Flying with kids- how young is too young?

if you did that ware i fly out of your kids teeth would be rotten to many
airplanes (ohh mabye sugar free would work)


"R.Hubbell" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 03:13:10 GMT Paul Folbrecht
wrote:

I have a friend who really wants me to take he & his two boys up- they
are 3 & 5. I am worried about them "freaking out"- especially the
little one. They have never flown before (commercially or otherwise).

Of course they need to be in back of the 172, which would make it
difficult for my friend to reassure them, etc.

I'm especially concerned about the younger one for the obvious reason
that 3 is pretty young. To the folks that have a lot of experience
taking up little kids- what are the rough odds that he'll be just fine
vs. having a cow? I need to decide if I should suggest that this isn't
a great idea or not. TIA.



As always it depends on the kids. Plan a short trip the first time to
get an idea if they like it or not. When I hear "Weeeeeee!!!" on steep
short final I take that as a sign they like it a lot! I also give out
a dollar or lollipop or candy bar to every plane spotted while we're
flying. Kids have great eyes! Especially with a sweet incentive.

I treat it like going for a ride in a car. The trickiest part is
walking the ramp with them.



R. Hubbell

Kids usually love to fly. It is their parents that cause all the trouble. I
also would go with putting the 3 year old in back with a parent and the five
year old in front. Do not let the 5 year old have the yoke, no matter how
tempting it seems. A 5 year old will like as not nose the thing over saying,
"I'm gonna crash this thing!" They are old enough to know the plane could
crash, but too young to understand that this might be a bad thing.

As far as headsets go, get some childrens' headsets if possible. If they
refuse to wear headsets it is unlikely that a short flight will cause any
significant hearing loss. The rock and roll they will listen to later will
cause much more damage.... The flight should last no longer than half an
hour. Fifteen minutes is probably better. They will quickly get bored after
that.

Small children have a tough time seeing out of any plane. Seat cushions are
all right for the 5 year old, but the three year old might be better off in
a car seat. Anyway, the novelty wears off real fast, so keep it very short.
It is far better to land with them begging for more than to have them come
away with the memory of a long, boring flight.

Once kids reach 10 or 11 they start to have a better understanding of time
and distance. They will then want to see their house, their school, their
day care, their friend's house, etc. A 5 year old will want to see all those
things, too, if you ask him, but he will be completely unable to see them
and just get frustrated.

I am particularly fortunate at Tacoma Narrows when I take kids flying. There
is a shipwreck about 10 miles south of the field. I fly out, show them the
shipwreck, and return. It is real easy to spot and they get a big kick out
of it. If you know of something way cool like that, by all means point it
out.

I have one rule that I make clear to all new passengers: If anyone, for any
reason, is not enjoying the flight, then we will return immediately.

Paul

Prior to taking my grand son up we did two things. First we went out
to airport and watched birds taking off and landing and he heard the
noise and saw what was happening.

We also played with his toy airplane and did all the things a boy does
with a toy airplane and emulated what he saw.

When we got airborne I sat him on my lap and let hem fly just like he
did with his toy airplane and me telling him what to do..

Loved the flight and didn't want to land. G

Big John


On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 03:13:10 GMT, Paul Folbrecht
wrote:

I have a friend who really wants me to take he & his two boys up- they
are 3 & 5. I am worried about them "freaking out"- especially the
little one. They have never flown before (commercially or otherwise).

Of course they need to be in back of the 172, which would make it
difficult for my friend to reassure them, etc.

I'm especially concerned about the younger one for the obvious reason
that 3 is pretty young. To the folks that have a lot of experience
taking up little kids- what are the rough odds that he'll be just fine
vs. having a cow? I need to decide if I should suggest that this isn't
a great idea or not. TIA.

Of course they need to be in back of the 172,

No way around this? Ideally, the 5 yr old would be in front with you,
and dad would be in back with the 3 yr old.

Or leave the 3 yr old home. Are there any decent earphones for a 3 yr
old? That's a real small, real vulnerable kid. Just learning about
fears, death, etc. At least my granddaughter is.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 03:13:10 GMT, Paul Folbrecht
wrote:

I have a friend who really wants me to take he & his two boys up- they
are 3 & 5. I am worried about them "freaking out"- especially the
little one. They have never flown before (commercially or otherwise).

Of course they need to be in back of the 172, which would make it
difficult for my friend to reassure them, etc.

I'm especially concerned about the younger one for the obvious reason
that 3 is pretty young. To the folks that have a lot of experience
taking up little kids- what are the rough odds that he'll be just fine
vs. having a cow? I need to decide if I should suggest that this isn't
a great idea or not. TIA.

