plane lights and everyone is sleeping!

that said asian airlines tend to do a good job of catering to the kids and even provide a gift to them!

My 2.5 yr old had a hard time sleeping on the plane. Everything was just too exciting! We recently went on 2 early evening flights and both were awful. LO wanted to play and then got overtired and cranky. I would prefer a morning one for her because I think it would be easier to keep her entertained.

I hate them when flying solo but redeyes are the best with my 2 year old. He falls asleep upon takeoff and wakes when we get there. It's perfect!!

Whenever we fly to England we always do red eye there and daytime back (no choice, that's just how the flights are scheduled) and without doubt the red eye is always easier for us.

I prefer to fly during wake times for my son, as opposed to when he is asleep. We don't often have the choice, as when flying to Europe, so we just plan to take it easy the first few days at our destination.

@Mrs. High Heels: This might be a strange response but I would look at it when would would I be at my best to meet their needs? So while I might initially lean toward a night flight so they can sleep I KNOW that if I took a night flight and all of a sudden a little person (no matter how much I love them) wouldnt let me get ANY sleep I would be a MESS during the flight and also the next day. My patience and that of the other passengers would be on "low" and all around personally it's just a recipe for not so very good things. Whereas if it's daytime, I know "what time it is" and am more available to meet the needs of others.

Flights to Taiwan are usually pretty set in time mostly afternoon or practically MOTN. I usually try to plan flights close to nap time or a little before. Our last flight was about an hour before bedtime and it worked out really well. She was up for take-off, drinks/snacks, etc. And wound down about the same time as everyone else and had to be woken up when the flight ended (5hrs). For TW, just expect to have awake + sleep time. I will say we had a flight ~6pm (we have a late bedtime) and it was awful. With getting to the airport, checking in, security boarding, etc. she skipped her nap. I thought she would sleep better for it, but it was terrible (plus teething & a fever), but it might have been a combination of things. Now all I know is that I like the flights to leave a little bit of wind-down time till the time expected for nap/sleep. I'd even rather a little more awake time than sleep if that's what it means. Otherwise it's difficult.