Kay Dee Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Hi folks, Well, my 2 children and I are on the final 4 week countdown until we join hubby/daddy in Sydney. Getting very excited for the future but it's also very nerve wracking!:shocked: I've been on long haul flights with the kids before (they're now 5 and 3) but we've never flown to Australia. Any tips/advice on what to take/do on the flight to keep them entertained would be appreciated! Thanks in advance! See you soon Sydney! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurseAng Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Hi Kay 4 weeks - how exciting!!! I bet you can't wait to see your hubby again, it must have been very hard to see him off. Mine were 4 1/2 & 2 when we first went and it was actually ok. I was dreading it though! What time are you flying? Presumably it's the 9.30pm-ish flights which means they will all be ready for a sleep once they turn the lights off. Let them sleep in the morning you go if that's possible as it will help them to cope with staying up later than normal. I then woke ours after about 7 hours so they were awake for the final 3-4 hours and that went quite quickly with the help of the tv and some new colouring books, story books and stickers books that I gradually brought out. I had more toys etc than we needed but they were used on the holiday so it didn't matter. We then walked round Singapore airport for the hour which helped stretch the legs but also tire them out a bit more. They were then ready for another snooze once they had turned the lights out on the next leg. We changed them into pj's as they were more comfortable in those and also took some of their favourite snacks. We didn't really sleep much but as long as they did I was sane. Good luck - keep us posted on how you're doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Good luck Kay Kids? They're all different. Flying long haul with my son has always been a grind because he's never had any interest in movies/TV, just wants to play games with you, which gets a bit wearing after 12 hours. We're flying back in August for a visit and hopefully at just turned 6 he'll be happy enough with books & computer games this time around - we will have our hands full with a 6 month old It's rarely as bad as you think it's going to be. They will sleep at some point, pjs etc as Ang says will help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8bug79 Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Hi folks, Well, my 2 children and I are on the final 4 week countdown until we join hubby/daddy in Sydney. Getting very excited for the future but it's also very nerve wracking!:shocked: I've been on long haul flights with the kids before (they're now 5 and 3) but we've never flown to Australia. Any tips/advice on what to take/do on the flight to keep them entertained would be appreciated! Thanks in advance! See you soon Sydney! :biggrin: You sound in a similar situation to us, just slightly further ahead. my husband flies ahead of us in Aug and I follow 4 weeks later with our 3 kids. I too am dreading the flight. None have done long haul and only my eldest has flown at all. I am buying them each new games for their ds/ leapsters etc. I will also buy the eldest a new book and younger two colouring and stickers etc. Other than that I am at a loss. I want to surprise them with it so will mean that my hand luggage is full of stuff- but I have food allergies so I am also taking food for myself onboard just in case they forget (known to happen) so a bot limited on space. I am also taking a couple of card games to play with my eldest and probably some books to read to the younger two. God I hope they sleep as I hate flying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadas Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 We did this 18months ago, I came out first to do the house and wife and FOUR kids under 12 came out later. I actually flew to Hong Kong to meet them at the transit point. Only problem was with the time zones, etc., I was snoring away on the flight back to Sydney, whereas my wife and kids were wide awake... And grumpy... Kids adapt, plenty of sweets, snacks, iPads, etc. We've now just moved to Adelaide and drove the family down, not one moan in three days of driving, but then I did tell them that the first one to complain or kick off would be left at the roadside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thanks Ang, I appreciate everyone taking time to reply. We are flying on the 930pm flight to Singapore so I am hopeful that they will sleep through the night. I've got the usual colouring books, games, iPad etc to keep them entertained; I guess it's just fear of the unknown re: it being such a lengthy journey. Was it easy enough getting off to stretch your legs at Singapore? Did you have to take all of your belongings with you? My husband suggested that we just stay on the plane to avoid having to take all of our hand luggage off with us but I would rather allow the kids to stretch their legs (and to tire them out as you suggested :wink:) Did your children adapt okay once you got settled? Apologies for all of the questions; I'm a bit like a rabbit caught in the headlights at the minute. Hubby is okay as he flew out on 31st March (he came home for 3 weeks as we had a holiday booked before our Australian dream came to fruition) so he knows what to expect. If I only had myself to consider, I would find it a lot less stressful but I just want what's best for my kids. