how do you entertain a 2yr old on a flight?

[scrappinboysmom]

We are flying in Sept.
Me and 3 boys (11, 6, and 2yrs old).

Our flight will be about 3 hrs direct there and on the way back we will have an almost 2 hour layover.

IM not worried about the older boys. We have enough homework and electronics to keep them occupied.

What about the 2yr old?

He will turn 2 about 10 days before we leave. He does fine in the car for long trips as long as the car is moving. If we stop for considerable amts of time he gets fussy.

I have some new Matchbox cars for him, a color book, and 2 magnetic books that you can change faces of people and animals on.

He will be in his carseat on the plane. I will be sitting by him, and across the aisle from the older boys.

This is also the first time that any of them have flown.

Are there any tips I need to know about? Sure fire things that have worked to keep your little ones happy on flights?
Hes not prone to meltdowns, but Im worried sick hes going to cry the whole time making EVERYONE on the plane misearable!

 

[Rekenna]

In your post you said you will have electronics, do you have a portable DVD player?

Snacktime on the plane will also help time go by.

 

[POOHsie]

I am just pulling this up from my experience. I am no expert. Kids are unpredictable on a plane, no matter their previous history. It's good that your older kids can watch themselves so you can concentrate on the little one. I wonder if they make those Earplane earplugs that would fit his small ears. They might help with compression discomfort. If all else fails in a meltdown, what I would do is pick him up and carry him around a little in the aisle, gently patting his back, and see if that is soothing to him, or maybe something will divert his attention. I would pack something for the kids to munch on, like maybe animal crackers or your snack of choice. Good luck!

 

[scrappinboysmom]

We do have a portable DVD player and I plan to take that with us.

The older boys have Nintendo DS and games they are taking. And really, if they quiet and still for 3 hours they can play the whole time!

I do plan to stuff several snacks in the carry on for all of them, but primarily my little guy.

I'll take an empty sippy cup and fill it with something after we get past security as well.

The flight there will be right around his usual nap time so Im hoping he'll just go to sleep!

Flight back is around his nap...the layover is his usual nap time...but Im hoping then the lack of sleep from vacation will overcome him and he'll sleep then too!

 

[buzz5985]

Would it help at all to have the older boys sit with the younger for awhile?? You could rotate shifts. LOL This worked with my nephew. He is very high maintenance.

 

[T16GEM]

We have flown from the UK to Florida 3 times with DD and DS who were 22 months and 11 months on their first flight, they are now 4 and 3!

I take snacks, a Nintendo DS, colouring books and crayons, Play Doh ( they played for hours with this!), when DS was 2 he watched Toy Story on the inflight enetertainment with no ear phones in! He knew the story so didn't need to listen! We had also taken a pack of farm animals, the little plastic kind, we played farms on the seat back table, they enjoyed that.

 

[jpolak]

We bring the DVD player and a bunch of movies. We also buy new little toys like a car, doll, coloring book. Also we bring a ton of snacks. IMO there are "at home rules" and "airplane rules". Airplane rules state that anything goes as long as your in your seat and happy.

 

[suchthe]

I always do the same thing and schedule my flights for naptimes or bedtime. When my son was younger I had issues with him in the car seat. It just made it so his feet were closer to the seat in front of him and he kept kicking that seat. Now I just check the car seat, since it's free, and it also becomes extra luggage space since I pack stuff all around the car seat. I also find that without the car seat there they can lay across your legs and that always seemed to help him drift off.

I agree with the playdoh. My nicer to let them play with it anywhere else than home. Also if you have a window seat you could get some window clings and let him stick them all over the window.

When all else fails bring a supply of fruit snacks, candy, or cookies. Whatever will stop a tantrum in it's tracks. When I'm home I definitely don't reward that kind of behavior with special treats, but on a plane, it's all about survival! Whatever keeps them quiet and happy.

Oh and benedryl. Just kidding...kinda

 

[Bradsdadg]

I would buy a few new toys your little one hasn't seen before. Might keep your boy entertained longer that way. The DVD player is a good idea as well. That and keep your fingers crossed he doesn't start screaming and raising heck!

 

[foxywhyte1]

I took my son when he was 2, I bought a portable DVD player. It worked for most of th etrip and he fell asleep. Also, give a lolli-pop for possible ear popping. Give it to kid when takin goff.

 

[maxiesmom]

Remember that if you take a DVD player along, it must be used with headphones. So if your kids are not used to using them, you might want to start breaking them in to them before the flight. It would be pretty horrible to bring it along, and have the kids all excited for it, and not be able to use it.

Actually, any electronic gadget that makes noise either has to be used with headphones, or the sound turned off.

 

[mollymar]

If If all else fails in a meltdown, what I would do is pick him up and carry him around a little in the aisle, gently patting his back, and see if that is soothing to him, or maybe something will divert his attention. I would pack something for the kids to munch on, like maybe animal crackers or your snack of choice. Good luck!

I'm a flight attendant and a mom. If at all possible, try and keep him in his car seat. Once they get out it can be impossible to get them back in. My son always knew he had to be buckled in whenever we were moving, just like the car. I realize that may be hard on such a long flight.

DVD players are a must and pp is correct, earphones have to be used.

I always try and get a few new toys for the plane and break them out a little at a time.