I have taken my nephews up for rides at abut 2-3 years old. I put
their car seats in the back seats. Went on a smooth day. Their Dad
went along for the ride in the front seat. Headsets are an issue,
most do not fit children well, and the kids will pull it off their
head anyways. Besides that - no complaints, except the kids really
couldn't see too much out of the car seats, as it is hard for them to
see out the window. They had fun and occasionally ask Mom/Dad when
their next airplane ride will be.

I'd say go for it, but if you get to the airport and the kids (or Dad)
start freaking out, call it off. It isn't going to get better once
the fan is turning and you're hitting the bumps.

-Nathan

Paul,

I think you might be overanalyzing the situation. Keep it short and
keep it fun.

You might go to AVweb (www.avweb.com), click on "columns", click on
the index to The Pilot's Lounge columns then scroll down to the very
first one on flying with babies and kids. It may give you some ideas.

All the best,
Rick

Paul Folbrecht wrote in message ink.net...
I have a friend who really wants me to take he & his two boys up- they
are 3 & 5. I am worried about them "freaking out"- especially the
little one. They have never flown before (commercially or otherwise).

Of course they need to be in back of the 172, which would make it
difficult for my friend to reassure them, etc.

I'm especially concerned about the younger one for the obvious reason
that 3 is pretty young. To the folks that have a lot of experience
taking up little kids- what are the rough odds that he'll be just fine
vs. having a cow? I need to decide if I should suggest that this isn't
a great idea or not. TIA.

In article , Casey Wilson
wrote:

She also recommended something to suck on -- includng pacifiers
and candy. Breast feeding would be even better.

Yes, but then I wouldn't be able to see where I was going! :-))

"Paul Folbrecht" wrote in message
news:aNFRb.1163 I'm especially concerned about the younger one for the
obvious reason
that 3 is pretty young. To the folks that have a lot of experience
taking up little kids- what are the rough odds that he'll be just fine
vs. having a cow? I need to decide if I should suggest that this isn't
a great idea or not. TIA.

Paul,

I think you'll be fine. I just recently took my 5 year old son and wife up.
It was the first GA flight for my son and the first in a while for my wife.
My wife was much more nervous than my son, who sat in her lap in the front
seat. I had to get stern with my son about touching any controls. He was in
one of his funky moods where he likes to test his parents, but after I spoke
with him, he understood that touching anything was not allowed. He would
never be so bold with a stranger piloting the aircraft. And by stranger I
mean someone other than his parents (this would include extended family).
Now, one caveat, my son is particularly well behaved. There are some kids
that I would never take up simply because I would not be able to trust that
they would even stay in their seats with their belts buckled.

As far as ear protection, I didn't provide any for my son, and my wife wore
a headset. I didn't have muffs and I knew that ear plugs weren't going to
work and besides it was a short flight. She would extend the boom to his
mouth and I could hear him speak, it was just that answering him was a pain
since I had to yell at him. My son has never liked loud, noisy things and he
seemed fine for the whole half hour that we were up. I need to at least get
that boy some muffs for the next flight, if not a kid's headset.

I chose a perfectly calm day and kept my banks, ascents and descents to a
minimum, more for my wife than my son. I flew over our house, his preschool
and Wal-Mart, things that he would recognize. And as I had expected, they
both got very sleepy about 20 minutes into it and nearly fell asleep. I
ended the flight with one of my best and slowest landings ever. My wife was
somewhat impressed with the flight, my son not so much. He liked it, but it
was not a big deal to him. He was more interested in dinner after the
flight. Oh well, maybe when he gets older, he'll "get it".

My advice would be to make sure that the kids are able to follow directions
and behave themselves. After that, you'll be fine. My personal minimum age
limit is around 5 years old, or perhaps younger if the kid is mature and
well behaved.

-Trent
PP-ASEL

"Trent Moorehead" wrote in message
...
I just recently took my 5 year old son and wife up.
My wife was much more nervous than my son, who sat in her lap in the front
seat.

But that's not where he was during taxiing, takeoff, or landing, right?
(FAR 91.107a3)

--Gary

The best advice I was given when my children were young, was to wait
until they were old enough to understand and follow directions.

Okay... we all know how difficult it is to get kids to do both at the
same time, but one or the other will suffice.

Both my kids had their first rides when they were between 2 and 3 years
of age. My son got his ride in a booster seat of a Champ. He wore a
DC10-13Y headset (and actually kept it on!) plugged into the portable
intercom.

My daughter got her ride in the backseat of a Beech Sundowner while
transporting my wife to be with her mother following my father in law's
death. The kids then rode home in the back seat while I flew. Each was
given a grease pencil and happily drew on the rear windows, which
occupied them during the hour and a half flight home.

After that trip, each time we drove past the airport, my daughter would
ask, "Daddy, are we going flying now?"

Now, when we go on trips, all they want to do is play their GameBoy's.
The one item that got their faces pressed up against the windows was
the flight along the Chicago lakeshore to and from Oshkosh last summer.