Any tips for airplanes and toddlers?

[Beanie]

In August, we are going to Disney by plane...We usually drive, so this is our first trip with a 2 year old and our son, who is 4, but has been on a plane before...although last time he was only a year and a half, so he wasn't really interested in anything but sleep! Anyway, I was just wondering what you bring on board to occupy your kids for the flight? It will be a 3 hour flight for us and my DH had suggested taking the laptop so the kids can watch a DVD? Do you think this is a good idea? I am not sure because I am afraid it will bother other passengers...Also, what kind of snacks/juices do you bring? Any kind of travel games? Thanks, any advice is appreciated!!

 

[Kate-n-sam]

We always bring our laptop, our 4 yo uses it to play games (much to the envy of the other kids on an Orlando flight). We have also used it to watch DVDs on low volume. The way I see it, the other passengers should be much less annoyed by this then a wiggling, crying, unhappy kid. I also buy my DS 1, and DD 4, new things to keep them occupied. I wrap these gifts to make them more exciting and pull a new "present" out every now and then. A bag of lollipops always helps too, so long as your kids don't get hyper from sugar overload. I'm sure a bag of their favorite snacks would work just as well. Some ideas on toys to bring: a paint book that works with plain water, a brush, and a small medicine bottle filled with a couple ounces of water. A few small cans of play-doh. I found small cans of mini-blocks for building on tray tables at Target. For my daughter, I buy small bead kits so she can make necklaces-for little ones, you could bring cheerios or froot loops and some yarn to string necklaces. A variety of small disney story books and coloring books. I also look for flat toys such as magnetic or felt play boards, they stack neatly in a backpack with the books and are easy to find in transit. All of these also serve as great hotel toys and don't really take up much space.
Enjoy your trip---I've found most flights to Orlando are filled with kids and are pretty family friendly anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about bothering other passengers, most will be understanding as they have children too!

 

[MermaidMom]

Those are some great ideas from Kate-n-sam! I have flown several times with my now 2 1/2 year old. I agree that stockpiling some new things for the plane ride is a great idea. The newness factor keeps my DD occupied! Dollar General or Dollar Tree is great for getting soft cover Disney books and they don't take up much room. My DD loves to just look through these books on her own. She also loves those little sticker/coloring books that are $1.50 or so at Target - in fact I saw the Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy ones on clearance for $1 each. They are about 5"x7" and have 2 pages of stickers in the middle. The rest is coloring & puzzle pages. Also if they like stickers - colorforms/vinyl cling books are good. I found some at Michael's craft store. The one I bought is Pooh. There are 4 scenes with Pooh & friends - it's like having 100 reusable stickers.

For snacks we usually bring those small pouches of fruit snacks, cereal in sandwich bags so she can hold it herself, juice boxes and depending on the flight time, I might pack a sandwich.

Meredith

 

[Clang]

We bought DS a travel size magna doodle last year (2 yrs) and a travel size etch-a-scetch this year. We also bring some of his favorite books. Sticker books are always a hit. We wrap things up, and he is also only allowed to play with these things in transit, although we have brought the etch a scetch into restaruants with us. One thing he is currently fasinated with is a pocket calculator. He is really into numbers & letters right now.

 

[BounceyOne]

Along with what everyone else said already, we bring UNO cars for our 2 yo. She loves to match the colors and numbers. We don't exactly play by the rules, we use a modified version. Those travel type games are cute but if the pieces happen to fall under the seats, you are unlikely to retrieve them during your flight.
I usually bring water more then juice boxes, but this is just a personal preference we don't give our children that much sugary stuff. On our last flight I picked up a Happy meal from the McD's in the airport, sure it wasn't so hot when she ate it but she enjoyed it anyway.

Thanks for all the things I didn't think of!!

Stacey

 

[Beanie]

Thanks so much for all the great ideas!! I think I will definitely bring the laptop, that way I can also check my email while there...