Traveling at nap time is always a good thing.

I'm sure he'll do fine. Relax and have fun!

 

[goofyernmost]

A little Bourbon in his juice box will usually put a kid out for the duration of the flight.

For those that don't realize it...I'M JUST KIDDING!

 

[princess pooh]

Last week my two year old spent an entire 5 hour flight playing toddler games on my husband's iphone! I filled an entire carry on bag with toys, dvds and colouring books, and he never even touched it. In our pre-iphone days he would watch movies.

 

[Eliza'sMom]

DD turned 2 a couple days after our last trip.

The things we found most useful on the plane were a portable DVD player with some new DVDs (one we purchased, the rest from the library), a sticker book, a travel-sized Magna Doodle and lots of snacks. I had some new little toys stashed away too (just some dollar-store figurines and things like that). Good luck!

 

[JenniJ]

Pack a few surprise new toys. Pull them out whenever he starts to get fussy. On our 1 and half day car ride last year, I found one of those portable magna doodles, he liked that as well. Again, it was a surprise toy that he first say in the car.

We also took my DS on a plane last year about a 2 hour flight. Books were nice. The stewardesses were very nice once we couldn't get him to break a wining crying fit and let DH carry him to the back of the plane by the bathrooms to stand holding him for a while. He just needed a change of scenery. Also, my pediatrician told us an acceptable dose of Benadryl to give him if we really wanted to get him to sleep during the flight. Check with your's if ok and the dosage.

People have their own views on this one, if you have an iPod or like, add some children's songs. Buy earphones not the ear buds and have him listen to the music very low.

 

[MartDM]

I always pack an assortment of small toys and a few favorites in my bag but the only thing that's ever been a sure fire bet with my guy, who just turned 3 and has flown 4 times, is cool snacks he doesn't normally get (such as snacks with cartoon characters, etc.) and always the DVD player with some favorite disks to keep him enthralled.

I don't know about those saying you *have* to use headphones - we have never seen such a rule nor have we ever been asked to do so. DS doesn't care for them so we have never used them.

That said, we are always considerate of those around us. Our portable unit has the speaker right below the screen so it faces DS, which enables us to play it low enough that he can hear it without disrupting anyone around us (yes, we've checked with them all - there is a lot of ambient noise on an airplane, which prevents others from hearing unless you are playing it louder than is necessary - I can barely hear it and I'm seated right next to him).

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't know about those saying you *have* to use headphones - we have never seen such a rule nor have we ever been asked to do so. DS doesn't care for them so we have never used them.

That said, we are always considerate of those around us. Our portable unit has the speaker right below the screen so it faces DS, which enables us to play it low enough that he can hear it without disrupting anyone around us (yes, we've checked with them all - there is a lot of ambient noise on an airplane, which prevents others from hearing unless you are playing it louder than is necessary - I can barely hear it and I'm seated right next to him).

The airline magazines do state that you must use headphones. So you have been lucky. If someone were to complain, you would have a choice of either using headhones or not using the DVD player. The FAs will not side with you on this, so it just makes good sense to be prepared to have to use headphones.

 

[pixarmom]

We have three boys, and when our oldest was a toddler/pre-schooler, I would make up a kit with new crayons, stickers, multi-colored pipe cleaners (I would make animals and things from them) mini activity books, snacks, etc. He would love this and be entertained for hours without electronics. Those days are gone! Now, our older boys are pre-teens and within the last year or so, they started bringing ipods, DS, a book and a "trip binder" that I make with information about our vacation plans.

So now our youngest, a pre-schooler, is not content with the activity box (not his personality in the first place, but especially not with older brothers bringing electronics.) So we bring the portable DVD player, books and snacks for him. And I make a book about the trip for him with pictures of what he will do and see - he's moderately interested in that, too. He used to stay in his carseat the whole flight, but in March, he didn't want anything to do with it.

On really long trips, I have a new toy, activity or snack for each hour of the flight. I decorate a paper bag and then put the "surprise" of the hour in the bag and let them open it hourly (or each 1/2 hour.) Sometimes it's just a candy, but it could also be an inexpensive movie for the DVD player, art supplies (I can always try!) a new book, or a jibbitz for their crocs. Makes the time go really fast.

I do have a question - our pre-schooler has a hand-me-down DS and no games for it. Can anyone recommend a good DS game for pre-schoolers? Educational and Pixar-themed would be great, but I'd love any suggestions you may have!

 

[MartDM]

The airline magazines do state that you must use headphones.

The airline magazines are just that, magazines. They should not be construed as industry wide rules for all airlines.

In double checking both the written regulations and with customer service for the airline we fly most often, there is no rule requiring the use of headphones. Further, on just about every flight I've been on since the dawn of portable electronic media (which has covered most of the major air carriers), there has been someone watching a movie on a laptop or DVD player without headphones. I've never seen anyone give them a hard time about it or enforce the use of headphones. Perhaps that is the case in your experience, but clearly it is not an enforced regulation on all airlines.

I would recommend that the OP check with the airline she is traveling with to determine whether headphone use is in fact required. It would be an awful shame if, based on this thread, they failed to bring a DVD player with them if the child doesn't like headphones, only to find out they would have been fine without them and had use of a very good tool to entertain the child in flight.