toddler car seat deals

How can I handle flying on a plane with my two year old?

My husband has a conference on the west coast and we live on the east. Problem is my son (two years old) and I are to meet him there. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me seeing how we never get to go anywhere. I am scared out of my mind of not only the process of getting my toddler boarded, dealing with the car seat, meals, keeping him occupied and out of other people’s hair. I am so scared that I am not even considering going. How common is it for toddlers to be on board a plane? Am I making a big deal about the whole situation? Please help me ease my mind.

I’m the spouse of an Army Soldier, I can assure you that my children have more than logged their flight hours over the years. My daughter started flying at 2 months old. I have flown all over by myself with my kids. I have found the way to have a great flight is to pack plenty of snacks, and toys, I would go to the local dollar store and by a bunch of things the kids had never seen or played with before and pack them in a special bag. I also let her pick her “favorite” toy stuffed animal to take on the plane in her own little back pack. I also had a little radio “fisher price” music player where she could bring her books on tape, Barney music, etc to listen to with head phones.
PLEASE don’t give up a chance to travel for fear of traveling with a toddler. Believe me it will work out fine. Kids do very well traveling better than some adults I’ve seen !!

Viewpoints: Start early to produce well-behaved kids
Air passengers are apparently headed to airports this holiday season in droves again, and according to a recent New York Times article, a majority of them would like to be offered a squalling or no-squalling seat selection.