entertainment on plane for 4 y.o.

[AlisonR80]

We just bought Leap Frog Tags for our girls. They are so cool! I am not a fan of "plugging in" your children- but these are not video games so I feel a little better about them.
I like them for two reasons- you can use them with headphones- and they utilize real children's literature and not just cartoon character stories.
They were great on the plane and didn't take up much carry-on space. They entertained both my 3 and 5 y/o.
We also brought along color wonder markers, finger paints and workbooks. The finger paints were fun- and only showed up on the paper- so no mess.
My younger daughter enjoyed a new set of Little Mermaid plastic characters and my older daughter loved all the snacks we packed that she doesn't normally get to eat. I.e. fruit snacks and Pringles chips.
Enjoy the trip!

I just googled it, it does look really cool! He also has a Whiz kid learning system, but i thought it might be kinda big to bring along, plus each page is separate. He's not really into it either, loses interest after a minute or so. Plus i'm not sure if it uses headphones.

 

[karliebug]

sticker books. books on tape. playdoh. pipe cleaners (you can make people and animals with them and they are quiet!). playing cards. tic tac toe. riddle books. disney coloring and puzzle pages. think of a disney character for every letter of the alphabet.

 

[nilseks]

My son will have just turned 5 when we go, and yes, he is immature for his age. Two years ago we flew to Disney and it was a nightmare (he has sensory issues so that made it much worse). It was so bad that last year I refused to get on a plane with him--we drove 23 hours instead! I'm hoping he can hack it this year. We do have a portable DVD player and Leapsters, so that should help a bit. But he *LOVES* Star Wars action figures, so that's my secret weapon. Every time he gets a new one he'll play with it for 2 hours straight. I'm going to bring 4 with us, and surprise him w/ 2 on the way there and 2 on the way home. At $7 each it's a pricey way to keep him occupied but hopefully worth it.

Whatever your son's favorite toy is, if it's small enough to travel, buy one and surprise him when the doldrums start to set in on the plane!