Flying anxieties for children

[MillyMoo]

Sooo our holiday is coming round very fast now, but my 6yr old (who has asd and spd) is getting so anxious and worried about flying. Weve tried watching a couple of YouTube videos of some we enjoy watching and its helped a bit, but i was wondering if anybody had any helpful tips please?
Thank you!

[Rac20]

My DS10 has always been a terrible flyer and gets worse every time. The last time we flew, I gave him Kwells travel sickness tablets. Not sure if it was a placebo or not but he fell asleep whilst waiting to taxi on the runway and didn’t wake up for three hours. That definitely helped. We play the ‘grounding’ game to distract him. (5 things you can see, 4 you can hear, 3 you can touch, 2 you can smell, 1 you can taste.) That also helped. We played that A LOT in the airport!

Been thinking of taking him on a fear of flying course but the only one I’ve found aimed specifically for children is in London which is a long way from us.

[MillyMoo]

She has those travel sickness tablets so hopefully they will help her a little aswell! She does usually fall asleep in the car thinking about it, so we shall see what happens with those!

Watched a video that virgin sent us but it didnt do much good sadly. Think it might just be something we have to face on the day!

[Rac20]

Originally Posted by MillyMoo

She has those travel sickness tablets so hopefully they will help her a little aswell! She does usually fall asleep in the car thinking about it, so we shall see what happens with those!

Watched a video that virgin sent us but it didnt do much good sadly. Think it might just be something we have to face on the day!

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Did you have to pay for the video?

I’ve seen a company offer a video only and it was quite a bit of money. I was skeptical that it would work so didn’t bother.

Hope your flight is ok and your little one not too worried.

[Guest]

My DS (12) suddenly became scared of flying 2 years ago - was pale,sick and crying at Heathrow before flight to Tampa. Not a pleasant fight at all, thought we wouldn't be allowed to fly as was so upset. He could not explain why he was like he was.

This summer I ordered a Hidden Disability lanyard from Heathrow for him and it worked a treat. I know it won't stop sickness and he doesn't have any disability apart from anxiety (confirmed by GP). He wore it a bit around the house to get used to it and wore it from the hotel to arriving in Tampa (via New York too). It gave him confidence that he was ok, he chose to board early and get settled in his seat and was fine. The flight crew checked he was ok from time to time, I had phoned Virgin special assistance to discuss pre boarding. DS asked why only a few children on the flight had the lanyard and I just said it was for brave children who were no longer scared of flying.

The other thing you could do is pick seats in the middle of the row, without windows so he can't see out as that can be scary. Or do what my DS does and just pull the blind down after take off and leave it there for the flight.

[Guest]

This is a bit wierd but it worked for my son.

We laid on the double bed and acted out getting on the plane with all the noises and mimed everything for him.

Clunk of seat belts (we used dressingown ties). Roar of engines, pinging of call buttons, fact that engines get noisier before takeoff. Also laid prone and bounded and shook for takeoff whilst making load engine noises then suddenly stopped jiggling around and changed noise to show we were off ground. Also did a bit of ok we are in the air now can undo your seatbelt and go for a wee. Gave him some cookies and a drink. Did a fake announcement about having to.put seat belt on, bit of turbulence. Then noises stayed the same bur an awful lot of fun bouncing on the bed. Then seatbelts off and a bit of a practice of landing. Only minor shaking and a bump.on landing. Engines got louder when brakes going on etc.

Explained everything with noises and even did little clunks for flaps etc.

Aimed to do it twice but ended up doing it more because a) he.liked milk and cookies and b) turbulence was a lot of fun.

Ps sweetie for takeoff and landing. Plus a lot of fun showing him how to blow his ears like diver 🤣

Now don't get me wrong he still isn't a fan of flying but 15 years on he flies several times a year and said that the whole bed bouncing thing at a young age helped him understand it better. And the more ridiculous the noises and bouncing the more fun it was so he started to associate it with fun.

Need to say it's not actually as bouncy as that but going to exaggerate everything so that you know what the noises are.

[Kev Harrison]

Originally Posted by aitchieaitchie

My DS (12) suddenly became scared of flying 2 years ago - was pale,sick and crying at Heathrow before flight to Tampa. Not a pleasant fight at all, thought we wouldn't be allowed to fly as was so upset. He could not explain why he was like he was.

This summer I ordered a Hidden Disability lanyard from Heathrow for him and it worked a treat. I know it won't stop sickness and he doesn't have any disability apart from anxiety (confirmed by GP). He wore it a bit around the house to get used to it and wore it from the hotel to arriving in Tampa (via New York too). It gave him confidence that he was ok, he chose to board early and get settled in his seat and was fine. The flight crew checked he was ok from time to time, I had phoned Virgin special assistance to discuss pre boarding. DS asked why only a few children on the flight had the lanyard and I just said it was for brave children who were no longer scared of flying.

The other thing you could do is pick seats in the middle of the row, without windows so he can't see out as that can be scary. Or do what my DS does and just pull the blind down after take off and leave it there for the flight.

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Your GP diagnosed anxiety as a disability at 12? Glad he's ok though

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Kev Harrison

Your GP diagnosed anxiety as a disability at 12? Glad he's ok though

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He is fine now, took him to GP as he said he often had heart palpitations. GP ran tests, nothing wrong with heart etc and said it was anxiety (11+, leaving primary, starting secondary + I had been poorly for 7 months). It isn't a disability as such but the hidden disability lanyard helps with extra time for security, not to rush him or scare him.

[TheHughesCrew]

My son (12) uses Rescue Remedy to help him sleep. Would using something like that help with not only her anxiety at the moment, but while you're flying too?

[Ryles]

My son, now 12, is an absolute nightmare with flying. He suffers terrible anxiety. He’ll start feeling sick the day before and the day we fly is sick continuously from when he gets up until we are off the plane. I now have a wheelchair waiting for him at the gate when we land as by the time we get off he feels so ill! I think a lot of it is totally psychological as he isn’t actually scared of flying. It’s nerves, excitement, being away from home etc. This year he was being sick in the queue for the plane and they actually wanted to get him checked over by paramedics and said they may remove us all from the flight if he wasn’t fit to fly! 😰 The BA lady never come back so we just boarded the plane. The flight attendants were brilliant with him for the rest of the flight. I hope every year he’ll be a bit better but so far he is just the same. Certainly makes travel day very stressful. Coming back he is a different kid and isn’t sick at all!