Activities for Toddler on Airplane

[ClaraOswald]

We will be flying with our toddler (16 months) soon. On each travel day, we have two flights. One is about 3 hours. And one is an hour and a half.

Any ideas for activities to keep him busy and happy on the plane?

He doesn't really 'get' coloring yet..but I am going to keep trying in hopes of him liking it by February. Same goes for the Aquadoodle. I bought some Play-doh but we haven't tried it yet.

We plan to bring books. And a couple of small cars. We'll have a tablet and toddler headphones but he's not really into watching movies or anything yet.

His snack should take up a little bit of time. But I just don't know what else we should do with him on the plane.

So any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

(He will be in his own seat, in a car seat. And we're bringing this tray - http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-23203-Travel-Tray/dp/B004LWZZDA. Since it's a row of three, we will have the row to ourselves so he can stand a bit and whatnot.)

 

[VandVsmama]

Go to the dollar store and get a bunch of cheap new toys & time-killers that would be suitable for his age. I especially like Dollar Tree because they have a wide selection of kid stuff there.

I did this when we went to Hawaii when my youngest was 17 months old. When she got whiny, I would whip out a new toy. This would give her about 15 min of something new to be occupied with. I'd take her on little walks in the aisle of the airplane. Trips to the bathroom, of course, to change her diaper. And when you change planes, your little one will be able to run around a bit in the airport and stretch some legs.

I made sure to bring my daughter's favorite stuffed animal, too. That helped. My child never slept on the plane, which made it horrendous for all of our nearby passengers.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Yeah, I don't see him sleeping on the plane. His lunch/nap time fall during our layover on the way there. And then before our flight on the way home.

Everyone always suggests dollar store toys. I don't know about them for someone his age. He still puts everything in his mouth and I don't really trust those cheap toys.

 

[thatgrljme]

I got those window cling on thingies from Target $1 bins, that held his attention for a few minutes. My son luckily slept and watched movies. He was 2 when we flew out there. Our first flight was an early morning flight and he fell back to sleep right after we took off, the flight back was during his nap time so that was more trying. Had to really work to keep him entertained on that one.

Good luck mama!

 

[Satye1]

This can be a hard age to fly. Wishing you luck. Definitely snacks...some that are new and interesting. 2nd the dollar store. If you can get him into coloring at all then COLOR WONDER is the best!! I would splurge even on a toy thats new for him that hes really into that keeps him occuplied, small cars, trains, take him with you to dollar store or toy store to see what facinates him. Sometimes its the simplest things. I do not do airplane bathrooms, so my goal is always to remain sitting...definitly some suckers to help with ears for take off & landing. Maybe a sticker book would be fun for him? If you have an ipad I would do a search of games/apps or even movies...Poor bear possibly geared towards his age that would keep his attention. Maybe a fun new book with buttons that make noise. Favorite blanket.

 

[VandVsmama]

In my child's case, she wasn't much fun to be around because we'd started our journey that day by leaving our house at 4am in order to get to the airport for an early flight, so she was overly tired & cranky.

I 2nd the Target $1-$2 section. They often have Disney-themed items. Think of what your child likes playing with, what the favorite toys are, and that might steer you in a certain direction.

 

[Gisele]

Running up and down the aisles. Kicking the back seats in front of him. Crying. Yelling. Hair pulling, any persons head will do, don't hold back. Leaving a trail of gold fish and crackers all around the joint. Locking himself in the toiety. Food fights. Poop fights. ringing the buzzer for assistance, indiscriminately.
Asking 20 questions, then repeat the questions. Say mommy, mommy, until ear plugs may be deployed. Drawing on the windows, seats, back of a bald man's head with chocolate/vanilla pudding. Ripping up Kleenex, then throwing it up in the air for a winter Wonderland effect. Dropping down the oxygen masks, then making slingshots out of them. Mmm....anything else I can think of, I will let you know. With all of these activities, who needs dollar tree?

 

[ClaraOswald]

Running up and down the aisles. Kicking the back seats in front of him. Crying. Yelling. Hair pulling, any persons head will do, don't hold back. Leaving a trail of gold fish and crackers all around the joint. Locking himself in the toiety. Food fights. Poop fights. ringing the buzzer for assistance, indiscriminately.
Asking 20 questions, then repeat the questions. Say mommy, mommy, until ear plugs may be deployed. Drawing on the windows, seats, back of a bald man's head with chocolate/vanilla pudding. Ripping up Kleenex, then throwing it up in the air for a winter Wonderland effect. Dropping down the oxygen masks, then making slingshots out of them. Mmm....anything else I can think of, I will let you know. With all of these activities, who needs dollar tree?

