Activities for Long Flight with Kids

Hi T.,
Maybe some small puzzles, or color with them? You could even alternate between the movie & the coloring?? Is it an evening flight?? Normally I'd recommend getting one where they are sleeping for it. Good luck, I'm sure they'll do fine. Just keep interacting with them and it'll be good.
B.

My kids (now 5 and 3) have been flying cross country since they were born - my family is all in the Southeast. One of the best is one of those mini magna doodles. We use it to play tic tac toe, to practice writing, to play a drawing game where they give me a squiggle and I have to turn it into a picture...whatever.

I just came to london with my 3 and 5 year old on a 10 hour flight. The key to flying is choosing the right time of day to fly. We left at 6:30pm and they ate a snack, watched the T.V. provided on the plane, played with sticker books and coloring books. I brought their favorite blanket and stuffed animal and they were good as could be. I was terrified about flying 10 hours especially with my 3 year old because he constantly needs entertaining but to my amazement he did well. Again the time of the flight was a key to a successful flight so I would try to choose a time around nap or bedtime.

A fun idea is to bring small little new items like a car,doll, new book etc. Not costly items, just some little trinket. Cut wrapping paper before the flight (to fit each item) and bring some tape. They won't let you bring wrapped gifts through security so you will have to wrap it by the gate. Wrap the items and every so often allow them to open a new item. Because it is a surprise they will play with it for quite a while.

We've gone on a few cross-country flights with my twins (now 4). I usually go to Target before the trip and look for fun stuff that they haven't seen before. Lots of things people have already listed, but here are some ideas: sticker books, Leap Pads, Viewmasters with interesting slides, books, mini aquadoodle pads, etc. Plus, bring LOTs of (fairly healthy) snacks - dried fruit, goldfish, whatever you find in those little snack packs in their food section. Then, as someone else mentioned, pull stuff out one at a time, so there are always surprises. You can also look at the Skymall magazines and even the emergency card. And don't forget to load up again for the flight home! Also, get them their own backpacks so they can each be in charge of their own stuff. HAve fun!

Hi T.,

I see lots of great advice....we recently took our kids (2 1/2 & 8) to Disney World and we were concerned about the long flight as well; especially for my 2 1/2 year old son who doesn't sit still for very long. My husband suggested we bring his car seat and strap it into the plane seat. Whenever we travel in the car, he knows he has to stay in his seat and it's not a problem. Often times if he's tired, he'll even fall asleep. Well, it worked like a charm! He napped and played in his car seat and it was something familiar to him. We also found a great toy at the airport, it's a magnetic ABC board. He really enjoys his ABC's and he had a great time putting the magnets onto the appropriate spots. It's all magnetic so you don't have to worry about losing small pieces. As far as my daughter...snacks and a DVD player kept her happy! Good luck to you all and have a great time in Hawaii!

T.-
My son is only 22 months, but has flown a lot already. He loves to have his magnadoodle. They are great because the pen is attached and there is no paper to keep track of. We also had some magnetic puzzles that might be great for your kids. My son still ended up throwing the pieces on the floor, but it was still manangable. Good luck!

Hi T.,

We went to Maui when my girls were 4 and 3. We took the red eye so that the girls can sleep. We had them sleeping when it was movie time. One HUGE advice - do not let your kids be awake during movie time people on the plane get very mad and give you dirty looks! When ever we fly My husband & I take the red eye and request bulk head seating since you have more space in the front. We also went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of toys and wrapped them in tissue paper and wrapping paper. They woudl be entertained by tearing up the paper. We only would take presents out when they were bored of what they were doing. Bring tons of stickers! You can never go worng with stickers. You can buy a sticker book at the dollar store. Also, playdoh is a good one. You can get a pack of 8 and wrap each one individually. You'll get creative.

Have a great time in Hawaii. We plan to go in 2 more years. When our last daugter turns 4. So much easier to go out in the ocean and play in the sand without Swimmers on! :)

I have had to take several flights with my 3 kids alone and it is hard. If your 4 year old has a leapster with headphones that will help for a while, might help the little on to? Don't let them see what you are taking and only give them one thing at a time and even on the plane don't let them see the whole goodie bag. Mine used to take their own little backpacks with a few things and I had the rest. Small play dough is fun, I can't remember the name of it my kids are older, it's the colorless pens and paper that crayola has. I would look for small cheap things that if left on the plane it didn't matter, dollar tree, stuff that I normally wouldn't buy then. Bring snacks, mine never liked the plane food and the bathroom is way fun for the 2 year old! I also always packed special gum for the take off and landing, and about the last 30 mins I'd open a lollie pop for them, kept their mouths busy:) As for the bulk head seat, no one in front of you and ignore the passengers some are nice some aren't. If you are calm and it's an adventure, you all will have a great time.

