What do you take on the plane for your 3-5 year olds?

[lillygator]

Next May we will be flying from CA to FL....my girls first airline trip, which I am sure will be exciting enough but I am curious to know what kinds of things do you bring to keep them busy?
I was planning on a new backpack filled with stuff for each for thier carryon.....

 

[Annette_VA]

Honestly, you might find that flying itself keeps them entertained. My 6 year old DS has always been content just to look out the window and around the plane to see what all is happening - even when he was just 4.

My other DS, though, needs entertainment. Now, he just plays his Nintendo DS. Previously, we used Play-Doh, Aquadoodle, Magna Doodle, those kinds of things.

 

[capecoddisneyfamily]

We bring movies, movies and more movies! Don't forget a drink or lollipop so their ears wont pop.

 

[sharibrat]

Our DD (now almost 5) has flown about 5 times. I have always packed a backpack of new little toys and activities for her.......she now looks for to the 'surprises mommy has for the airplane'.

Here are some of the things we are doing.....

travel noodle pro
aqua doodle
sticker books, stickers
new color books and crayons
new books
Leapster video game/new cartridge
maze books, dot to dot
preschool workbooks
magnet 'paper dolls' that come in a small tin
disney tatoos
portable DVD and movie

in the past we did
playdough (not allowed anymore)
sewing cards
stringing beads
easy crafts

for our 1.5 ear old we have some of the same
an elmo 'video game' thing
several new books
some thomas the trains
some cars
sticker books
color wonder books and markers

you can find lot of small items and books at AC Moore and Michaels if you have those near you!
good luck!

 

[brandylouwho]

we have taken color books & colorforms or little magnetic play scenes, but the best entertainer has been movies (either a portable dvd player or better yet the video ipod). And we always bring a few of our own snacks to keep her happy and her mouth busy (she can be so loud sometimes).

 

[Carpool Candy]

We purchased a portable DVD player with extra batteries. Just make sure you have two outlets for headphones- ours cost about $80 (we refused to spend more since my youngest threw our last one). Don't forget your "bonus" DVDs so they kids can play the games and stuff if they're bored with just watching movies. I would bring some of their favorite snacks and of course, don't forget gum to help pop their ears! If you bring little surprises, I would space out when you give them instead of all at once to keep them from getting bored. Most of the time, we "over pack" on the entertainment and the kids don't touch 1/2 the stuff so don't over due it! I'm impressed that the other gal said she brought play-doh...we practically banned that from the house so I can't imagine my husband letting us take it on the plane! I second the magna-doodle, though. It's a household favorite! Also, out shopping the other day, we saw these new mini/shortened versions of the board games we all love. They come in these small tines and were pretty cool. Have fun!

 

[tinkandpan]

We always bring a portable dvd player and the leapster with some games. That seems to be enough. We also throw in a coloring book or magnetic paper dolls. Snacks in case we are on the plane longer than we plan and push up lollypops for take off and landing. THey help with the ears and don't get all sticky

 

[MNdisneymom]

When we went to FL last month, my 4 year old had two favorite things: the new cartridge for his leapster, (Pet Pals, it's like Catz or Dogz for little kids), and his camera. He has the fisher price kids digital--he managed to take a few really interesting pictures out of the airplane window. (It's really fun to look at all of the pictures he takes---it's the world from a kid's perspective.)

 

[Astro Orbiter]

My biggest hit lately is post-its in a few sizes. With a bag of twistables crayons, a 4-color princess pen, some new stickers, and a pair of safety scissors. I have a crafty DD5 - who decorated our entire row in a 3-hour trip. It all fits in a pencil pouch, so it's nice and compact. Scissors are allowed - though I print out the TSA page in case of a problem and put them in the outside pocket of the case if someone wants to see them. Ask the flight attendant for a plastic cup or two - jam them into the opening between the tray and the seat back in front of you and you've got a pencil cup to stop things from rolling.

Of course, we never travel without the DVD - but she seems to not want to watch it on airplanes, even with my expensive noise-cancelling headphones. Same with Leapster. It gets used while we're waiting at the gate.

We always also bring a few littlest pet shop things - though I've got definite rules about the size of the accessories and the quantity of pets that are allowed to travel - and coloring books / plain paper.

Have fun!

 

[fakereadhed]

Dollar store items:
Coloring kits with markers
Window clings(stick to tray)
Books
Silly putty

This way you there are no worries if they get lost or forgotten.

Also something to help their ears like fruit snacks or raisins.

 

[jeepgirl30]

I did a travel binder for DD when we went last year, she was 6. I had coloring pages, word seek pages and fill in the blanks all with Disney themes like ride names, parks, characters, etc. I had homework pages hidden in between the fun pages! It did not take a lot of room or make any noise to distract other travelers. I had a portable dvd player but she had a great time with her binder and still asks for it to look over it.

 

[goofygal531]

Does your airline provide TV? That does it for my family. We only fly JetBlue because of the TVs!! My 4 year old watched the Hi-5s on TLC on our out bound flight (which he's never seen before) and watched Animal Planet on the return flight. He never moved a muscle. And was especially happy when the flight attendent handed out chocolate chip cookies!

