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Getting my toddler more comfortable flying

RV10Rob

Well Known Member
I?m looking for some tips to get my 22-month-old toddler more comfortable flying. He won?t stop talking about airplanes and loves going to the airport, but as soon as I put him in the seat and put the headset on, he basically shuts down: faces directly forward, doesn?t move, doesn?t talk much?even drools a little.

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Up until last summer, he was a great passenger, riding rear-facing in the back seat w/ my wife. We did a 33-hour cross-country trip and another 8-hour round trip with no issues.

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After that, my wife stopped flying due to pregnancy, so he stopped flying, too. So he didn't fly at all for 6 months, and now he's in the front seat and facing forward. Everything else is the same (same headset, same carseat, same airplane). He's pretty timid in general, so if it's like a few other things (e.g. swimming lessons, music class), I figure it'll just take him a while to warm up. A few things I'm planning on doing:
  1. More time sitting in the seat, in the airplane, getting comfortable.
  2. More taxiing and flights
  3. Try wearing the headset for short periods at home
  4. Some time forward facing in the car (he's still rear facing)
  5. Possibly trying him rear facing in the front seat of the airplane (the carseat actually fits that way)
Any suggestions for other things to try? Thanks...

-Rob
 
No suggestions, but I'm curious to hear what you come up with!

I've got a 3 month old boy at home, and I'd really like to get him acclimated to flying so he's comfortable. Family trips all across the country is why I'm building the -10!
 
as soon as I put him in the seat and put the headset on, he basically shuts down:

Well, you know what is triggering it, now you need to figure out why, and how to mitigate it.

Does he have a history of ear problems or infections??
 
Does he have a history of ear problems or infections??

No, this happens on the ground, so I don't think it has anything to do with altitude. Previously we've flown up to 10k for short periods with no issues.
 
You might try a different headset. It could also be that with the headset on, he can no longer hear what's going on around him and he's focusing on the lack of sensory perception. They change a lot at that age and something he didn't notice months ago might bother him now.

PJ Seipel
RV-10 #40032
 
I have flown several times now with my grandson, and he does the same thing--looks like he is concentrating on all the sensory input. I wouldn't worry about it. I just ask once in a while if everything is OK, and he always responds yes (but quite quietly). And, he is always ready to go again....

 
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Put him in back seat, and get a portable car DVD player and hang from the front seat. Let him watch videos. Keeps my 3 girls happy in the back seat.

Aaron
 
I have a 3 year old who enjoys flying. I install pads under his booster seat so he can see out of the airplane, then I encourage him to look out the windows and talk with him about what he's seeing. He really seems to enjoy it.

"Alex, do you see the airplane over there?"

"Yes, Daddy".

"OK, there are a lot of other airplanes up here too, so let me know if you see one."

"Alex, look out your window. Do you see the sailboat on the lake?"...

etc...
 
It does sound like sensory overload - front seat, front facing, headset, strange voices in his ears, and sudden view access to an array of lights, switches, and screens. Not to mention the excitement of flight.

Each one of those things was pretty big deal to my daughter, taken individually. She hasn't worn a real headset yet, or sat in the front seat of the plane. She has been in the front seat of the car for short rides at home.

This may be outside the comfort zone for some, but my wife has sat in the back with the toddler and taken her out of the carseat and let her move about in the back where she can see out both sides, see the panel, and get a good overview of where she is and what is happening.

Greg
 
Just my two cents...

Personally, I think you are pushing to hard. If you try to force something on him and he isn't liking it...he probably isn't ever going to like it no matter how much you want him to.
I had the same issue with one of my sons. The oldest (now 7) was flying with me from about 3 on. At age 5 I gave him the yoke and he could hold altitude and follow ground reference. My other son (now 5) I tried the same thing with. At first it was cool then he clammed up and didn't like it anymore. No problem. I started leaving him home and didn't force the issue. But just last week he said, DAD...I WANNA GO FLYING AGAIN!
So, I took him and guess what...he's driving it all over the sky too. My point, don't force it or he will hate it. Just let it happen naturally. Ask permission to take him with. He knows yes or no? Put him in the drivers seat literally. Even if he says no for now, he will eventually come around if he sees dad flying all the time. Good luck to you! Flying with your kids is the best so I totally understand your eagerness.
 
Try earplugs

My kids don't like talking at all with the headsets on. The pressure on the sides of their jaws bothers them. The weight on their head also made them not like moving their head. Used earplugs and they did better. We just used earplugs, but some of the earplug style headsets would work better if you can get them comfortable with things in their ears which can also be a problem.
 
My kids love to hear themselves with the side tone on. I have a cheap set of lightspeed headsets that are pretty small and they do well. Jabber to hear themselves the whole flight. The 4 year old will change her mind all the time about flying. Seems to go with her moode that day. Some days she giggles and loves it, somedays she is not into it. Sounds likes kids huh? The 2 year old doesn't seem to care whether it's the plane or the car. She's good for whatever. I feel lucky that my kids generally like it and do well. Now I need a cheap share in a 210 or something I can take everyone in. :(
 
Thank you all for the suggestions. It does seem like the headset is the bulk of the problem--when I put it on him at home, he looks down and doesn't want to move his head. If I can get rear-facing to work in the front seat, I'll try that a few times, since that's a more reclined position. He still talks about airplanes and flying all the time, so I don't think I've scared him off yet.