I agree with all the suggestions so far. Just bring a mixture of interesting-because-they're-new items and tried-and-true favorites of theirs, and snacks.
Here is something else that I discovered worked with my own children. Don't all sit together - you sit with one child, and have your significant other seated with your other child somewhere else on the plane. Part way through the flight, switch kids. The children get to stretch their legs and enjoy a little walk down the aisles, and then they get a new parent and different toys to play with. You only have to have enough good entertainment ideas for 3 hours, then you can start over! Plus the kids won't fight with each other, and if one is fussy or otherwise getting on your last nerve, you get relief at the switch.
One last thing I've tried - are your kids good car travellers? Do they get buckled in without complaint and expect to stay there until you arrive somewhere? I discovered that even though it is a pain in the rear to install the carseats on the plane, once my kids were buckled in, they went into car-trip mode. It was kind of a "well, I'm gonna be buckled in here now for a quite a while, so I might as well get settled in" kind of feeling that kept them calm longer than when they were just in the plane seats or on our laps. Of course, when you do this in combination with the sitting-apart thing mentioned above, the parents have to be the ones to switch places, packing up the entertainment bag and taking it with them. But hey, it worked for our family!

My husband and I took our 2 little ones to Hawaii a few years back, and a girlfriend of mine gave me a great idea for entertaining. She suggested a trip to the dollar store. For every hour or half hour of your trip, have a wrapped dollar store gift for each child.Along with your dvd player and snacks, these little surprise gifts will be exciting for them, cheap for you, and will ensure an easy trip. ALOHA!!!

Have fun on your trip. Let me know if you'd like more advice. I've been collecting ideas from other parents online & I can send you an attachment if you email me.
-A. (I have a 2 & 4 yr old. These ideas are from our last flight 6 months ago & one I took when our first child was 2 yrs.)

It depends on the temperment of your child, but my suggestions are what you'll probably hear from other moms:
Before the trip:
• Research ideas from other moms and online, which you're doing already.
• Watch what your child chooses to play with before you leave to get ideas.
• Repack toys and snacks into small ziplock bags.
• Frozen juice boxes can keep other food cold for awhile and still be useful when thawed.
• Check online with the airline to see what you can take onboard. I found that we got to take an extra bag since we had a child. Besides the 1 carry-on per ticketed passenger, we could take a diaper bag, a purse, a jacket, a book and a small bag of food, and a stroller.
• Think what will make it easier to go through the safety check area where you'll probably have to empty your pockets and take off your shoes. Consider what metal items you wear or carry.

on the trip:
• Be calm.
• I wore my toddler in a front pack and brought a big backpack with different sections for a carry on. One section was food, one was toys, one was diapers, one was a change of clothes, one was Mommy's/Daddy's for reading material (wishful thinking) and glasses, lip balm, saline nose sprays, Airborne, cel phone, etc.
• Walk the aisle.
• Stop to talk to anyone who waves at your child or any other kids, then you can take a walk to "visit" them for a few minutes and have a destination/purpose to talk about with your child (when we did this we were able to share toys with another family which kept the interest longer for both kids).
• Use lots of snacks before hunger strikes to prevent a grumpy kid: cereals, small pretzles, fruit/nut bars, frozen peas and diced carrots should last a day and are good frozen or thawed, fruit rolls, rice cake (even bring a tiny container of nut butter or jelly to spread on it with a plastic knife, dried fruit, cut fresh fruit should last a day or bring whole and cut on the plane will last longer and if you let your toddler "help" cut it with a plastic knife while on your lap can even be entertaining, applesauce cups, fruit cups (I've found the ones in the tiny cans with the pull off tops are 1oo% juice).
• Bring a straw cup where the cover folds over the straw or a silly, shaped straw to use while you hold the small, plastic cups given on board, or the tiny, kid or lunch sized water bottles are fun.)
• I loved traveling with an Ergo carrier (an ABC or Mei Tai would work too), a Maya wrap sling, and a car seat that converted to a stroller (I can’t remember the brand. They had it at Goore’s. It’s not great as a car seat or a stroller, but it sure beat having to bring both and it was great to use the stroller for child or bags in the airports.)
• Get a little blanket and pillow as soon as you get on board or bring one. Ear plugs helped the adults sleep. The kids slept on us or in the car seat we brought. The car seat was a pain and wasn’t required on board, but it did help our toddler sleep longer which was a blessing.