 

[Mom2JPL]

I think the travel binder is a great idea (I'll have to use that in the future!). Anyway, I was stressed about this too when we went in October with a 12 month old, 2 3/4 year old, and almost 4 year old. I wasn't worried about the baby, but for the older two they each carried their own backpacks filled with an extra outfit for each and diaper for the 2 year old, and coloring books, the triangular crayons that won't roll, sticker books, travel magna doodles (I got everything from the dollar store), and some other small stuff. My daughter (the 4 year old) only played with the sticker book a little bit - she was more interested in looking out the window and talking to me about the trip (she and I and the baby sat together). My son (2) sat with my dh and ate his way from here to FL! He loved the drop down tray and really enjoyed the peanuts, cookies and juice. He was a riot to watch!

There was another child on our flight (I'd say around 3ish) and he was just all over the place! He was with his parents and grandparents (they were in front of us) and he wouldn't sit in his seat. He was up and down the aisle between the parents and grandparents and threw a fit when they tried to get him to sit when the plane was landing. They had gadgets galore packed for him (dvd player, etc) and he wasn't interested in any of it. My kids were told once the seat belt went on they were to stay in their seats! I even told my daughter there was no bathroom on the planes (4 short flights, less than 3 each) and made sure she went potty before boarding and as soon as we landed. She didn't have a problem (who wants to navigate those small bathrooms with a 4 year old, not me!). Not to start a war about only kids and multiples, but it's interesting to me how much easier it is to do stuff with more than one child...they really do entertain each other!

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[LoveMyDisneyCats]

My DDs rarely play with anything that we bring them. They each get a backpack or little suitcase full of snacks and activities, but they maybe use that stuff for 1/2 hour of the three hours. Actually DD6 has a routine lately- Get out a book and read 1 chapter, then get out her coloring and color half a page, then get out the MP3 player and listen to either HM , HSM, or CG, then eat her airline provided snack, then listen to music again and talk to me about WDW (while I am trying to get some sleep non-the-less after staying up packing so we could leave for airport at 3:00a.m.). DD3 sometimes watches a movie and plays "guys" (those little character sets from WDW) or last time she brought a baby and a diaper bag and actually took care of entertaining her "child" the WHOLE time- pretty funny!
I agree it depends on the kid- mine have both flown 2-3 times a year and they know what is expected and acceptable. They are also just happy to just talk WDW- girls after my own heart (except when I'm trying to sleep on the plane! Why is it that they always have to sit with me and DH sits alone? I'm soooo glad they love my company so much! )

 

[MomWith2Cinderellas]

We usually take the following;

-Some non sugar snacks (hyper and flying do not mix!)
-A couple of figurine dolls. My little one loves them and she can entertain herself with them for about an hour.
-Their V-Smile games and cartridges. They play there games with the volume turned down so not to bother anyone else.
-Wonder Markers.
- Spiral note book and a 24 pack of crayons.
-And some books that they enjoy looking at and reading.

I will be taking the same things with me for our trip in January.

 

[murcor]

Honestly, you might find that flying itself keeps them entertained. My 6 year old DS has always been content just to look out the window and around the plane to see what all is happening - even when he was just 4.

LOL, this is true.

Our first flying was from Nova Scotia to Alberta (almost across Canada) kids were 3 & 4 years old.

We took all kinds of things to play with and they were the most content looking around. I was shocked.

Now, they are 7 & 8 and have travelled each year, I still find they dont do alot on the plane. Look around, fall asleep, snack, maybe play with a stuffed animal they take on board, and something simple like paper and pencils

We always get comments on how good they are on a plane

 

[murcor]

oh, and they love to just play with the onboard audio with headphones...changing stations LOL

 

[pooh4evr]

This time coloring stuff some snacks, candy like Starburst for their ears to pop, maybe a pocket v smile and gameboy (haven't decided on those yet) polly pocket, no shoes and just a few clothes because if it falls chances are we won't reach it until we land, workbooks, we thought about getting a dvd player but decided against it heaven forbid the girls actually talk to us or look out the window or SLEEP!! We always try to fly out early 6:40 am this year! Some how getting up at 4 for that won't be a problem!

 

[bjscheel]

We love Crayola Model Magic! It is similar to play dough but completely clean- no crumbs or mess of any sort. I know play dough is not allowed due to it's bomb making capacity, but I would think Model Magic is still allowed since it comes in sealed packets. We took it on in December 2006. Anyway, my kids spent hours molding it into shapes on the plane. They can take two colors and mix and mix until they have a new color. That takes a while and keeps hands busy. DD9 made a rainbow last year. Then it dries and you can keep their creation or dump it in the trash when the stewardess brings it around for the last time!

 

[fakereadhed]

I know play dough is not allowed due to it's bomb making capacity

And here we have just been making snakes and cookies out of it this whole time. I had no idea!