39 hours to go. Am terrified - advice for traveling on plane with a kid pls?

[aniay]

Okay, so in 39 hours I'm going to see my Love, but instead of being excited I am terrified.
It's going t be a first long trip for my kido (age almost 8), first plane flight, first trip abroad. She's being bitchy and moany lately, she sees problems everywhere and cries at tiniest things... how am i going to cope.
Then there comes 14 days of being with her non stop. I might sound like a terrible parrent but she can be so very exhausting when we are spending time together, she demands constant attention and gets all whiny (noone loves me, noone likes me, I do everything wrong)

The question is:
Do you have any advice to do this travel as unproblematic as possible? And do you have any ideas how to encourage a child to play by hersellf without giving her tablet/video game/computer?

[leonsfangirl]

My daughter took her first flight at a similar age. I took books, paper and pens and some travel board games and a nintendo ds and snacks to keep her occupied on a nine hour flight. I also took a lot of time to show her stuff like the inside of the airport and plane before we left and explained what would be taking before hand so she wasn't scared. She also had a special teddy bear who she packed a bag for and had its own passport. She coped beautifully and I even had so positive feedback from the people sitting around us at how well she coped.

Now, her recent behaviour to me looks like she's scared and/or nervous. You need to spend as much time as you can reassuring her that it will be ok. She's 8, she's not bitchy or moany, she needs cuddles and reassurance. She's not doing it to be difficult, she's doing it because she's frightened of the huge new experience. She needs her mom to let her know she's going to be fine.

[aniay]

Yes, I know she don't do it oon purpose but she saddly behaves worse than general. Been told by my friend to stop moaning myself and she'll get the good vibes from me. ;D

Paper and crayons i have packed, don't have any games though.... well I might take cards.

Thank you anyway, it's all probably happening because I am stressed as hell.

[Ahava]

I flew to Greece with my girls when they were 9 and 5. We had to even get up at 3 am and be at the airport at about 4.
My little sister was on the same flight with us, but didn't sit with us. My youngest had last flown when she was a baby and my oldest when she was 4 so I don't think they had any recollection about flying. The airport in Helsinki they were familiar with as their grandad took them for ice cream to a cafe there to watch the planes.
We had no problems, luckily it was only a 4 hour flight. Crayons & books are a good idea. Also having a tablet/laptop they could play on. And snacks of course.

I think the best thing is to not make a big deal about it
If you act and say it's a fun experience etc and tell her all the fun she will have with you in the UK (?). She has met your SO hasn't she?
You can have fun planning and packing. Let her choose what clothes she wants and her favourite toy and books etc. Maybe a special treat on the plain like candy or something and tell her that she can open it when the plane is in the air.