I went down to a local drugstore tonight and they had those travel Etch a Sketch, so I bought two of them for the kids...I also picked up some little books that had sticker sheets in them...Next week I will pick up some juice boxes and snacks...I also saw these cute little lollypops that when you push a button, they turn...One was Winnie The Pooh, who lifted his honey pot when you pushed the button and the other was Tigger, who bounced when you push the button...They are so cute...I think I might go back and get them..they would make great little surprises on the plane!!

Thanks again everyone!! I appreciate all the replies!!

 

[disneymania]

I'm traveling alone today with my 3 kiddies (1, 4, 6) & wish it were to Disney. I agree with travel Magna Doodle. I buy those invisible ink things where you have to color a sheet of paper iwth a special pen to see what the picture is. New stuff, coloring books, stickers, favorite toy. Lollipops & those baby bottle pops that you dip in colored sugar if all else fails!!!

4 & 6 year old are easier. 1 is hard!!

 

[Mskanga]

Modeling Clay kept my DD busy for hours on my trip to spain! I just got it today again.

 

[mchames]

We went on a six hour car trip last week and I bought my 3.5yo DD a cheap walkman (Target $10) and some books on tape. She loved it. Those kept her occupied for most of the trip. Her two favorite tapes were Little Mermaid and The Lion King. Both of these came in plastic carrying cases with book, tape, and a CD-ROM which can be used in a CD player or on a computer ($10 each at Target). I plan on bringing these on all of our future plane trips.

Another favorite was a "Mr. Potatohead" handheld game. Though there were different levels of game play (some fairly difficult) even my 18 mos. DD liked pushing the features to dress Mr. Potatohead. This was a good game for both ages.

Bring plenty of snacks. It's amazing how much little people can eat when their confined for a long time . We like "face" snacks: Pooh fruit snacks, Princess fruit roll-ups, Sesame street cookies and crackers (DD3.5 likes counting Ernies, Berts, Elmos, etc.) and Richard Scarry cookies (DD3.5 makes up stories with the cookies as she eats them) LOL

Hope this helps,
Mary

PS: Or you could just follow my DH's plan for a calm and quiet trip.... pack PLENTY of Benadryl LOL

 

[PamCo88]

Since the kids really haven't flown before, make sure to bring something for them to drink when taking off. drink boxes (juice) are best because of the little straws and the sucking helps to pop the ears for kids who shouldn't being chewing gum.

Also, bring extra for the trip home.

 

[gfolchick]

I agree with mchames, pack the benadryl!!! I have a 2 and 4 year old and they slept from shortly after takeoff until landing. The one time I didn't give it to my daughter a few years ago she cried the entire time until the person behind us gave her a box of animal crackers, then we landed (I had packed all kinds of snacks for her but the animal crackers did the trick). I made sure I picked up a box for the return flight and gave her benadryl.

As for what to pack I bought each kid a plastic colored file folder at Wal Mart (the kind that hold bills, etc) and put small coloring books, stickers, crayons, and printouts from PlayHouse Disney (Bear in the Big Blue House, Rollie Pollie Ollie, PB and J otter). I also packed Happy Meal toys this way if we lost them it was no big deal. Pez makes Mickey holders and now Pooh and friends which I packed along with Mickey lollipops (Kmart/WalMart), lacing cards, books and a wipe off board (crayola makes a few sizes, some are plain, some have games printed on them). A favorite doll or stuffed animal helps too. A new spillproof cup/bottle is exciting and helps with takeoff and landings. Gerber makes spillproof sports bottles which are good for the older kids too, and then you can take them to the parks. In their backpacks I put a supply of snacks in a party favor bag which included cereal bars, fruit chews, miniture candy (halloween was a few days before we left), Pez dispensers, lollipop, raisins, crackers. The idea was to let them pick from the bag whatever they wanted and I knew there was a mix of good stuff and treats. All of this planning and like I said, they slept the entire way. It was worth it, and I can only hope this January it will go as smoothly.