Keeping a 1-year old busy on the airplane

[Jenna319]

Does anyone have any suggestions for what to bring to keep a 1-year old busy on the airplane? I am going to bring a DVD player with her favorite shows but anything else that has proven to be a hit among this age group?

 

[Alesia]

Does anyone have any suggestions for what to bring to keep a 1-year old busy on the airplane? I am going to bring a DVD player with her favorite shows but anything else that has proven to be a hit among this age group?

Make sure she'll either listen to it with no sound or use headphones.

 

[Jenna319]

I am going to have to find some "old-style" head phones because I don't think little ear buds would stay put in her ears....

 

[Alesia]

I am going to have to find some "old-style" head phones because I don't think little ear buds would stay put in her ears....

There are plenty of choices: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=baby+headphones

Make sure you start using them well before your trip - it will probably take her a while to get used to them.

 

[Jenna319]

Good tip! Thanks!

 

[Thing 1]

Down load a few baby/toddler apps to your phone or ipad. Im not a huge fan of technology with babies but on a plane..anything goes. Stickers to stick on extra paper, herself and you, a few busy books, maybe a color-wonder toddler coloring set, a favorite stuffed toy or doll and you!!! Biggest play value is having you to interact the whole time with her. Makes every item last twice as long. Another great activity is fun food! Take tons of snacks that take a long time to eat. Dry cereal, mini M & Ms, animal crackers, character themed crackers and fruit snacks as well as some healthy real food. I would be sure to try every new food before you travel. An airplane is not the place to discover a food allergy!! Take an empty sippy cup to fill after you go through security. Is she still on the bottle or nursing??? Keep it up till after the trip. Feeding her during take off is great. If she will be in a car seat and you nurse her, be sure to have a bottle or passie or sippy cup for take off and landing. Good luck, I was blessed with good travelers but being prepared makes all the difference.

 

[tmh43]

Hide her favorite toys before you go- bam brand new again on the plane.

Stickers (like, more than you'd think you'd ever need) books, favorite stuffed animal, crayons... If you're crafty a felt quiet book is perfect for that age!

Also, sounds insane I know, but before the trip talk to her constantly about how planes are awesome for sleeping on. "We're going to get on the plane, take a nap, and wake up in Disney World!" I've done this to my son so many times that on our last trip (he was just over 2) he just passed right out. Fingers crossed it still works at 3!

That being said, if she's tired or normally naps before your flight time do not keep her up with the hope that she'll sleep on the plane. An overtired baby is sooo much worse than a rested, happy, awake baby

 

[tmh43]

Also, slightly off topic, but wearing little ones through the airport is so much easier than a stroller IMO If they fall asleep in a wrap or carrier, they just swab it and you don't have to take them out and wake them up.

 

[Pesky]

kidzgear headphones have worked brilliantly for my 2. Just be sure to listen first yourself so you can set the volume. Also, sleeeeeeeeeppppp. Both of mine would nod off at that age easy. Just turn on the vent above, have a blanket over them and out. Snacks and drinks (milk, formula, nursing). Encourage at take off and especially landing (although mine could sleep through landing). Post-it notes. 5 Little Monkeys board book and finger puppet glove I got at Babies R Us. They loved that thing. Plus I'd make the monkeys give kisses. Soft books like that and board books were entertaining. Toys with a suction cup so harder to toss off the tray table. And bring lots of Ziploc bags to put the dirty stuff in when she does toss it on the floor.

 

[Jenna319]

Great tips, thanks everyone!! She is on formula/bottle, so I have decided to keep her on it until after the trip. I will definitely look into the kidzgear headphones! We are taking a 930a flight, so it will be right at her normal nap time. We did buy her her own seat so she will be in her car seat - she easily falls asleep in the car but when people are next to her and she can see them, my gut is telling me she won't fall asleep so I definitely want to be prepared. Good thing is that if kept up, she rarely gets crabby, she just gets difficult to get down for a nap later. Stupid question - she is still in a rear-facing seat - on airplanes, can we install the seat rear-facing? I bought the cosco scenera for travel due to high recommendations on the boards, and to be honest, I hate the seat..... it is light and easy to carry which is the one good thing, but the buckle between her legs is so high on the seat that it makes it super tight and uncomfortable. I feel like we are not using it properly but the buckle is on the highest opening on the seat and still feels like it is way too tight. Maybe my child just has large thighs?? LOL I think I am going to have to splurge on a different car seat for travel because I just can't imagine this seat being comfortable for a 2 1/2 hour flight for her.

