What to bring for kids on the airplane

[Tigge50447]

I know there was a thread but I couldn't locate it. My brain is fried and all I can think to bring is pipe cleaners...

I have a 4 year old son any ideas? We don't have a DVD player and I don't have the $ to get one before the trip so basically small type toys.

thanks!!!

 

[720L]

The small etch-a-sketches are great. If you have a Barnes & Noble near you, in their kids book section they have activity books with stickers in them that are great for 4 year olds. (a sticker page will have a cat, dog,bear etc on it and you have to go through the book and find the matching animal and place the sticker on it). My son loved this. I also found hand size "Transformers" at Toys R Us. He will spend an hour moving all the pieces on it. Bring suckers, fruit snacks, juice boxes. At Walmart I found a "lap desk" for kids-it has a dry-erase board on it and I got some coloring books too. It's not big-would fit in diaper bag or backpack.

 

[BevS97]

less than you think - we have a 9 hour flight so I brought TONS of stuff - hardly any of it got looked at and I got very sick of lugging it all around.

The biggest hit by far was a walkman with some story and song tapes- my dd will sit and listen to that for hours.

 

[mrskay9]

I agree with the poster who said not much. Although we've only done shorter trips and my dd is a bit younger. We have so much fun with the ice cubes in the drinks!!

And the man sitting across from us got a big kick when my dd put the ice cubes down my mother's shirt!

Hope it goes well for you, but honestly, dont' pack too many toys. It only hinders finding the things you really need and having enough room for everything else.

good luck!

PS-a friend of mine rented a portable dvd from a rent to own type place. Is that an option for you?

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Originally posted by Tigge50447
We don't have a DVD player and I don't have the $ to get one before the trip so basically small type toys.

Do you have a video camera? My kids watch the screen on the plane. Also many airports now have portable DVD players available to rent.

We use invisible ink (Yes-No) books. Also, bring some drinks and snacks.

 

[Tigge50447]

I saw this someplace and thought it was a good idea.

I found a pretty small box and figured whatever doesn't fit inside the box we won't take. what do you think?

 

[NotUrsula]

Not a lot of toys, but FOOD is crucial. Pack lots of snacks, and be sure he has a bottle of water.

Nothing with tiny pieces that will be a crisis if they are lost. Colored pencils are better than crayons, and blank paper for drawing if he likes that. At that age, DS loved using his Viewmaster on planes. (Also a small pr. of binoculars are fun if you have some; he can scope out the ground from the air. When we crossed the Rockies once we could even see skiers.) Color Wonder dough is good, but real PlayDoh is bad, because it crumbles and is greasy. Sticker books are good; try getting them at a $1 store.

 

[jenjersnap]

We went to Vegas in September and I found a travel-sized Magnadoodle that has a microphone attached. My 4-year-old LOVED this. I was worried that it might be a noise nuisance but the playback wasn't loud and he had so much fun whispering in it then passing the message to me or DH or his baby brother (we were across the aisles from each other). It was like $6 at Target. He played with it throughout our Vegas trip and didn't beg for other toys (not that he does normally but there was a lot to look at). It was great!

Another favorite is Old Maid. We got the cards and taught him to play right before we left.

I packed up his backpack with the Magnadoodle, a new puppet (a bath kind from the dollar store - he loves puppets), raisins, a juicebox, small bags of goldfish, a lollipop and minit for ascent and descent along with just a couple other little things and surprised him with it. This went over really well.

I agree that snacks are crucial. We plan to rent a DVD player from the airline this time with a much longer flight and a 15/16 month old to entertain too.

Hope this helps!

 

[lindaso]

I've had a lot of success with the foam letters and shapes with the sticker backs. You can find them at Michael's or AC Moore for $2 per pack. This and some construction paper keeps them occupied for a while.

Have a great trip.

 

[StephMK]

If you have a Leappad, my DD4 will sit w/that for a long time. We use the headphones & she's happy & quiet. Disney fruit snacks are a big treat & also help w/plugged ears.

 

[JFrey4240]

Crayola has special markers and paper that won't get all over your clothing. I think they are called Color Wonder or something like that. My daughter loves them and I love them because the markers are clear and the color will only show if it's on that special paper. We took regular markers one year and paper for her to draw--big mistake. We were all covered with marker when we got there and she had it all over her clothes.

We have a DVD player now which helps alot. Do you have a friend or family member that would loan you one for the trip? It beats trying to entertain a little one for a couple of hours.

 

[tjmw2727]

We fly with our girls often, at 4 the favorite hands down was books on tape. They each had a cassette walkman and I went to the library for books on tape. DH and or I would also read aloud a few favorites on a blank tape. They are fairly light and easy to pack as I would only bring 1 or 2 of the actual books, just listening was enough. Fisher Price used to have a very durable model that younger kids could operate independantly but we just used the cheap target model.

My youngest liked crayons and blank paper as well as stickers and tape, maybe a coloring book. Another fav was (and still is) Model Magic, it's easy to use, not messy and no odor. You can get MM in individual bags as well great for travel.

Magna doodle and etch a sketch both have a travel size. I usually hit the dollar store or the party store for cheap favor type stuff. Things like the magic slate or little notebooks are a great hit and I don't worry about dropping a toy like that.

