I am flying to Japan with my wife and our child (who will be 20 months when we fly) and I wanted to know some tips and/or advices for long haul flight as my flight to Japan will be 14 hours!
I know not every tricks and tips will work on everyone but I wanted to know what other people have done to make the flight as painless as possible. (I know it’s still going to be hard)
Thank you in advance!
One of the key things you need to be aware of is that young children have difficulty with equalization of the pressure in their ears. This is why you hear most of the crying during takeoff and landing, as this is when the fastest change in pressure occurs. The first thing to remember is to not just have patience, but compassion, for all the children on board. They aren’t just being cranky. They are in pain.
You might want to consult with your doctor for suggestions as to how to mitigate this. They may have medication, or some suggestions. The only thing I know of is that the motion made during drinking can help. So, a bottle or pacifier may be beneficial (and chewing gum for yourself, but obviously not them).
I hope that helps some. Enjoy your trip.
@Bliss
If you’re US based, there is a kind of juice with plastic cartoon character heads on it and a white suction tip. Good2Grow brand I think. You can find them at nearly every gas station and most grocery stores. With our kid we found the suction those create to be the best and fastest for equalizing pressure in the ear. We just take a cleaned, empty one through TSA and put water or juice in it before the flight.
Bring lots of snacks, water and new toys/quiet activities for your toddler (coloring, sticker books, etc). Buy business class seats so everyone has a chance to lie down and sleep on the flight, get a good meal and relax with some more space.
Buy some new toys and wrap them like gifts. Let the kid open a new toy when they get bored of the last one.
The only thing that worked for a long period of time is making sure you book a redeye flight—it is essential. My kids would sleep for a good 10hrs and then 4-6 hours of entertainment: Melissa and Doug WOW coloring books, a ziplock bag of Duplos (the school bus is a hit), lots of different and new snacks, and the emergency miracle…iPad. We limit screen time but bring iPads as a last resort because it’s not fair for a captive audience to hear your kids scream and meltdown for hours on end. Be prepared with as many things they like as possible—it wasn’t as bad for us as we feared or as everyone makes it out to be.
@Shan
I really like all these ideas. But I wasn’t too sure about anything that has loose parts (like Duplos) in an airplane seat. Can you picture a handful of them sliding off the itsy-bitsy-teeny-tiny tray?
@Morgan
That’s why I recommended the Duplo bus…relatively big and I let my kids have a few people they can play with. It’s a long flight…it wasn’t so bad for us losing parts since they’re not the tiny legos.
Pray… 
Search this sub and /r/toddlers and /r/travel as there are many threads with great tips.
I would make sure you have a blanket and a thick normal pillow and a small pillow. The thick pillow you can lay it crosswise in the seat so that your child can lay flat with their feet on one person and head on another with the small pillow when in the middle seat. They can sit on the thick pillow when awake to help them see out the window seat, or use the tray. You can put the pillow on your lap if you need to hold them for a while as well.
You want to keep the activities as low keyed as possible. You don’t want the child excited. I wouldn’t use anything with a screen. If that isn’t an option, turn on the night mode even if it isn’t night to block the blue light.
A simple game is to use a sleep mask on the child and then have them guess the toy you hand them. I’m not sure the age works with this, but you can play it at home to see if it is appropriate for them.
Books are good choice but you will need to read to them and interact to keep their interest. You’ll be tired and stressed, and will have to step up. Books about where you are going might be good: food, transportation, buildings, … If you show an interest they probably will too.
Finger puppets for you might be ok. Again test the reaction before the trip.
I don’t know the medical issues around children with noise cancelling headphones, but if your doctor oks it, even if they aren’t listening to anything, cutting the engine noise might let them sleep easier.
I wouldn’t do too many snacks, just things to chew to pop the ears. Just make sure the kid stays hydrated. Maybe have them eat bananas a couple days to get their potassium level up.
Don’t do it.
100% Install a car seat and keep them buckled in. Safer and more comfy than an airplane seat. From 18 months to 3 years is the hardest travel! Plus lots of snacks. I don’t know a 20 month old who would tolerate an eye mask.