bring toys like:
• the little thing you fill with water and push a button to move little things through the water, kind of like a pinball machine (hope that makes sense)...lightweight and pretty small
• clings
• stickers
• paint with water book (get a little cup of water on the plane, if it's different it's exciting, it's not too messy)
• wipe off crayon books with the laminated plastic pages
• black coloring book with the day-glo color crayons
• small plastic animals worked with us
• tiny tub of playdough or silly putty
• favorite stories you can read over and over, touchy feely books or activity books that have moveable pieces (We had a board book with photos in catagories like food, zoo, toys, clothes so we could say find the _____, point to the _____, where's the _____ for the younger one. You could make it a clue giving game for your older one: Find a black & white animal with wings...that doesn't fly...that swims & waddles.)
• finger puppets
• party favor/new year's party blower (the kind that the paper unrolls when you blow, but doesn't have a whistle)
• play phone that lights up and plays soft music (Our Chicco brand one I got on
Babycenter.com is very quiet so kids can put it up by their ear and not disturb anyone.)
• small things that fit in containers like putting your snacks in plastic eggs, or a few small colored pom poms or cotton balls that you can blow around on the tray table or off your hand
• plastic snow globe
• a tiny flashlight
• little (flash)cards with pictures on them you can sort into groups like animals, food, clothes, etc.
• a small magnet writing board and/ or a small chalk board
• stacking cups, small measuring spoons
• small retractable measuring tape like the round ones with the soft tape at fabric stores
• magnets with a magnet book (I was given one with numbers and one with letters.) or a small, flat metal pan or tray
• I was amazed at how long my kids played with a pack of colored popscicle sticks! It was their first time using them. They sorted the colors, lined them up, made shapes (you can even make a house) by laying them down. You can stack them to build a 3D house by overlapping the ends.

Hi T.,
We just flew to the east coast with an 18 month old and almost 4 year old. For the 4 yr old the story reader we bought second hand from craigslist was the best. He listened to every book several times, could do it himself (although I changed the cartridges so we didn't lose them on the plane) and he could listen with headphones so it didn't bother other passengers. It was such a success we purchased more stories while on vacation so we would have new and exciting stories for the trip home. We also took silly putty, play dough, stickers and colorforms, regular books, an imagination desk (also bought from craigslist for cheap). For the 1 yr old we brought her carseat and buckled her in, which was great. We did allow her to get out when she got cranky, but for the most part, she stayed in her seat. We bought second hand a little touch leappad for her with some extra books. It's great because the pages don't rip and there are several different modes on it. Again for her we brought all the little stuff: stickers, play dough, coloring book etc. Also for her lollipops because they take a long time to eat and smarties for the same reason. She enjoyed taking them out and lining them up on the tray before eating them, so it became a game. We also brought empty sippy cups through security so we could buy drinks at the airport for takeoff. We also brought the kids animal headphones to listen to their dvd's with. They kept them on better than regular headphones because they fit on their heads better since they were made for kids. Each kid had their own backpack with their own toys (most of them identical so no fighting) and traded the things that were different when they got bored. We also brought along the traditional magna doodle and aqua doodle pages etc so they had that too. We had an extra 3 hours in the airport due to weather, and it really wasn't that bad. It was a long day, but if you go into it realizing that, and most importantly try to stay calm if things go wrong, it will be ok. I forgot too, for the younger one we brought her comfort objects, her favorite baby and favorite blanket so she had that for the plane. Also one of those neck pillows, so when she fell asleep in the carseat we could prop her head up so she didn't have a stiff neck and slept better. The dollar store has lots of little things that are plane appropriate, especially for the 3 yr old, so I would start there so you have lots of new and exciting things that you won't be too concerned with if they get lost either. Hope this helps. Have fun.

my experience with my kids and plane flights.. i had to carry two backpacks full of stuff they never even used. :) what they did use, at the time one was 6 and one was 2. they brought their handheld game player... leapster or gameboy at the time.. coloring books but only get the color wonders or your kids will have writing on them before you get there. these are colorless to hands and clothes.. LOVE them.. and kids like markers more than crayons... less to lose too. a i spy book is always fun and can be played for hours... card games. in my experience, stuff that is easy to clean up, not messy and not small to lose. also bring one stuffed animal they love and a blanket. most likely they will be so excited they are on a plane that anything you bring will be pointless. dvd player is the best option of all... and headphones. :) good luck and have a great vacation

My mom always had fun packing a backpack for me when I traveled on long flights. I had a variety of activities to do from coloring books to play dough (not sure if they would allow that now). My mom also included snacks for us in the bag. They have the little etch - a - sketches now, get some books for them to read. If you have a DVD player, you can get a splitter (from Radio Shack) and they can each have their own set of headphones while listening to the same movie (if they can sit still for that).

Beleive it or not they will probably fall asleep. The hum of the plane and the length of the flight. Remember lots of interesting snacks and something to chew on when the plane takes of and lands. It's also good to bring a book they have never seen before. My son has been to Hawaii at age 2,4, and 6. Remember the sunscreen over and over about every half and hour and your trip wont be ruined. Have Fun :)