Flying with older preschoolers

I've seen all the ideas for the air pressure changes for younger kids, pacis, sippy cups, etc. My boys are 4. Too old for either. I've tried to give them gum to chew on, but they just swallow it after a few minutes. Any other suggestions?

 

Some chewy candy (that's harder to chew than the little fruit treats) - maybe even a starburst or something. Will create a lot of saliva and make them swallow...

:hug99:

 

We have done tootsie rolls, and dried apples from trader joes.

 

lollipops?

 

I don't do anything ... honestly. I find her too young for hard chewy candy and lolli pops ... or maybe I am just too scared to give it to her.

After a large number of flights with kids, I came to the conclusion that most children on board cry because they're tired (no naps, screwed up sleeping schedule, jet lag, fighting to sleep, overtired, etc.) not because of ear pressure. Or better said, in most occcassions it has nothing to do with pressure.

You may want to consider a little Tylenol as an alternative if they're complaining about pain (at least for the return flight) ...

 

We used lollipops. We don't usually give them candy so I introduced it to them a week before our flight. They caught on pretty quickly and loved them. We are going on another trip so I've been looking for some more, but surprisingly...they're hard to find. We bought our first bag at Whole Foods. They have organic ones! You may also want to try to teach them how to yawn. This will help them equalize the ear pressure, too. Or how about having them just drink something from a straw? HTH!

 

I second or third the lollipops, they worked great for us!

 

I have a messy messerton, so I can't give her a lollipop or she's COVERED IN STICKY, but if you do. My kids LOVE the sugar free lollies from the Mountain Man.

 

We also always take Dum Dum Lollipops. They're small enough to not give them too much sugar.