Well, we won't allow him to run up and down the aisle. Walk with us behind him, yes. But that's about it. He can't kick the seat in front of him...he won't reach. Crying and yelling, possibly. He doesn't pull hair (used to, but he's pretty good with 'gentle' now.) He doesn't eat Goldfish crackers. Maybe a Cheerio trail though. No way he could lock himself in the bathroom as he wouldn't be in there alone. He's never had a 'food fight' so I don't suspect that will happen. There will be no poop fight. He can't reach the flight attendant buzzer. He doesn't talk, so no questions or constant "mommy mommy." Constant baby babble is all we'll get. He doesn't like to draw, at all. And we don't allow him to draw on non-paper things anyway. Certainly not allowed to smear pudding around (of course, he's never actually had pudding.) He won't have access to Kleenex to tear up.

So yeah...those activities don't work for us. Haha! Except the crying and yelling, of course. Those are a given.

 

[CoP I Love You]

children that age tend to be easily entertained.
just buy a few new CHEAP toys so he has something new and interesting to discover.
also bring a few of his favorites that he enjoys playing with all the time.

also a child that age will likely tire easily on a plane ride that is a few hours long so he should sleep for I'd say a good half of each flight.

if he does start getting into either coloring, play dough, or movies/tv shows by then then I'd bring those things as well but don't "force" them upon him.

as I said a 16mo old should be very easily entertained so even playing the "I'm gonna get you" game or peek a boo should entertain him for a good 15 minutes each as long as you're up for it lol.

 

[nannyz]

My precious daddy (RIP) loved kids. Anytime someone complained about a crying baby, he would say, "You were a baby once and you bothered people."

Do what you can to occupy your little one but don't let rude or unkind people get to you.

Have a wonderful trip.

 

[thatgrljme]

He can't kick the seat in front of him...he won't reach.

You'd be surprised! Leg room is zilch and my son could almost reach the bulkhead wall in front of us, he would have totally reached the seats if we sat behind a seat.

 

[AZMermaid]

We always had our kids fly in their car seats too. Usually the slept a good chunk of the time, just like in the car, even if it was an off time. When my daughter was 17 months, we did a 3.5 hour flight to Vancouver. I was teaching Kinder that year and I had access to a bunch of colored puff balls of varying sizes, but I imagine they sell them at Michaels. I took a Take and Toss bowl and lid (love these things but very rarely use the lids). I cut a small hole in the lid and she loved pushing them through the hole. Easy, cheap and quiet! I think you said somewhere he wouldn't really watch TV. My son wouldn't either (and my kids are 17 months apart, when she was born, I tried TV but he just wouldn't sit still long enough). But if he will, the iPad with a few shows is great. My daughter loved Mickey Mouse clubhouse and little Einsteins at that age. Goldfish are good and slow to eat. I think we gave our kids Dum Dums around that age when we traveled. Maybe a new Little People car or two. My son was not a colorer until over 3. Honestly, you will probably be good since he has a seat. 2 kids, 12 flight segments with them under 2, maybe 15 minutes of crying total. I swear it was the car seat!

 

[AZMermaid]

You'd be surprised! Leg room is zilch and my son could almost reach the bulkhead wall in front of us, he would have totally reached the seats if we sat behind a seat.

This is true, especially if they recline. They won't be able to if he is rear facing, but if he's forward they can.

 

[lalasmama]

We will be flying with our toddler (16 months) soon. On each travel day, we have two flights. One is about 3 hours. And one is an hour and a half.

Any ideas for activities to keep him busy and happy on the plane?

He doesn't really 'get' coloring yet..but I am going to keep trying in hopes of him liking it by February. Same goes for the Aquadoodle. I bought some Play-doh but we haven't tried it yet.

We plan to bring books. And a couple of small cars. We'll have a tablet and toddler headphones but he's not really into watching movies or anything yet.

His snack should take up a little bit of time. But I just don't know what else we should do with him on the plane.

So any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

(He will be in his own seat, in a car seat. And we're bringing this tray - http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-23203-Travel-Tray/dp/B004LWZZDA. Since it's a row of three, we will have the row to ourselves so he can stand a bit and whatnot.)

Bring new books, especially ones like "Pat the Bunny" or other novel/fun ones like "Lift The Flap" (obviously, expect the flaps to be torn quickly!).

ColorWonder (by Crayola) is wonderful, even if he doesn't "get" coloring yet. They have plain paper, and markers, crayons, and even finger paints! This will likely keep him busy for a few moments!

