Favorite Travel/Airplane Toys???

[tms295psu]

We will be flying this spring with a 4 yr old, and a 17 month old. Give me your favorite "travel" toy ideas for the airport/plane. flight time is 2-1/2 hrs.


We will be purchasing some new items that won't be seen before the airplane. So far my list includes:

-Ipod touch (with headphones) have music, games, and tv show videos downloaded
-Color Wonder markers and books
-Sticker books
-Toy cars/trucks
-Oball **rolls well, doesn't throw good" (our home airport is small, and always empty) thought it would be nice to burn some energy.

 

[VP037388]

They have these play books "The Cheerios Book", "The Goldfish Book", "The Sunmaid Raisin Book". They are for toddler age and every page has a picture you need to fill in with say Cheerios. The kids have a snack and play with their food too! When my middle child was younger these were a great help while flying. They are all on Amazon. Stickers are great. We also like the triangle crayons. They don't roll so a must have for the small tray tables. Bring some lollipops as well. They help with the takeoff/landing but they are also a treat/distraction and keep the kids (relatively) quiet.

 

[Alexsandra]

I have traveled everywhere with my kids since they were born. They are now 5 and 20 months old. Here is what I have learnt:

-Do not bring small toys that are easily lost between seats or fall under the chairs. I learnt the hard way. The kids start crying to retrieve them and it is awkward and painstaking to look for them.

-Coloring books and crayons are annoying (you have to open tray table, crayons fall off easily, and it only keeps their interest for a few minutes (15 min. at most.) They draw on the table, the chairs and they fight for colors. No thanks.

-Stickers/sticker book are ok but they love to stick them on everything and its getting them off that is annoying.

-Food is a parents best friend, keeps them busy and happy. Especially if it is food they can play with or food that they are not usually allowed to eat at home.

-My favorite toy/gadget is the "i-pad". It is lightweight, easy to carry and easy to use. On it I have several Disney read-along books, games, puzzles, and movies; and it all fits on one small machine. I always purchase a few new apps or movies that are age appropriate before I leave and it keeps my kids happy and silent the whole plane ride.

Good luck!

 

[puffkin]

I have traveled everywhere with my kids since they were born. They are now 5 and 20 months old. Here is what I have learnt:

-Do not bring small toys that are easily lost between seats or fall under the chairs. I learnt the hard way. The kids start crying to retrieve them and it is awkward and painstaking to look for them.

-Coloring books and crayons are annoying (you have to open tray table, crayons fall off easily, and it only keeps their interest for a few minutes (15 min. at most.) They draw on the table, the chairs and they fight for colors. No thanks.

-Stickers/sticker book are ok but they love to stick them on everything and its getting them off that is annoying.

-Food is a parents best friend, keeps them busy and happy. Especially if it is food they can play with or food that they are not usually allowed to eat at home.

-My favorite toy/gadget is the "i-pad". It is lightweight, easy to carry and easy to use. On it I have several Disney read-along books, games, puzzles, and movies; and it all fits on one small machine. I always purchase a few new apps or movies that are age appropriate before I leave and it keeps my kids happy and silent the whole plane ride.

Good luck!

I agree with most of this! We have been flying with DS6 2-3 times a year since he was in utero. Our flights are typicially 2-2.5 hours. We honestly don't take much for him on the plane. I find everyone is happier that way. Less stuff = less stress!

Magnetic sticker-type books are great as are those invisible ink books (one pen!). Ipad/Itouch. A snack or two. And I know it sounds weird, but he LOVES looking through the Sky Mall catalog lol. That is usually all he needs to get through the flight. When he was really little, he got a huge kick out of the window shade as well (usually bought us at least 15-20 minutes).

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I have traveled everywhere with my kids since they were born. They are now 5 and 20 months old. Here is what I have learnt:

-Do not bring small toys that are easily lost between seats or fall under the chairs. I learnt the hard way. The kids start crying to retrieve them and it is awkward and painstaking to look for them.

-Coloring books and crayons are annoying (you have to open tray table, crayons fall off easily, and it only keeps their interest for a few minutes (15 min. at most.) They draw on the table, the chairs and they fight for colors. No thanks.

-Stickers/sticker book are ok but they love to stick them on everything and its getting them off that is annoying.

-Food is a parents best friend, keeps them busy and happy. Especially if it is food they can play with or food that they are not usually allowed to eat at home.

