Airplane tactics for toddlers

by Sarah James (Subscribe to Sarah James's posts) Dec 17th 2007 3:29PM

Tomorrow, Wito and I will be traveling halfway across the country without my husband in tow. Wito is a seasoned air traveler- tomorrow's flight will be his 26th in the past 16 months. He has done very well on planes in the past, but toddlerhood brings on a whole new set of challenges.

(While I'm on the subject- for all of you who are nervous about flying with infants, DO IT WHILE YOU CAN. In my opinion, flying with a wee one who hasn't learned to walk or crawl really is a piece of cake compared to hyperactive toddlers. I long for the days when Wito drank his bottle and/or slept the entire time.)

I'm sure most of you will agree that the more mobile they become, the harder air travel can be. UGH. So, I am stocking up on attention grabbers. Here's my list so far:

DVD player
Leapfrog Learning Thingamajig
Board Books
Snacks
Sippy cup - milk and/or juice
His blankie

My bag is bursting at the seams, but tell me, oh wise ones, am I forgetting anything crucial?

Comments (47)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

3boys 1-30-2008 @ 6:05PM

We're at 14 flight segments in one year. Shortest 1.5 hrs longest 11 hrs. Here are my comments:

Plastic grocery bags: make them long and flat then roll from the bottom and when you get to the top use the handles to tie a quick release knot. Use to get trash out of the way quickly then give to flight attendant.

For overnight flights bring those glow sticks or better glow bracelets and necklaces.

Request childrens meals when flying Lufthansa. They get their meals FIRST and they will love the food.

Make sure grade school age kids carry their own stuff in a backpack. They will spend a lot of time rearranging stuff in them.

Try to get in the forgotten security line on the end. If you have impatient individual travellers behind you in line ask them to go ahead. I think TSA should have family lines.

When changing planes keep children close and watch for adults who are not looking where they are going. American airports seem to be the worst place anywhere for people walking into children.

Ethel 12-17-2007 @ 3:34PM

Little toy cars he has never seen before, pull them out one at a time.

And lots of chocolate - semi-sweet chips work pretty well.

Don't forget to empty that sippy cup before trying to go through security though!

maria 12-17-2007 @ 3:41PM

An extra set or two of clothes!!!! If you don't - you'll be assured the blowout to end all blowouts with no back up. When traveling w/"only" two and suffering through a delay and an ear infection (my own - fortunately the ear starting draining before we got on the plane) #2 son had a massive blow out. I had tried to pack light and ended up buying the smallest t-shirt I could find in the gift shop - he was 1 1/2 - my 8 year old still wears that shirt.

Uly 12-17-2007 @ 3:58PM

Crayons and paper. Either he'll scribble, or he'll eat them. Either way, it's fun for all!

Heavy tranquilizers. Decide in advance if they're for you, him, or all the other passengers, and stock accordingly.

A bunch of small little trinket toys that he has never played with - they can even make small amounts of noise if necessary, it's still better than the sound of happy screaming.

Lisa 12-17-2007 @ 4:02PM

We travelled to Hawaii when P was 15 months old, and it went so great. We had a seat for him, and he played with his car seat while sitting on my lap--it's amazing how preoccupied he became with the latches. Also, what kept him occupied was the drink cups that we got during the flight. It was the little things that kept him occupied the most (I brought everything that you mentioned, and we didn't break out the dvd player once).

Maya 12-17-2007 @ 4:11PM

Just so you know, if you have milk in a sippy cup, they let them through. TSA considers it the same as a baby bottle. You just can't bring a whole carton with you! ;) Good luck! I have done San Francisco to Boston with just myself and the little one 8 times... Just be patient and remember to ask for help from everyone!

Trisha 12-17-2007 @ 4:26PM

Perfect timing! I'm traveling cross-country tomorrow w/o husband tomorrow too! My daughter is 22 months and will be on my lap. So I have all the things you listed, the cars I've done before but they drive me NUTS since they end up on the floor and roll- hard to find. One more thing I thought of is NEW stickers! I bought Elmo, Princess and Dinosaur. Hope it works!

Trisha 12-17-2007 @ 4:28PM

oh, and one more thing. If you want to have milk- just bring an empty cup and ask the flight attendant for a carton as soon as you board! Much easier than explaining through security.

lisa 12-17-2007 @ 4:34PM

DRINK coupons for you;)

Nicola 12-17-2007 @ 4:42PM

My guy also loves to have a big sticker book or something similar, something that he can manipulate and play with when the books/DVDs get boring. We also have a "clings" set and a magnetic Thomas set that he loves, neither of which take up much space, but can be used over and over again for making fun scenes and good imaginative play. On the last flight, he wouldn't even watch his DVDs, just wanted to play for four hours. All depends on the mood.

