Occupying an active 5 year old on the plane

[Kerri10]

What kinds of things should I bring? I'm planning on coloring books and crayons. Plus we're flying Jet Blue so he'll have a TV. Any other suggestions?

 

[jodifla]

What kinds of things should I bring? I'm planning on coloring books and crayons. Plus we're flying Jet Blue so he'll have a TV. Any other suggestions?

We use a Leapster. And I always get a new cartridge for the game before a trip.

 

[Desnik]

DS is 4 and I always bring his Leapster too! I also have a travel magna doodle, color wonder books and markers, magic ink activity book set. We also fly on JetBlue and he loves looking out the window most of the time! Also that tv is wonderful. He'll watch it for awhile and usually falls asleep. I also bring gummies to help with take off and landing. He really loves being on the plane and the excitment of it all! He loves getting his drink from them(apple juice) and Chocolate chip cookies. I was so worried he wouldn't sit still but he was just great and really didn't need most of the stuff I use to bring. I use to have a bunch of activity sheets, coloring books, travel size play doh, and other things I can't think of now. Oh, DH always has his PSP with him so incase either of the kids get bored or fussy we have a bunch of their movies on it in case they want to watch.

 

[Mkrop]

We did the leapster as well. But one thing that really kept him occupied on the way home was a package of stickers and a small notebook. He sat for at least an hour peeling the stickers and sticking them in the book just so. I was so grateful I had not pulled that out for the ride down bc he was kind of bored with other stuff on the way home. Oh yeah with markers give it to them minus the lids, most of our lids wound up on the floor bc he would drop them and I am sure that most of them wound up in the back of the plane when we were done.

 

[Kerri10]

Thanks for the ideas. Colin has no interest in electronics so the leapster would be out. I love the sticker idea though.

 

[hppy2bhome]

the party favor size playdoh (if your child in neat).
view master

 

[Mkrop]

http://www.wikkistix.com/index1.htm

These are great too if you can find somewhere to get them before your trip. We got ours at Beckers teaching store.

We did not have these for the plane but got them at a restuarant back in May and my kids loved them, better than any crayons and mazes word search things. It kept them occupied the whole time during our meal.

I just recently bought more and it kept DS4 and his buddy occupied at DS10's baseball game.

These things are awesome!

 

[cookesquad5]

Our son just turned 4. We just came back last week. He was very occupied with books and play-doh. He did well with I Spy books! He was also better than I thought. He is one that gets bored easy, and to top it off, on the way there we were in the back of the plane with no window, so I was very grateful the things we brought worked! We also brought a portable train set which worked well when the tray was able to come down, however we hit alot of turbulance and we couldn't put it down for a good while....Good luck!

 

[Princess Roo]

• There is a "sticky" with Disney activity pages you can print out at the top of this thread.
• When I was at Borders ~2 weeks ago they had these erasable/reusable "I Spy" books in the Bargain section with Disney themes.
• Does he know how to play any basic card games? You could teach him a new one for the trip.
• If you have a digital camera, looking at the pictures on the way home can be fun (also works well for distracting in lines)

 

[2tinkerbells]

One thing my 5yo DD liked was colored pipe cleaners. I found them in the arts and crafts section of our dollar store. She used them to make all kinds of shapes and then we just threw them away before we got off the plane. I also like Colorforms. I remembered them from when I was a kid and got them from a local toystore that specializes in the original type of toys.

 

[ajcolorado]

Do you remember "Magic Slates"? They had that clear plastic sheet on top and you write with the plastic "pencil". Then you lift the plastic sheet to clear the drawing.

You can still find them in the grocery store toy aisle or at the dollar store and my kids are only allowed to use them on the plane.

 

[dhardawa]

My daughter started flying alone when she was five so I had to put together bags of activities so she didn't annoy everyone on the plane since I wasn't there to keep her in line. The best advice I got was to go somewhere like Target and buy 5-6 small toys that are NEW. These could be simple things like a slinky. They don't have to be elaborate. Put them in a bag and don't let your child see them at all until you're on the plane. A bag of new toys will occupy a child for quite some time.

 

[zoomouse]

OK this is a cop out, but it works. Our son has been awesome on plane rides with a portable DVD player and his little headphones. We usually just find a couple new videos to spring on him and he's happy for the whole trip. He's happy, I'm happy, everyone around us is happy. It's not the cheapest solution - but sometimes the government's right - throw money at a problem and it goes away.

 

[debster812]

Honestly, with the DirecTV on JetBlue, you will be all set. They have Cartoon Network and Boomerang for the little guys. Whenever we fly JetBlue, DS puts on those headphones, and we barely hear a peep.

Another SUPER cool thing with the JetBlue TVs is there is a live map, so you can see where you are, on the trip. DS loves this.

 

[DocDis]

Honestly, with the DirecTV on JetBlue, you will be all set. They have Cartoon Network and Boomerang for the little guys. Whenever we fly JetBlue, DS puts on those headphones, and we barely hear a peep.

Another SUPER cool thing with the JetBlue TVs is there is a live map, so you can see where you are, on the trip. DS loves this.

DItto!

We brought everything mentioned above and more....the kids just plugged themselves in and we didn't hear a peep the entire flight! DH and I actually had a conversation, read our books, etc. It was incredible! Then again, they get very little tv time at home, so it was a big treat for them.