-My favorite toy/gadget is the "i-pad". It is lightweight, easy to carry and easy to use. On it I have several Disney read-along books, games, puzzles, and movies; and it all fits on one small machine. I always purchase a few new apps or movies that are age appropriate before I leave and it keeps my kids happy and silent the whole plane ride.

Good luck!

I definitely agree with this post. I think we overlooked into how to occupy our kids during the plane ride since it was their first plane ride and we ended up buying/overpacking too many small, cheap toys, sticker books, crayon packs, etc. that they ended up not really using much. Our flight to/from Orlando was less than 2.5 hours and our kids ended up napping for most of the plane ride. I think an efficient and easy to pack item is an I pad/tablet pc and/or a cell phone with different apps (games, videos, read along stories, etc.) that the kids can enjoy with headphones. The tricky part though is when you have multiple kids and a limited amount of electronic devices to go around

 

[Alexsandra]

I definitely agree with this post. I think we overlooked into how to occupy our kids during the plane ride since it was their first plane ride and we ended up buying/overpacking too many small, cheap toys, sticker books, crayon packs, etc. that they ended up not really using much. Our flight to/from Orlando was less than 2.5 hours and our kids ended up napping for most of the plane ride. I think an efficient and easy to pack item is an I pad/tablet pc and/or a cell phone with different apps (games, videos, read along stories, etc.) that the kids can enjoy with headphones. The tricky part though is when you have multiple kids and a limited amount of electronic devices to go around

Ya I think I will have to buy a second iPad soon but for now I put all the same games on my iPhone and when they boys fight over it I give my oldest the phone.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We drove about 10 hours with DS5 recently. Favorite was the iphone, my nook color and his brothers old PSP with a harry potter game. He did like the color wonder books and really enjoyed the color wonder paint but the paper is wet when you are done. If he is willing to let you just throw each one away as they complete it, it is a big winner.

He also enjoyed a big pack of pipe cleaners. He normally loves to be read to on long trips but that was not a big hit this time.

As mentioned....SNACKS. Stuff that take a while to eat and can have a play factor to them are great...think gold fish or teddy grahams. A few junk treats, a pack of m&ms or as DS loves, a box of tic tacs can pass some time too.

My #1 suggestion is always the parent. Forget the movie or your magazine and commit to playing with the children. A toy with a 5 minute play time can be stretched to 30 if mom or dad gets involved!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We don't fly with our kids, but have had them on many road trips. Best bang for the buck is the doodleboard. Serves the same function as a coloring book w/o the hassle of crayons & used up pages. Our kids prefer the full-size ones, but they make travel-size ones that are ~ the size of an Ipad. Make sure you get one for each child & get the ones that have the stylus (pen thingy) attached with a string.

 

[dhardawa]

I agree with those who have said snacks. I typically overpack for the plane and they end up watching movies, sleeping, or eating the whole trip.

 

[fitgirl36]

I have traveled everywhere with my kids since they were born. They are now 5 and 20 months old. Here is what I have learnt:

-Do not bring small toys that are easily lost between seats or fall under the chairs. I learnt the hard way. The kids start crying to retrieve them and it is awkward and painstaking to look for them.

-Coloring books and crayons are annoying (you have to open tray table, crayons fall off easily, and it only keeps their interest for a few minutes (15 min. at most.) They draw on the table, the chairs and they fight for colors. No thanks.

-Stickers/sticker book are ok but they love to stick them on everything and its getting them off that is annoying.

-Food is a parents best friend, keeps them busy and happy. Especially if it is food they can play with or food that they are not usually allowed to eat at home.

-My favorite toy/gadget is the "i-pad". It is lightweight, easy to carry and easy to use. On it I have several Disney read-along books, games, puzzles, and movies; and it all fits on one small machine. I always purchase a few new apps or movies that are age appropriate before I leave and it keeps my kids happy and silent the whole plane ride.

Good luck!

Would you please tell me how to search for the Disney read along books on Itunes. I have looked for Toddler books on both Itunes and in Apps and can't find any.

Also, I found the Buckle Bear keeps my 1 year old entertained for quite some time. We brought it last year on our 2-1/2 hour flight.

 

[Ashansen]

Our daughters are 9 and 11 now, but we flew many times with them and found a couple things work great (besides those already mentioned):

There are these "sticky stick" things (I cannot think of the name, but you can get them at Michaels) where they stick to eachother and bend into whatever shape you want, but are not sticky on your fingers (think wax covered sticks). We throw them in a baggie and if they are lost, they are lost. No big investment.

