Traveling with My 15 Mo. Old, Need Ideas for Entertainment

In addition to entertainment during the flight...one thing I still do with my son is to make sure he gets all the wiggles out before we board the plane. Make the child walks, plays, and runs around after you check in. It's possible to do this without everyone hating you. Of course that means you walk, play, and run around too. Well, maybe you can give your husband this job!! Just kidding. People might look at you a little but they will love you later (besides to heck with what people think).

This worked for my son but I understand that some children get unbearable when they are tired. My son just went to sleep.

Have fun and relax! Remember your child will stress if you stress.

Well, I have a few suggestions. One is that you should check with your airline to see if they offer an "infant fare". Some airlines offer this and basically it is a half price fare for children under 2 years old. This way, he can have his own seat and you can either bring his car seat on board (as long as it is airline approved), or let him sit in the seat by himself. I did this for my daughter when we just traveled at Thanksgiving and it was really nice not to have her on my lap the whole time.

If you don't want to go that route, then invest in a portable DVD player. Also, in the past, I have used coloring books, books to read to him, snacks, snacks, snacks!!! Also, I just got the Aquadoodle travel pages for my daughter this past trip and she really liked those (the pens just have water in them, so they aren't messy). Also, magnadoodle has a small version for about $5 at Target (usually by the checkouts or in the toy aisle) that are small enough to take on the plane. Matchbox cars have these little travel boxes that fold up for about $10 that might be good for him too.

My biggest recommendation is that you buy a couple of things that he has never seen before to introduce on the plane so that he doesn't get bored with his same old toys. This has always worked well for me and I have traveled many times with my daughter. I hope you have a great trip!

I only have one thing to add. Bring a blanket for him. The airplanes can get so cold and drafty and the few blankets they have on the airplane are reused and reused between washings. Oh one more thing. The airlines often don't have milk on flights under 4 hours so bring a bottle with milk in it and tell security (if they give you a problem) that it is your sons formula. They make exceptions to the liquid rule for babys milk.

I flew with my one year old on a 15 hour international flight. The portable DVD player with his favorite DVD was definitely a livesaver.
Also small new toys. Bring a sweater with hoodie that you can pull over his head so the cold air does not hit him.

We just got back from a whole different country and the flight time on just one of the Quanta's plane was 14 hours, but it was a total of 30 hours to get from there to here, so I guess a 60 hour round trip, with our last stop being from Cali to Dallas. I was so surprised to see so many infants and toddlers on the planes. I noticed that a lot of the moms had coloring books, portable dvd players, and so many different snacks. American Airlines provides blankets and pillows and drinks on every flight if that helps any. I expect children to get restless, and it doesn't bother me to hear them cry or scream, it's normal, so if it does happen, don't get anxious, because I see a lot of parents that flip out. When I traveled with my kids that little, I never had any problems and all I ever took was snacks.

I read in a magazine once to buy or save from Christmas a few interactive toys or books that you think your child would like, and don't let him see them (or play with them at home) until you are in route. Then give them to him one at a time.

Good luck, hope it goes well for you!

Here are somethings we did when we also flew to CA with a child that age...
**Took the carseat and kept the child in it...
**Gave a snack as we took off; quit snacks once in stable elevation
**activities:
--stickers (on paper or she liked putting the on the plane window)
--pictures of family and close friends....I taped them to the back of the seat in front of her
--books that have the flaps in them to find pictures
--finger puppets
--mini--magnadoodle

Since she was in her carseat, she slept half the way home.

**as we started to descend, I fed her a bagel sandwich (something chewy) so that it would release the pressure on her ears...she ate it up the whole time we landed, and never fussed. (this was a huge improvement from when we landed in CA and she screamed the entire time)

In September my husband and I flew to Fort Lauderdale with our 3 year old and 15 month old boys. If there is one thing I learned from this experience, it is that it is much easier to fly with a tired child than a wide-awake one! We made the mistake of putting our younger one down for a nap before the return flight to Dallas, and he was a mess. He kept trying to slide down our legs and get under the seats. Mine is much less active when sleepy! Arrive at the airport early, go to an area that is not crowded and let him run, run, run before you board the plane. Pack a bag w/ many different, stimulating things to keep him busy. Things that are not even toys went over best with my little one. (i.e. Fruit chewies in shiny wrappers, etc. - for whatever reason, it is entertaining!) We took a portable DVD player and a couple of DVD's for him. I bought a few new interactive books that kept him occupied for a while. Honestly, it went really well. You will be surprised how quickly the time goes. I was most worried about the reaction that other people around us would have to us travelling w/ our boys. Some people who do not have children can be downright hateful, regardless of how well-behaved your children are. We had a great experience and I'm sure you will too. Best of luck! One more thing...I'm a germ-freak...pack some Lysol wipes and antibacterial gel for the pull-down tray on the plane. My little one was all over that!