Hi, I was wondering if you all have suggestions for keeping my 17 month old entertained while flying on a plane. He will be a lap child and I foresee it being a hard battle because he is very active. We're taking a DVD player and lots of snacks. Thanks!
Thank-you everyone for taking time to write down some really great ideas. I'm now not dreading the upcoming flight anymore.
A small Etch A Sketch and small board to read him. I have also wrapped small dollar toys to let them open during the long road trips. If he can chewing gum to help his ears.
Good Luck
Target has the mini Magna doodles in the checkout lane. Big hit with my 18 month old on the plane! Don't show him any plane toys until you are in flight to preserve the novelty, and pack lots of snacks and empty sippy cups.
I have taken quite a few plane trips with my daughter who just turned 2 and the key is to get a few new things that he has never seen before and only get them out on the plane. This way, the novelty of it is still there and he will likely play with it for a lot longer. Stickers are great, coloring books (Walmart has some jumbo ones that are actually smaller size wise than the regular book sized, so they travel well), crayons are great. You're smart to bring lots of snacks too. Also, the mini magna doodle (by the checkout at Target) was a huge hit with my daughter at that age. Best $5 spent! For our last trip at Thanksgiving, I bought the "Barrel of Monkeys" game in the toy section of Target. This was also $5 and well worth the money. It is literally just a small barrell with some plastic monkeys in it and the arms hook together. It's meant to be a game, but they may just play with the monkeys too. My daughter had me hold the top one and she hung the other ones on to make a chain. She did this for a good 30-45 minutes of our flight. As long as you get some new things and keep them out of sight until the flight, you should be fine with a few new toys, the DVDs and some snacks. Best of luck and happy flying!
My son loved sticker books. Food (and lots of it) was a great diversion as well. Be sure and pack a bunch of diapers though. :)
My DD has flown I think 3 times (she's 3 now) and all before her 3rd birthday. But she always did good! The first couple of times we had snacks, coloring books, and let her look out the window. But it was only an hour and a half flight! The 3rd time (4 hour, not including long lay overs!)we brought the DVD player, bag with books and coloring books, and snacks of course! She still enjoyed looking out the window. We found the things she likes at home, hmm...she likes on the plane too! I have a friend who's son loves lIttle Einsteins and they would "pretend" they were on rocket..."pat, pat,pat" And he did very well on the flight...just making it fun! Have fun!
Bless you! This is a hard age to fly, because they are still so excited about being mobile :)
In addition to the advisement of lots of new things to do (stickers, crayons, etc.) I would say to time your walks down the aisle carefully. When you are really getting desperate, go ahead and take a walk.
Good luck!
Dum Dums (or any suckers) are great for take-off and landing. Or, a pacifier if he uses one, or to take a drink from a sippy cup. The manga-doodle was a big hit for us, too. I agree with the other moms, get a few inexpensive new toys and don't take them out until you are on the plane. Coloring books are good, but only bring a couple of crayons,otherwise they just end up rolling all over the floor. We always try to fly early or late so the kids will sleep. Lots of snacks are good! The bathrooms on planes are so small, its hard to change a diaper. Be sure to change him right before you board and I used to put on 2 diapers for the flight...just in case! Flying can dehydrate you, so be sure to give him lots of liquids...but nothing with tap water from the plane! Get bottled or give him juice!!
Good luck! Have a great trip!