 

[NJlauren]

So I have done 4 round trips with my DD who is 14 months just got back today from one. I also bought this seat and felt the strap in the middle was a little annoying but it worked for the trip. You can install it rear facing, however we didn't we just let her sit forward facing. If you install it rear facing the person Infront of you can't recline and I didn't want to deal with that.

I was able to get DD to sleep on all but 1 of the flights. On the one fight I was unsuccessful getting her to nap I basically played with her. I got a bunch of bath toys the little ones that suck up water. They were new and cheap and I didn't care if we lost them. She loves to play with them and they really helped. I didn't take them out till I had too! We also let her watch some videos and I have kids head phones but she kept pulling them off. So I put the volume on really low, I couldn't even hear it and she seemed to be fine with it.

One tip we have used that saved us was DH boarded first with the car seat and I stayed back let DD run around to burn off energy and boarded last. It worked to get her tired!

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[Jenna319]

So I have done 4 round trips with my DD who is 14 months just got back today from one. I also bought this seat and felt the strap in the middle was a little annoying but it worked for the trip. You can install it rear facing, however we didn't we just let her sit forward facing. If you install it rear facing the person Infront of you can't recline and I didn't want to deal with that.

I was able to get DD to sleep on all but 1 of the flights. On the one fight I was unsuccessful getting her to nap I basically played with her. I got a bunch of bath toys the little ones that suck up water. They were new and cheap and I didn't care if we lost them. She loves to play with them and they really helped. I didn't take them out till I had too! We also let her watch some videos and I have kids head phones but she kept pulling them off. So I put the volume on really low, I couldn't even hear it and she seemed to be fine with it.

One tip we have used that saved us was DH boarded first with the car seat and I stayed back let DD run around to burn off energy and boarded last. It worked to get her tired!

Good luck and have a great trip!

I did pay for the early bird check-in for my husband to get the car seat in! I was looking at the headphones - $20 for the kidsgear ones.... yikes, I hate to spend $20 if she is just going to pull them off....

 

[NJlauren]

I did pay for the early bird check-in for my husband to get the car seat in! I was looking at the headphones - $20 for the kidsgear ones.... yikes, I hate to spend $20 if she is just going to pull them off....

I'm hopping that she likes them in the future since we travel pretty often. I'll send positive vibes for a nap for you! My DD sleeps through landing which is great.

You've got this!

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

These are great tips! Our daughter will be almost 15 months when we fly to Disney World. I want to be prepared for the plane rides. Hopefully they go smoothly! Thanks for the ideas!

 

[MissMet]

I will be flying 2.5 hours with my 1 year old in 20 days. I have not introduced him to coloring or stickers yet. So I'm bringing a coloring book, stickers & those big, egg-looking crayons for him. I also bought the kids headphones since we're on Jetblue. I think he may be too young for them but we travel a lot, he already flew when he was 3 months old & slept the whole way, so I know he will eventually get a lot of use out of them, if not on this trip. I'm also packing lots of NEW snacks he hasn't tried yet that I know he'll love, in addition to some NEW toys all in his own little, Mickey rolling backpack. I also got some new books. Then I'm packing a whole different, new set of "distractions" for the plane ride home that again he won't see until we're on board.

The key is not showing him ANY of these things ahead of time & not pulling them all out at once or real quickly. Stall as much as you can with nothing, then when you can't take it any more, pull out ONE new thing...then hold out as long as you can for the next thing.

I did this with my nephew when he was 22 months and it worked like a charm & he is the most energetic kid I've ever met. People complimented his behavior on the plane & that's the LAST thing we were expecting.