Amanda 12-17-2007 @ 4:44PM

those disposable changing mats (because most planes don't have changing tables) and also some plastic bags for disposing of diapers, because they really don't like for you to put those in the airplane trash bins :(
PACIFIERS & PACI KEEPERS!!
the last time I flew with my kids I was asked not to put the diapers (even though tightly sealed in plastic baggies) in the airplane's trash bin because they would be there all day (boo freaking hoo right!?)
good luck!!

alison 12-17-2007 @ 4:51PM

I wrap all of the small, new toys that I bring with us in tissue paper. It adds a few more minutes of activity to the process and the toys seem more exciting as "presents." I haven't had a problem with security wanting to inspect my mysterious packages. But since they are loosely wrapped in tissue with one piece of tape, it wouldn't be difficult to pop them open.
Unfortunately, it seems the most effective trick is my 100% undivided attention and enthusiasm. So long to the days of napping and reading slightly trashy magazines the entire flight. sigh.

alison 12-17-2007 @ 4:53PM

Oh, I forgot to mention you might consider a shirt for yourself. aside from spills - I have a motion sickness puker. I have ended several flights with a not so fresh shirt, sometimes dramatically so. Checking into a swanky hotel with a toddler and a vomit covered shirt really makes the front desk grimace.

momma bear 12-23-2007 @ 6:29PM

It's a funny story now but my brother still grimaces!
He and his wife and 2 kids were waiting to board their flight out.My nephew who was then a toddler, vomited ALL over my brother. He had to buy a ridiculously expensive sweat suit at a shop to make the flight. Go Jets!!!:)

erin 12-17-2007 @ 5:37PM

Speaking of mega-blowouts...my brother would advocate for bringing an extra pair of pants for yourself. (Twice!)

Amy 12-17-2007 @ 5:36PM

I wrote a very long post about flying to France with my then-13-month-old. You can find it here:

http://prettybabies.blogspot.com/2007/06/baby-jet-set.html

I'd skip the DVD player, personally. We borrowed one for the France trip and broke it, and had to replace it when we got home. It was too much to lug around.

Speaking of lugging - skip the board books and take paper books. They weigh less and take up less space.

M&Ms are neater than chocolate chips.

Twice as many diapers and three times as many wipes as you think you'll need.

If you can afford it, get him his own seat. If not, see if the gate agents will move you to a seat next to an unoccupied seat before you board. A lot of parents like the bulkhead, but I don't, because the tray tables are weird. They come out of the arm instead of from the back of the seat in front of you. I let my 9 month old sit on the tray table, and that didn't work well in the bulkhead. I didn't have a seat for her, because we couldn't afford it, and it sucked.

You won't need as many toys as you think. The Sky Mall catalog entertained my then-15-month-old when we flew from Indianapolis to Texas. We looked for dogs. Then we looked for cats. Then we looked for kids. And we told stories about all of the above ("This cat is named Morton. He likes fish but he really doesn't like chocolate milk. He likes to play with the cat on page 45. That cat's name is Charlie...") I wouldn't take cars or anything that will roll (balls, etc.) because it will end up rolling to the back of the plane, and guess who will scream like a banshee if you don't go get it for him right now because it's his favorite car in the whole world and he will just die if he doesn't get it right now? Yeah... Been there.

Good luck! You'll be fine. But trust me when I say (in the post I referenced above) you want to take the big damn stroller. Trust me.

Sabrina 12-17-2007 @ 8:07PM

A thermometer and some infant tylenol or motrin....for some odd reason at least one of mine always spikes a fever while we're waiting at the gate for our flight...it never fails.

Danielle 12-17-2007 @ 9:54PM

We flew from Toronto to Turkey with a 3 year old and 10 month old. Fantastic flights both ways. dvd is a must; take walks up and down aisles for change of scenery; dollar store surprises keep their interest for a while; colouring; imaginative play.
Remember, when the food arrives, it will keep them entertained for a short period too.
Rolly bags for a 3 year old worked well - she packed all her own toys to bring, plus water bottle and personal snacks.
good luck!

Judy 12-21-2007 @ 5:05PM

Well, I traveled, alone, with my 3 yo and 1 yo this past summer. I packed clothes, a bag of toys and goodies for the older one, empty sippy cups to fill with water, and the DVD player. We had to change planes once going both ways.

The flight up was no problem at all - easy. Back? Our first flight was delayed, which meant we couldn't catch our connection. So, we were stuck for four hours in Houston airport. And they wouldn't watch the movies, just wanted to run around the airport, and I was stuck carrying all the crap around, with the baby in the sling, trying to keep track of the toddler. NIGHTMARE!!! So, while I say be sure you are prepared, also be sure you're not overloaded.

Kelly 12-18-2007 @ 6:00AM

My favorite resource for tips on traveling with kids is WeJustGotBack.com:

http://www.wejustgotback.com

Look for the words "tip sheets" on the horizontal yellow bar--they are pages full of reader-generated advice. One is about flying with kids.

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