For toddlers hit the McD's or BK for the happy meal toddler toys, they kept my 14mo neice happy the entire trip for fairly little $ and again no worries if lost.

It sounds like lots and they usually get hooked on one thing and the rest stays in the bag. I pack a bag of toys and such in the girls carry on and then keep food and drinks in my carry on.

Water bottles - esp with the sport top or sippies are great as well as the chewey snacks and or lollypops. If your traveling during mealtime be sure and pack appropriate food. The few airlines that still offer food usually don't have anything suited for kids. We bring cereal bars, fruit and dry cereal and maybe a sandwich depending on the time of the flights.

TJ

 

[ryanmilla]

We have done a few long trips with our DD and what works for us are sticker books and drawing. Also, we just got something called Storeybook Reader. You place some small books in this reader and it reads the stories out loud. I guess like the LeapPad books. You can buy headphones and a small backpack to carry the reader and the stories. Our DD absolutely loves it and it is going to be our saviour for our trip this weekend. Plus most of their stories are Disney stories, so it is a great warm up for the trip to WDW.

But like most other posters, I would say less is better.

Best of luck!

 

[HenDuck]

Cheese sandwich
Animal crackers and/or oatmeal cookies
Milk and his straw-cup

Twist-up crayons
Small dino color book
Dot-to-dot book
Dino sticker book
One or two reading books
Magnadoodle
Game-boy with Pooh game
Pipe cleaners

It looks like a lot, but it all fits in his rolling backpack along with an extra set of clothes.

I have also read that a roll of tape will keep a child busy for a while too.

(Too bad we can't get the Playhouse Disney website on a laptop. I'd bring that along and we would not hear a peep out of DS for the whole trip!)

Don't be afraid to let your DS get up and walk/run around. It is good for his circulation and will break up the ride. As long as he is not being disruptive, don't worry about what the other passengers think.

Our ride from Honolulu to LAX is about 5 hours. I figure DS will be actually sitting in his seat for about 1 hour of that. The rest of the time, he'll be either on the floor, running around, or being passed back and forth between the 4 of us adults.

 

[NotUrsula]

Just a caution about letting children have milk on a plane: ONLY DO THIS IF YOU *KNOW* THAT THE CHILD DOES NOT GET AIRSICK!!!

Milk does not cause airsickness, but if a child does feel nauseous, the presence of dairy in his stomach will almost guarantee that he will end up throwing up. This goes for any dairy, including yogurt, cheese and cheese-flavoured things, like Goldfish crackers.

Small children cannot hit the target using an airsickness bag; trust me on this. Also, they almost never manage to give any warning if they get airsick; and the mess will be VERY unpleasant if there is milk involved. Remember that if they feel ill, they will almost invariably turn toward Mommy, so Mommy will end up covered in the yucky stuff.

If you must give a child milk whilst in transit, be sure to carry not only a full spare outfit for the child, a large ziploc bag and an entire container of wipes, but also a spare outfit for yourself, including underwear. You might need it.

If your child has a weak stomach or a problem with airsickness, it's best to keep a small pail or a large plastic cup handy on flights.
We used to always carry a small beach pail, as it had a handle. If this is an issue, keep the pail on the seat next to you at all times; don't put it under the seat in front of you or in the overhead; there will not be enough time to grab it if your child gets ill.

 

[jonemick]

You should try getting the kids Earplanes if you haven't already. These are the only way my kids will board an airplane.

These are better then any toy you could possible bring along !

http://www.cirrushealthcare.com/earplanes.htm

 

[lindaso]

Originally posted by NotUrsula
it's best to keep a small pail or a large plastic cup handy on flights. We used to always carry a small beach pail, as it had a handle. If this is an issue, keep the pail on the seat next to you at all times; don't put it under the seat in front of you or in the overhead; there will not be enough time to grab it if your child gets ill.

This reminds me of our trip last October when my kids caught a stomach virus at WDW. We had gotten a bucket at Blizzard Beach and that became our best purchase the whole week. Thank God we had that on the flight home, it stayed on DD's lap the entire trip...ahhh memories!!!

 

[huey duey & luey]

the biggest hits for my kids were the travel sized magnadoodle and colorforms.

 

[merfsko]

If you don't have the headphones, watch the screen and 'make up' a script, or what the characters could be saying. It's fun for both kids and adults because sometimes your version can be so obscure yet could be possible. This is hilarious, though it may bother any sleeping seatmates if you gett too loud

 

[grlzmom]

We fly with our little ones frequently and I agree with everyone else, dont pack too much.

Also, none of ours get airsick but we dont allow milk just the same because if it spills it smells and harder to clean up than water. We do weak juice or water only on the plane. Cheese and crackers for snacks, nothing with too much sugar if it is a long flight.

Color wonder markers are worth their weight in gold on the plane. (I also recommend color wonder fingerpaints for at home).
Colorforms too are great and we dont bring much else besides their blankies.

This may seem really weird, but we just taught the kids from a very early age that plane time is for relaxing and napping and never stimulated them very much and now they all (except the one year old twins) are asleep quickly after takeoff and usually nap til landing.

Two of our older dds love the earplanes and we buy them pretty cheap at Walmart.

We fly out tomorrow for Disney and between the nine of us, me, dh and the 7 kiddos, we have one backpack to carry on.

Jeanne