I wouldn't do play-doh, personally, for a few reasons... First because it makes a mess if it's dropped and stepped on, which seems to happen instantaneously. While I try to clean it up, it would be hard to do while stuck in an airplane. Second, while it's non-toxic, I still wouldn't want my child taking a nibble. Third, it stinks. Fourth, it tended to turn my child into an all-out maniac when it was time to be put away. Fifth, it gets under my DD's nails, which totally skeeves me out

Small cars or trains could work well.

Snacks--normal "at home" ones, along with coveted "treat" ones... So, at that age for our family, would have been cheerios, cheese-its, peanut butter, goldfish (all at home snacks), plus "exciting" things like juice boxes and fruit snacks that we wouldn't allow under normal circumstances. TSA will let you have a "reasonable" amount of liquids for a toddler, so juice boxes are usually okay in this situation.

Bring something for him to suck or chew on with take-offs and landings. (If he has ear tubes, this isn't as important.) The chewing and sucking helps self-pressurize the ears, preventing or lessening the pain that some people experience. Obviously, for some, this is a big deal, and for others it isn't.

I've seen some cute "goody bags" for the passengers around you on a baby's first flight... It's a note from the little flyer, apologizing for any difficult behavior/crying, with ear plugs, and some treats like mints, I think. Here's a link that shows the note: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...-goodie-bags-placate-passengers-35-000ft.html

Good luck!

 

[rms123]

We just did two flights a couple days ago with our toddler. Our first was always an easy traveler sleeping most of the time. Hopefully you will get lucky. Our second is impossible. Only a couple things kept him entertained this trip. Pez. I know it's candy but it takes such an effort to get each little piece out. A Thomas train that runs on batteries that he would run over the tray. Pretzels. An iPad with lots of new games. I got other toys I haven't pulled out yet for the trip back like dollar tree lace up toys and stuff like that. Good luck!

 

[ClaraOswald]

children that age tend to be easily entertained.
just buy a few new CHEAP toys so he has something new and interesting to discover.
also bring a few of his favorites that he enjoys playing with all the time.

also a child that age will likely tire easily on a plane ride that is a few hours long so he should sleep for I'd say a good half of each flight.

if he does start getting into either coloring, play dough, or movies/tv shows by then then I'd bring those things as well but don't "force" them upon him.

as I said a 16mo old should be very easily entertained so even playing the "I'm gonna get you" game or peek a boo should entertain him for a good 15 minutes each as long as you're up for it lol.

I am not banking on him sleeping. He's never been a sleep-in-the-car kid. So I have a hard time thinking he'll sleep on the plane. Especially since his nap time doesn't really coincide with our flights.

Man, I wish something like peek a boo kept him happy for 15 minutes! He gets bored of most things pretty quickly, unfortunately.

You'd be surprised! Leg room is zilch and my son could almost reach the bulkhead wall in front of us, he would have totally reached the seats if we sat behind a seat.

Oh man, I hope he can't reach the seat in front. I guess I don't know what the size of the airplane seat is (well, I know it's 17 inches wide but I don't know the depth.) Currently, this is how he fits in the car seat we're going to be using on the plane. (We stuck him in it in the living room to see how the tray would fit.)

We always had our kids fly in their car seats too. Usually the slept a good chunk of the time, just like in the car, even if it was an off time. When my daughter was 17 months, we did a 3.5 hour flight to Vancouver. I was teaching Kinder that year and I had access to a bunch of colored puff balls of varying sizes, but I imagine they sell them at Michaels. I took a Take and Toss bowl and lid (love these things but very rarely use the lids). I cut a small hole in the lid and she loved pushing them through the hole. Easy, cheap and quiet! I think you said somewhere he wouldn't really watch TV. My son wouldn't either (and my kids are 17 months apart, when she was born, I tried TV but he just wouldn't sit still long enough). But if he will, the iPad with a few shows is great. My daughter loved Mickey Mouse clubhouse and little Einsteins at that age. Goldfish are good and slow to eat. I think we gave our kids Dum Dums around that age when we traveled. Maybe a new Little People car or two. My son was not a colorer until over 3. Honestly, you will probably be good since he has a seat. 2 kids, 12 flight segments with them under 2, maybe 15 minutes of crying total. I swear it was the car seat!

I considered the pompom idea but since he puts everything in his mouth in a split second, that made me too nervous. So after looking at the puffs at Michael's today...I changed my mind.