-Rob
 
I would definitely look into getting him smaller and lighter headsets, preferably noise cancelling. I have 3 boys and when my youngest flew with me I use to put my Bose headsets (not the aviation ones) and put music on for him to drown out the noise with a Y connector so he could hear me too. But then as he got a little older and could talk to me so now we use regular Bose aviation headsets.
 
Just let it happen naturally
Agreed. My 5 year old flies with me now. She started last year. She claimed/claims to enjoy it, but ther were a couple of times last season when I asked her if she wanted to go and she said no, not this time. She always, and still is, VERY quiet in the air. Not her usual chatty self. I suspect it is sensory overload or just being in a very different and unfamiliar environment, as was mentioned above. Also I think talking into the headset and hearing her own voice in hte earphones is a bit unfamiliar.
Last year I took her on a short cross country (~2hrs each way) to visit her Nana for an overnight visit. She loved that. But she fell asleep on both flights!
Anyway I don't push, but this spring she was all eager to go flying again ("I need to learn how to fly so I can be an airplane pilot when I get bigger!"). She wanted to "steer the plane" this time. Unfortunately, even with the mods I did to her booter seat, she can't really reach the control stick without leaning way forward, so that didn't work too well.
 
It does sound like sensory overload - front seat, front facing, headset, strange voices in his ears, and sudden view access to an array of lights, switches, and screens. Not to mention the excitement of flight. . . .
Greg

Has the same effect on me.
 
Last weekend I put my five year-old son in the plane while I was doing some miner maintenance. After disconnecting the main battery (I didn’t want him hitting the starter button!) I powered up the SkyView, 496, and Dynon D1, all of which have internal batteries, and showed my son how to change the altitude, track heading, and zoom the map in and out. Then I showed him how moving the stick moves the control surfaces.

He sat there for close to a half hour flying to Florida, South America, California, Oklahoma, and points in between.

When that was done he asked how to loop and roll the plane. “Flying like Sean Tucker,” his words, not mine, kept him entertained for another half hour. He also knows enough not to “bang” the controls and not once did I have to remind him to be gentle on the controls.

That was long enough for me to complete what I was working on.

The funny thing was the week prior at his Pre-K class they went around the room asking the kids what they wanted to do when they grew up. As expected most of the kids said “Fireman”, “Police Man”, etc. Not my boy, he responded “Aerobatic Pilot”. That prompted an interesting discussion with the teacher after class. She mentioned something about being a piano player at a brothel would be a better career choice.

I wonder if there is a Junior Team AeroDynamix,position open?
 
My kids grew up in the plane. Its got to be all positive. Let them play in the plane. Do some very short flights to start, on a super smooth day. Do something positive right after the flight, like stop for ice cream, the park, etc
 
Glad to hear you got him happy again. I thought I would post my experiences for the curious. My father had an airplane since before I was born. ( I am 57 now).
When I can first remember flying he was always trying to point out things on the ground to me. I could not follow this until years later. Once or twice when I had had to much junk food from the airport vending machine I filled up his shoe ( he did not carry sick sacks). A couple of lessons here, make sure nothing he ate is going to bother him, it will spoil both of your days. Years later when I was working as a flight instructor quite often an eager person would bring their child/grandchild to the airport to get them a ride in an airplane. Sometimes they love it, sometimes bury their face in the seat cushion, scream and cry, or freeze up etc. Quite often the well meaning adult would be trying to get them to look out the window while we circles their house. This was all in the days when none of us had headsets. In my experience if they are old enough and drive a car they can figure out things on the ground. If not, they are getting a lot of noise and stuff they do not understand and may not be happy. I think it helps to look at it from the child's point of view.
 
No doubt about the sensory overload. I think the main occlusion is the headsets and maybe the lack of a view. If you can keep him focused on tasks; such as in his perception, helping look for other aircraft or specific ground references, it may help keep him focused and distracted from "zoning in."

I've witnessed adults react differently when donning this headsets and hearing themselves talk directly into their own ear. It isn't a natural feeling or something they're accustomed to. With that in mind, I would set static in the plane with him, turn on the headsets and have a joyous conversation. I suspect it won't take him long to get acclimated with it and actually enjoy hearing himself talk. Heck, he may even adapt one of those DJ radio voices.
 
Ear protection

Protecting young ears from aircraft noise is so very important. While it may be a challenge, the low frequency noise of any aircraft RV's included can be quite injurious. All of us should be utilizing ear protection. We often do not appreciate hearing loss until significant changes have occured.
 
Rob,

Thanks for these posts. I have a two year old son, and a new daughter. I frequently refer to your posts and blog for ideas about flying with kiddos. We're hoping to build a 10 soon, but my son is now getting some time in the back of my 8a. Family flying is in our shared TB-20 or PA32R.

Guy
 
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