Hi, We are flying this coming Sunday to Hawaii and have purchased a DVD player and child-sized headphones for my twin girls. The problem is that I cannot get the girls to put the headphones on. I plan to keep trying all week but I'm wondering if anyone has had the same problem and if there are any tips out there on getting them to try them.
Thanks!
Thanks everyone! You've made me feel a lot better about just bringing the DVD player and letting them listen to it without the headphones. If they see people with them and want to try it perhaps they will, but if they don't I now feel more confident that they will still enjoy the movies. Thanks!
Do you have a mirror which they could use to look at themselves in? When my son was younger, I couldn't get him to keep a hat on until I put a mirror in his bedroom. After that, he would put the hat on and admire himself. Just a thought.
Have you tried putting them on yourself while watching the DVD player and laughing and acting like your having just the best time and then inviting them to join in making sure to tell them that the headphones are the only way to hear and join in? my son was much more likely to try something if i used it first and made it look fun. try putting the headphones on so they hang down like a beard and say "look I'm wearing beardphones" or something silly. good luck and enjoy hawaii!!
Ha!! Just you wait! The day will come when you can't get them to take the darn things off!! :) (Not too helpful, but I couldn't help it. The other moms can be more helpful.)
Children this age don't usually like things on their heads or their ears. You might not be able to get them to use the headphones. I'm not sure it should be a big issue, though I realize your likely concerned that their DVD player will disturb other passengers. As long as you can keep the volume low I don't think that will be a huge problem. And there is the possibility too that when your girls see other passengers using the headphones for the online movie, they will want to try to act like the 'big people' on the plane and will at least try them. I know this isn't too helpful, but it's my best honest answer.
Just make it a rule that they can't use the DVD player without them. It's true that kids this age don't like wearing things on their head/ ears, but if it is required and repeated they will figure it out. Our son had to wear earmuffs when watching us shoot. He figured it out pretty quickly. Don't know if it will work within a week though.
Another trick I just thought of might work if only one girl is using headphones at a time. Does the DVD player have a remote with a mute feature? Tell your daughter she may use the DVD player with the earphones. While she has earphones on let it run normally. As soon as the earphones are off her head hit the mute button so that it will only work with earphones. This may be a bit time consuming on your end and will work best if they don't know you are the one controlling the sound.
My son was the same way for our recent Florida trip. First I tried regular child headphones, he didn't like them. Then I tried adult-size headphones, still didn't work. What finally worked was those huge headphones that cover the ears rather than sitting on them (think of the kind DJs used to wear back in the 70s). Those worked great. The ones we had were noise-canceling ones, but I think the reason why they worked was because they cupped his ears instead of pressing on them. Good luck and have a fun trip!
D.
I wondered the same thing when we took our 2 year old on a flight this summer. Like you, I tried to get him used to it at home, but he would never keep them on for longer than 5 minutes. During the flight he did the same thing, but was just as content watching the DVD without any sound. Hopefully your girls will be the same! Good luck!
I would tell them their options are to wear the headphones, or to watch the DVD without sound. Explain kindly that we don't want to disturb other passengers while watching, and those are the two ways we can do that.
They may choose to watch without sound, and that's okay. It's a good learning opportunity about consideration and choices.
Have a safe and wonderful trip!
they might just enjoy watching without the sound. Or when they realize what they're missing they might wear them. If they don't hear it, is it really a big deal? My toddler just enjoyed watching the pictures on our recent flight (for a while, anyway...)
E.
Dear L.,
If there's an on-flight movie, it might help for them to see other passengers wearing headphones to watch it. The earpieces they give you on the plane are too big for my ears and I couldn't stand to wear them, so I just sat really super close to my sister so I could hear that way. With few exception, everyone else seemed to want to watch and wear the darn things. So, like I said, if your girls see everyone else wearing them it might help.
You can let them watch their movie without the sound if they don't want the headphones.
I guess you'll just have to "play it by ear" when the time comes.
Have a wonderful time!
like a few other folks have mentioned, my daughter was just as happy to watch the movie without the sound. i was surprised at first, but it was good enough for her. don't worry about the headphones.
My toddler wouldn't wear the headphones either. We used the dvd without them and just kept the volume low. If it bothered the other passengers, it wasn't enough for any of them to complain. I think there is enough other background noise (plane engine, air vents, people talking) that it isn't a big deal.