BALLOONS! We would get lightheaded blowing these up and deflating them...if you tie some up you can bounce around without disturbing other passengers. Another use and toss thing....Just be ready to blow them up over and over!

FOAM shape stickers: again, a purchase from a craft store...they don't stick permanently and come in fun shapes...can get letters if your kids are into spelling games.

For snacks, we bought a bag of dum dum suckers....the girls never had them otherwise, and we would let them try different flavors. Generally, they'd take one or two licks and throw it away...maybe grab another...but they didn't eat enough of them to make a difference, but thought it was cool having the option to try all the different ones. Big hit too on the plane if there is a fussy kid near by (just ask the parents first and not where the kids can hear you!!!).

Model Magic (less mess than playdoh).

Bottom line, we didn't break these things out unless we were flying...kinda a fun "new" thing to them whenever we got on the plane. These were always "Treats".

Don't forget a couple trash bags (like the target or grocery store bags you get at the store!) and plenty of hand wipes!

HTH!

Ashley

 

[POOHDRMR]

Flew with my ds at 8 months and again at 18 months.At 18 months the things that kept him busy were definately snacks and a small blue plastic slinky(in the box)Snacks and looking at his sisters ipod kept him busy in the begining but when he got bored I took out the slinky and he played with it forever-he would put it in the box and pull it out of the box alittle at a time.He loved it.Kept him busy on the way home too-I only gave it to him on the plane so he wouldn't be bored of it.

 

[glk2009]

I think PP was talking about wikki stix... They are like waxy pipe cleaners.

If your LOs like coloring, we have had great success with triangle shaped crayons.

For a sticker substitute, I bring different shaped post it notes. My DD liked writing on them and then sticking them up wherever. Easy clean-up.

We also like to bring Look and Find books... That keeps DD occupied for awhile.

The iPad and iPod are great travel companions.

To find the read along apps, I think you can just search for Disney. It's not WDW, but the Disneyland Explorer app is really cool. My DD likes different puzzle apps and the Easy Bake Oven app.

Safe travels!

 

[WantToGoNow]

BALLOONS! We would get lightheaded blowing these up and deflating them...if you tie some up you can bounce around without disturbing other passengers.

You would have killed my son! This is a very bad recommendation. Do you have any idea how many people are allergic to latex and how dangerous it is? We would have no way to escape and you would be repeatedly releasing the dust into the air.

 

[fitgirl36]

To find the read along apps, I think you can just search for Disney. It's not WDW, but the Disneyland Explorer app is really cool. My DD likes different puzzle apps and the Easy Bake Oven app.

Safe travels!

found the Disney read along apps, thanks!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You would have killed my son! This is a very bad recommendation. Do you have any idea how many people are allergic to latex and how dangerous it is? We would have no way to escape and you would be repeatedly releasing the dust into the air.

I actually kinda thought the balloon idea was a bad one 'cause I could just see that thing floating all around the plane. But, never would have considered it from your angle. That's scary!

 

[Ashansen]

I actually kinda thought the balloon idea was a bad one 'cause I could just see that thing floating all around the plane. But, never would have considered it from your angle. That's scary!

My sincere apologies. Obviously I would not intentionally try to hurt or kill anyone. We brought balloons on countless trips and I have never known anyone personally who was allergic to latex.

I have a child with a deadly tree nut allergy and understand how vigilant I have to be to protect her.

Ashleyh

 

[Alexsandra]

Would you please tell me how to search for the Disney read along books on Itunes. I have looked for Toddler books on both Itunes and in Apps and can't find any.

Also, I found the Buckle Bear keeps my 1 year old entertained for quite some time. We brought it last year on our 2-1/2 hour flight.

You go to the app store and type in Disney in the search. You'll get a bunch of Disney books and games. My kids love the toy story read alongside, cars, and mickey's not so scary Halloween book. My oldest loves spiderman. Good luck!

 

[BobbyRach]

I envy you only having a 2-3 hour flight. we have 20 + hours travelling from Australia with a 5 year old!!

 

[Rockislander]

My #1 suggestion is always the parent. Forget the movie or your magazine and commit to playing with the children. A toy with a 5 minute play time can be stretched to 30 if mom or dad gets involved!

totally agree!!