Video to prepare toddler for airport and flight?

June 1, 2015 12:33 PM

My 2.5 year old toddler is going to be flying for the first time since she was a baby next week. We've been talking to her about it a bit, but I'd love to show her a video that would prepare her for the experience (security, boarding, taking off, landing, etc). I've found a few videos that show the process, but nothing really geared for toddlers.
posted by derivation to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)

Best answer: Slightly different modality, but if you google "social story" and "airport" you'll find some picture stories that run through the process of going to the airport. These are typically geared for individuals on the autism spectrum, but run through what to expect. You may be able to find one that is specific to your airport on there.
posted by goggie at 12:45 PM on June 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Mighty Machines: At the Airport. This is more focused on airplanes themselves, and any other machinery at the airport, than the human passenger travel experience. But it does sort of show the whole process of a plane begin prepared, taking off, landing, and then being unloaded, all narrated by "DC" the plane. And in between, you also get see what Sammy the suitcase experiences.
posted by Kabanos at 12:51 PM on June 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Not a video (so feel free to flag / ignore), but we found this coloring book to be really clear - plus if you bring crayons, she can use it as in-flight entertainment.
posted by Mchelly at 1:28 PM on June 1, 2015

We used the Busy Airport book before our first trip in a while. Our nearly 3y/o son loved it.

We also did a LOT of talking about what taking off will feel like (tipping a kitchen chair back is a good toddler simulator), how his ears might hurt, and he should drink to fix it, and how he will have to sit in a grownup chair and wear a grownup seatbelt (because he's such a big boy!) while the light is on. In my experience (and that of loads of colleagues who fly a ton, and are parents), the best thing you can do to prep your child is the part they leave out of the "airplane experience" kids' books: sitting down and strapping in, even (especially!) when they don't want to, and staying that way far longer than they're used to.

After that prep, our son was (and still is at 4.25) a total airplane champ.
posted by jennyweed at 1:29 PM on June 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

If a book would do, I really, really enjoyed the Oxford Reading Tree First Experiences series, and there is a Going on a Plane volume. They are, as it claims, "sensitive," and highly relatable for little kids.
posted by kmennie at 2:55 PM on June 1, 2015

I was trying to find the original video intro for the Star Wars ride at Disneyland, but all I could fine was one that was full of prequel garbage. Still, if she's into Star Wars at all, it could be a fun way to introduce her to the idea of flight. You see Chewbacca and a bunch of other Star Wars aliens lining up and quietly getting on the shuttle, fastening their seatbelts, etc. It could get her excited that maybe she'll see some aliens on the plane!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 7:17 PM on June 1, 2015

There's a Caillou episode on an airplane. Warning though, all kinds of pre-911 behavior.
posted by warriorqueen at 4:13 AM on June 2, 2015