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thanks for your reply northshorepom! I know you're right and it probably won't be as bad as I think. I'll just need to suck it up if it is! My son has just turned 3 and is the difficult one to entertain, whereas my 5 year old daughter is content with reading, drawing etc. People are right when they say that no 2 kids are the same :wink: Good luck with your flight in August. Let us know how you get on as I always love reading your posts on here :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thanks for replying k8bug79; I'm sure northshorepom is right when he says it won't be that bad!! It'll be an adventure for you and the kids :smile: I'm doing the same as you re: taking games, colouring books etc and can only hope they sleep through the night as I don't want them getting overtired and upset. I want this to be a positive experience for them. Good luck for the flight in August. Hopefully you won't have any issues with your food allergies! Please let us know how you get on :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thanks for replying Cadas. Wow, your wife deserves a medal for making the journey to Hong Kong with your 4 kids! There's me worrying and I've only got 2 to think about. Again, it's just fear of the unknown I guess! Did you find that your kids settled quite quickly when you first arrived in Australia? I'm loving the fact that you could use the "leaving you at the roadside" card :wink: Hope everything works out for you all in Adelaide :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8bug79 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I don' t think u can stay on the plane. May be wrong. It'll be refuelling but also i know when i booked my seats i've got two differant plane types. But i'm flying from paris so may be differantfrom London. I've got 2 hrs 45 to kill not too bad. Time for something to eat and a stretch of legs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Nah, you can't stay on the plane. They make you get off and re-clear security No hassle at Singapore. If you have young kids they call you first so you can get back on early and try and get them settled before the rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Nah, you can't stay on the plane. They make you get off and re-clear security No hassle at Singapore. If you have young kids they call you first so you can get back on early and try and get them settled before the rush Thank you! I'll be quite happy to get off of the plane to be honest to enable the kids and I to get a break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 I don' t think u can stay on the plane. May be wrong. It'll be refuelling but also i know when i booked my seats i've got two differant plane types. But i'm flying from paris so may be differantfrom London. I've got 2 hrs 45 to kill not too bad. Time for something to eat and a stretch of legs! Thanks k8bug79 - everyone just stayed on the plane when my hubby flew via Hong Kong, hence me being unsure of what will happen. Being able to stretch the old legs will be a bonus :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurseAng Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 K8bug79, Our little girl has got lots of allergies so we had to take all her food on the plane with us as they couldn't cater for us. If you get a letter from your GP they you can take a cool bag on the plane which is extra to your allowance. We weren't allowed to take the freezer blocks through security at Heathrow but put them in anyway as it will keep things cold up till then. Then if you take some ziplock bags and staff and the various coffee shops will give you some ice and then the cabin staff will either replace the ice regularly for you or put it in their chiller. Kay, I would suggest waking them after a while rather than leaving them to sleep for the whole leg to Singapore - otherwise they are likely to be awake for the whole 8 hours to Sydney and then when you arrive in the morning they will want to go straight to bed because of their UK body clock. If you wake them after a while they should then be ready for another good sleep on the final leg and that will hopefully keep them going once you arrive as well. Keep us posted with how you are doing with everything else. Must be so hard to do on your own. Good luck with the flight Northshorepom and hope you have a lovely holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8bug79 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 K8bug79, Our little girl has got lots of allergies so we had to take all her food on the plane with us as they couldn't cater for us. If you get a letter from your GP they you can take a cool bag on the plane which is extra to your allowance. We weren't allowed to take the freezer blocks through security at Heathrow but put them in anyway as it will keep things cold up till then. Then if you take some ziplock bags and staff and the various coffee shops will give you some ice and then the cabin staff will either replace the ice regularly for you or put it in their chiller. Kay, I would suggest waking them after a while rather than leaving them to sleep for the whole leg to Singapore - otherwise they are likely to be awake for the whole 8 hours to Sydney and then when you arrive in the morning they will want to go straight to bed because of their UK body clock. If you wake them after a while they should then be ready for another good sleep on the final leg and that will hopefully keep them going once you arrive as well. Keep us posted with how you are doing with everything else. Must be so hard to do on your own. Good luck with the flight Northshorepom and hope you have a lovely holiday. Thanks, thankfully my food allergy is more of an intolerance but a very severe one- Cows Milk and Wheat so easy enough for the to cater for. I can tolerate a small amount of wheat if it's inadvertantly in a sauce but Milk burns and upsets my tummy quickly (not good in an airplane!). It's the snacks I'm worried about I know the piddly portions they give for airplane meals lol. Plus as I am flying from Paris I am worried there may be a language barrier/ So going armed witha bag of goodies to munch on :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurseAng Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 It's good that they can cater for both, who are you flying with? BA said they could only do one and we would have to chose either dairy or gluten free, which wasn't much use but I can understand it. A lot of restaurants can't cater for her so I wouldn't expect an airline to. I would get a note anyway and then at least your goodies can be extra on your hand luggage. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8bug79 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 It's good that they can cater for both, who are you flying with? BA said they could only do one and we would have to chose either dairy or gluten free, which wasn't much use but I can understand it. A lot of restaurants can't cater for her so I wouldn't expect an airline to. I would get a note anyway and then at least your goodies can be extra on your hand luggage. Good luck! I'm not trusting them lol. We're flying with Singapore airlines. My friend has the same issues with her son and she said they just take loads of food and eat what they can but it muct be so tough and scary being on a plane and not knowing. May see if Doc can dome a note but tbh I am no sure they have much on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurseAng Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Have a chat with them, I'm sure they will. When we flew out a few months ago our son had had an allergic reaction to something about 4 days before we were due to fly - perfect timing! He was covered in a rash and 2 different anti-histamines didn't take it away. Fortunately he didn't have any of the other allergic reaction symptoms but I was still very nervous they were going to present themselves at 30000 feet! So we had a gp note for our daughter, her meds and food and then a gp note for his meds, which of course were liquids - we were with security for about 1/2 hour and they were very confused by the whole thing! We never did find out what he reacted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 K8bug79, Our little girl has got lots of allergies so we had to take all her food on the plane with us as they couldn't cater for us. If you get a letter from your GP they you can take a cool bag on the plane which is extra to your allowance. We weren't allowed to take the freezer blocks through security at Heathrow but put them in anyway as it will keep things cold up till then. Then if you take some ziplock bags and staff and the various coffee shops will give you some ice and then the cabin staff will either replace the ice regularly for you or put it in their chiller. Kay, I would suggest waking them after a while rather than leaving them to sleep for the whole leg to Singapore - otherwise they are likely to be awake for the whole 8 hours to Sydney and then when you arrive in the morning they will want to go straight to bed because of their UK body clock. If you wake them after a while they should then be ready for another good sleep on the final leg and that will hopefully keep them going once you arrive as well. Keep us posted with how you are doing with everything else. Must be so hard to do on your own. Good luck with the flight Northshorepom and hope you have a lovely holiday. Thanks Ang; thats really good advice :smile: I'll aim to do that. We have been really lucky though as my hubby's company have now paid for my mother-in-law to accompany me and the kids to Sydney so that has relaxed me somewhat! Thanks again for the advice, it is much appreciated. Everyone on the forum has been really helpful :notworthy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurseAng Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 How fantastic Kay, that's brilliant and will make such a difference to you. And how lovely for her to be able to come out right at the start and help you settle too. Sounds like a great company! - don't suppose your hubby's company are looking for a mechanical design engineer by any chance!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 How fantastic Kay, that's brilliant and will make such a difference to you. And how lovely for her to be able to come out right at the start and help you settle too. Sounds like a great company! - don't suppose your hubby's company are looking for a mechanical design engineer by any chance!!! I know! We are absolutely delighted :smile: We have been amazed at how generous and compassionate hubby's company have been! Lol! I'll check and see if they're needing anyone in that field of work for you :wink: The happy, less stressed countdown is now on :smile: Hope you have a great weekend! Take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennie M Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Hi Kay Try not to worry, you sound well prepared! The journey is just a means to an end....it will be worth every second! I would definitely recommend getting off the plane...just a change of scene will be refreshing. All the best!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Dee Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Hi Kay Try not to worry, you sound well prepared! The journey is just a means to an end....it will be worth every second! I would definitely recommend getting off the plane...just a change of scene will be refreshing. All the best!! Thanks Jennie M! You're right on both counts :smile: I'm trying my best not to worry but as time goes by, I'm getting more and more nervous about the flight, the move, everything really! Hubby assures me that we've made the right decision so I'll just need to make the most of it and give things my best shot! Thanks for the good wishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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