Keeping An Active Toddler Occupied On A Plane

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Just after some ideas for a friend who will be going on a flight with her 2 LO's in the next month or so - she has quite an active DD and she would love some ideas on the best ways to keep her occupied.

Some things i have suggested - In Flight Movie (if they have them), Maybe a coloring book

She also has a young DD she will most likely be cuddling and BFing during the flight so her DH will most likely be occupying said older child.

Her DD is very active and would probably prefer to spend most of the time wandering the plane and hugging people than actually sitting in the chair watching TV.. so please hit me with some ideas i can write down and give to her.

[Maruschke]

Do all the kids have their own seat? And do they have a basinette seat? The seats that have the basinette's have no one in front of them and more space at your feet for kids to play. We brought lots of books and toys to play with, as DD1 was too young to concentrate on movies. The hardest part was when they dimmed the cabin lights.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

As far as i am aware her DD will have a seat of her own and i am assuming she will have her youngest DD in a carrier or in her arms (only a couple of months old).

[Maruschke]

As far as i am aware her DD will have a seat of her own and i am assuming she will have her youngest DD in a carrier or in her arms (only a couple of months old).

That's great! All I can suggest are light toys, colouring in, books to read her, and make full use of the in flight entertainment . How long is the flight? We've done Brisbane to Singapore, Singapore to London, London to Glasgow, Glasgow to Cork, Dublin to London, London to Singapore, Singapore to Sydney, Sydney to Brisbane, Brisbane to LA, and LA back to Brisbane. DD1 was under 2 though so we didn't get a seat.

[Taurean]

Books, Play Doh, etcher sketcher, pencils & paper, stickers (lots!), Mr Potato Head (there are small ones for $5 at Kmart - DD1 LOVES hers), favourite snacks, iPad if they have one or an iPod with toddler apps installed.

We've travelled a lot with DD1 and we also found hiding a few of her favourite toys a few weeks before we flew was good as she was so excited to see them again. A couple of new toys has been handy too. Stickers are awesome, especially the ones that come with a sticker sheets that's a scenery for them to complete. We have a great farm one (from Big W) and a Peppa Pig one.

Once DD1 turned 2, we started taking her car seat on flights to help keep her contained and more comfy. Not all airlines or planes can take car seats though so you need to check with them prior to flying and checkin earlier if you do take it. The child must have their own seat too so if the toddler is under 2 years, that wouldn't be the case unless they paid for an extra seat.

DD1 has been happy to watch the inflight entertainment or movies on the iPad for sometime now which makes the journey a whole lot easier.

[OceanPrincess]

Ok - she needs to request a basinette for younger DD. Even if they don't use it, as M says it gives them a ton more foot room - essential for wriggly toddlers who want to be down all the time and all the schmutz you seem to travel with when you have kids!

She'll need to ring the airline to request it but it is well worth it.

Things we used to amuse DD and DS on our recent trip: iPhones with movies/games they actually liked, the in-flight entertainment system (depends on carrier/length of flight, hence our iPhone backup), a really good one was stickers - kept them amused really well. Sticker book with stickers. We took books on one flight but the problem with books are that kids books are so heavy at that age (board books) and take up quite a bit of room which is a pain.

Food - take your own snacks, sultanas, crackers, water bottles. The in-flight service wasn't quick enough and ours got hungry before the food arrived.

Ask for a kids' entertainment pack - DD loved hers, she coloured and looked at the book, DS looked at the book and we pointed things out on the pages ("Where's the doggy? Where's the star?") which was good.

Is she flying with anyone else? Our parents provided entertainment - "Let's go for a walk to see Nanna and Pop!"

Good luck to her - it is tough. Well, we found it tough with our two and you know how active they are

[OceanPrincess]

That's great! All I can suggest are light toys, colouring in, books to read her, and make full use of the in flight entertainment . How long is the flight? We've done Brisbane to Singapore, Singapore to London, London to Glasgow, Glasgow to Cork, Dublin to London, London to Singapore, Singapore to Sydney, Sydney to Brisbane, Brisbane to LA, and LA back to Brisbane. DD1 was under 2 though so we didn't get a seat.

Good grief. Are you insane???

I think the more you do it, the more kids are used to it... would you agree M? Ours weren't terribly good on the flight to Qld recently - but I reckon the older they get, the more the understand and get used to it... Who knows.

[Miss.September]

I haven't flown with DD since before she turned 1, but I guess it's the same premise as a long car ride. We find what works best is to hold off on things like DVDs until she gets restless, otherwise she gets restless far quicker because the novelty wears off. Also getting her some new things. A new book or toy, a new colouring book. Because she hasn't seen them before, the fun factor sticks around for longer. Stamps and a notepad or a sticker book also could work well.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I am not sure, i think they might be going with a friend or relative who might be able to provide some further stimulation - will let her know about the basinette.

Our girls were a bit younger when we went to adelaide so they were quite intrigued with the in built TV etc so i really had no further info for her.. thanks so much everyone.. keep the ideas coming.

[Maruschke]

Good grief. Are you insane???

I think the more you do it, the more kids are used to it... would you agree M? Ours weren't terribly good on the flight to Qld recently - but I reckon the older they get, the more the understand and get used to it... Who knows.

