Any online videos to teach a kid about air travel?

April 26, 2009 1:41 PM

Are there any movies/online videos to show a toddler what to expect from air travel?

We're heading out on our first airplane ride (about 2 hours) with our 2-and-a-half year old and want to give him some idea of what to expect on the flight before we head out.

I found this "I'm a Good Little Traveler!" DVD but was looking for something...well...free. Any good links out there? Or DVDs that are recommended to purchase?

posted by Overzealous to travel & transportation (5 comments total)

Cleared for Takeoff was my kids' favorite. Very detailed and informative, and not painfully cute like so many kids' videos. Not free, though.
posted by Ery at 2:14 PM on April 26

Ooh! "Cleared for Takeoff" is on Netflix too. Thanks Ery.
posted by Overzealous at 2:54 PM on April 26

Or, don't treat it as something weird and scary. Do you show the kid a video before going to the supermarket?

If you don't treat it as unusual, he won't think it's anything out of the ordinary. I was a teenager before I ever knew flying was something some people are scared of / made uncomfortable by.
posted by dmd at 11:24 AM on April 27

Air travel is by nature unusual, and there are weird rumblings and movement and all of the sudden you are up in the air. I think it makes sense to think your kid might get weirded out. Oh, and you're locked in a little room in the air with a couple hundred other people who don't want to be around your kid screaming "Want to get down. WANT TO GET DOWN!" for 2 hours.

We took him to a movie without any explanation of what to expect and when it got dark and loud he got kinda freaked out. Trying to avoid a replay if possible.

That said, I did end up picking up the Good Little Traveler disc which was fine...not Scorsese mind you, but it went over the basics. I've also Netflix'd "Cleared for Takeoff" so we'll see which one leaves The Thunderdome.
posted by Overzealous at 6:58 PM on April 28

Bottom line: "Good Little Traveler" wins.

"Cleared for Takeoff" was fine, but clearly made by a company that specializes in movies about construction equipment and fire trucks. It spent a lot of time showing takeoffs and landings, which was fine, but didn't go through the detail of the procedure and the actual flight as much as the other one did.

Hank was very excited about his flight and was a total champ the whole time.
posted by Overzealous at 6:19 PM on May 3