I've been trying out different cartoons lately to see if anything holds his interest for more than a few minutes. So far...not really. Though oddly enough, when I was watching "19 Kids and Counting" a few weeks back, he seemed to love it. So I admit, I DVRed some old episodes that I put on when I need to prepare lunch or whatever. (Parenting fail, I know...ha!) So we may considering downloading an episode to watch on the plane. Weird, I know.

Bring new books, especially ones like "Pat the Bunny" or other novel/fun ones like "Lift The Flap" (obviously, expect the flaps to be torn quickly!).

ColorWonder (by Crayola) is wonderful, even if he doesn't "get" coloring yet. They have plain paper, and markers, crayons, and even finger paints! This will likely keep him busy for a few moments!

I wouldn't do play-doh, personally, for a few reasons... First because it makes a mess if it's dropped and stepped on, which seems to happen instantaneously. While I try to clean it up, it would be hard to do while stuck in an airplane. Second, while it's non-toxic, I still wouldn't want my child taking a nibble. Third, it stinks. Fourth, it tended to turn my child into an all-out maniac when it was time to be put away. Fifth, it gets under my DD's nails, which totally skeeves me out

Small cars or trains could work well.

Snacks--normal "at home" ones, along with coveted "treat" ones... So, at that age for our family, would have been cheerios, cheese-its, peanut butter, goldfish (all at home snacks), plus "exciting" things like juice boxes and fruit snacks that we wouldn't allow under normal circumstances. TSA will let you have a "reasonable" amount of liquids for a toddler, so juice boxes are usually okay in this situation.

Bring something for him to suck or chew on with take-offs and landings. (If he has ear tubes, this isn't as important.) The chewing and sucking helps self-pressurize the ears, preventing or lessening the pain that some people experience. Obviously, for some, this is a big deal, and for others it isn't.

I've seen some cute "goody bags" for the passengers around you on a baby's first flight... It's a note from the little flyer, apologizing for any difficult behavior/crying, with ear plugs, and some treats like mints, I think. Here's a link that shows the note: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...-goodie-bags-placate-passengers-35-000ft.html

Good luck!

Good call on the Play-doh. Maybe we'll leave that at home. Thanks!

I wonder if I can get milk during the flight. Or if I got it at the airport, would it still be okay for him to drink 30 minute or so later during takeoff? He doesn't drink juice. He only drinks milk and water. He also has some swallowing issues so that limits our snack options, unfortunately. He does like Cheerios and Gerber Puffs. As well as fruit puree pouches. I don't hesitate to give him anything he goes crazy for because when it runs out he will throw a major fit. (He's what is classified as "strong willed"...ha!)

For Christmas he got a big Activity Cube and on the top is a bead maze. He is obsessed. So I found a small bead maze on amazon. It's still not small, by any means. But I decided to order it anyway. I figure even if we decide not to bring it in a carry-on, I may throw it in a checked bag as something to play with at the hotel. (Unless in a month, he's 'over' the bead maze...ha!) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SONEQA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also bought a little photo album meant for babies. I am going to put photos of us, himself, our dog, and his grandparents in it. I think he'd enjoy looking at that on the plane. (Hey, every 5 minutes helps, right?)

We also got him a game called Seek a Boo for Christmas that has these giant flash card type things. He really likes looking at them. So maybe I should get him something like this - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FBFIF0...lid=32LK6S6T1JU7X&coliid=I3R0PC4UBG09LX&psc=1

 

[AZMermaid]

I think the milk would be fine after 30 min or so. My son wouldn't watch anything until closer to 2. It took a little bald head Canadian boy.... Calliou. Love that kid. Love them for finally making new episodes when he was about 3! It's on PBS. Really, it's sort of an annoying show, but my son still asks for him when he's sick!

 

[CoP I Love You]

personally I think you're overestimating the amount of entertainment your son will need and underestimating the ability to adapt to a new situation.

a plane is very different from your house or riding in the car.
there's not too much to distract him so what you put in front of him is what he will focus on and he will likely become tired after playing for a little while and take a nap regardless of his usual naptime.

and I wouldn't count on him sleeping during your layover when he has the ability to run around.

I would just go with the flow.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Personally, I like to plan for the worst and have my bases covered. I think it's better too have too many activities with me than not enough. I try to 'plan' for all possibilities of what could come up. Especially since I know my son pretty well. But thanks for your input.

Oh, and I really don't plan on him sleeping AT ALL during our travel day. Except maybe once we get out of the airport. Again, I like to 'plan' for the 'worst.'

I should add, if he does fall asleep...I will be pleasantly surprised. But I just cannot bank on that happening.

 

[RebeccaW23]

Have you tried stickers yet? If he likes them you can get good ones with characters and everything for very cheap at party supply stores. Good luck!