Yes! Absolutely bat s*** crazy

Just take lots to keep them entertained, and don't have any big plans for reading books / watching movies yourself. I found it a full time job keeping her entertained. I lowered my expectations, realised it would be exhausting and I wouldn't get much "me" time, and everything was fine. The basinette's are great for clearing space. Also, it is really annoying to get trays of food not cleared immediately after you are finished, because there is no where to put them when you are nursing a child and entertaining another. Speak to the flight host to see if they can come and get it straight away, or buzz them. It is the single most annoying aspect of flying with children.

[Junglemum]

How old is she? I fly often on my own with a now 4, 3 and 11 month old. I have been doing it for almost 3 years now. Some things that help me...

Sticker books are great as the kids can't draw on things they shouldn't. Likewise those magic markers that are clear and the colour appears on the page are good.

Like OP said books are heavy, they also don't provide entertainment for very long, unless they are the ispy type ones, so i prefer to tell them a story. i make up things and get them to help.

I make a puppet out of the sick bag. We play eye spy, they eye spy books are great. i wrap a small toy in wrapping paper, if it was a long flight you could have a few. We sing songs, tell stories and look for fairies out in the clouds?!

The girls use my iPhone, or their leapsters. They are too short to see the TV's unless we get a bulkhead seat so i sometimes take their portable DVD player or my laptop. I don't allow the kids to walk around much unless they need to go to the toilet. This is mainly because it is hard for me to control them while holding a baby and i also don't think it's fair to disrupt all the other passengers. i find it works best for us, my kids are super active too, but i kind of just treat it like a long car drive, seat belts on unless going to the toilet. If i let them walk around just once, then they would expect it all the time and it would make my life much harder. It sounds a bit mean, but it works well!

Make sure she has requested a childs meal, if you don't they will often just get a regular adult meal.

A sippy drink cup, dummy, bottle or lolly pop help with the ears when taking off and landing.

One thing i do struggle with is the toilet. When i need to help the toddler while holding a baby can be a challenge, but i usually find a hosty staring up the back who is more than happy to hold a baby for a few minutes.

Lastly if she wants it you can request assistance. They will get someone to help you on and off the plane. I try and take as little as possible in the way of hand luggage so i can wrangle the kids myself without asking for help.

How long is the flight?

[~clover~]

DS was 3 when we travelled last year. 2 planes. A short 30-40 minute flight on a tiny plane, then a 4-5 hour flight on the bigger plane.

The first was easy. DS & my first time on a plane & the excitement of it all kept him happy enough. The bigger plain had free tv/movies & DS mostly watched that. I also had 2 back packs. One with a change of clothes each, nappies, wipes, panadol & wallet/phone etc (rather than hand bag). The second had a portable DVD player, books, pencils, toys & ipod.

The trip back was harder. It was the longer flight straight up & after getting on at 5am & them both deciding it was time to get up for the day, there was no settling them. I tried my best, but they did spend an hour or so wandering around the plain, chasing each other Thats was probably a better sound than DD's tantrums coz she didn't want to sit still. The shorter flight, they both slept

[~Kim~]

I like to take little cheap new novelties for them, like from the $2shop. That way I can keep pulling out something new to keep them occupied and it doesn't matter if they get lost.
Mini etch a sketches are great and a pack of cards is great for older ones.

[feeb]

We flew last year Melb-Bris, Bris-Townsville, Townsville-sydney, sydney-Melbourne (no time to let kids run about at airport as was off 1 straight to gate for other flight and we actully missed last flight due to delays. DS1 was nearly 3 and DS2 17 months. We took lots of snacks (squeezey yougurt, fruit bars, rice crackers, le snacks, museli bars etc) and some toys sticker books were helpful, cars, iphone etc.
Both were pretty good as were excited to be on a plane but did get a bit restless towards end of each flight.

[wysiwyg]

I am just about to do Melbourne to Darwin and back on my own with 3 year old and 11 month old and later in year will be flying back from UK on my own with pair of them. Based on previous flights my only plan is to just relax, tell lots of stories, feed and remember is only 5 hours or 24 hours - the thought of flight is always worse and the more you will relax the less hyped the kids I reckon.

[lilima]

We did 9 flights on our UK trip when DS was 18 months. The portable DVD player worked best for us. Like JM said the flight attendant often will assist if needed. DS is very active, but a dream to travel with. DD on the other hand....

[Boo Boo]

Just did a Melb/Cairns trip with our three by myself - 5yrs, 3 yrs and 1 yr - the best piece of advice I have is to sit right up the back by the toilets. DD - 5 yrs could go to the toilet by herself, she even took DS - 3yrs and I was just less than a metre away so no big worry for me. Also, as the kitchen is right up the back too, the flight attendants are always up there apart from when they are serving the food so you get help quickly. Also, no one seems to want to sit right up the back so we had a couple of spare seats over the way. They tend to put the unaccommpanied minors up there too. as for entertainment, all of the above. Also, the best carry on bag I found was a back-pack on wheels, can be put on your back if need be or wheeled behind. The more you fly with the kids, the more confident you get with it.