Hi all,

I'm interested to hear what other parents do to keep their child/children occupied while on the plane.

We're heading back down and our son will be about 22 months at travel time. This is his 3rd time on a flight and the first 2 were relatively smooth. As he gets a bit older, it may be a bit tougher to keep him in his car seat.

Any tips?

Oh yeah, has anyone brought a laptop/portable DVD on a flight with them and if so, how'd it go?

Thanks

Bob

We took a lap-top with us on a flight to Hawaii with a three and a five year old. It worked like a charm until the batteries ran out :(

Before I fly with the girls I make a trip to Target and buy things like books small toys, and snacks. I wrap them in pretty tissue paper and stow them in my carry on. Every so often when things are getting tense, I pull something out for them to open--I try to space it out to like one every couple hours if possible.

When the girls were really little I brought a roll of scotch tape and let them tear off strips of it to play with. They never got to do this at home, so it was very fun for some reason.

I also bought them their own walkman (the cheapie kind) and brought stories on tape for them to listen to. They usually spent the whole time fiddling with the headphones, but it kept them busy at least.

I try to be as prepared as possible. I used to really dread flying long distances with the kids when they were very young. Ususally it turned out fine. Just be prepared for the worst. ;)

Originally posted by lisap

I try to be as prepared as possible.
Just be prepared for the worst. ;)

Can the flight be during a time he might have a nap?
I've never been in a plane, I don't know if it has the lulling
motion that a car seems to have on kids.

Maybe wake him up early on that day?

And, isn't it alright to walk around a little bit? Maybe that
would be enough? Again, I don't know, but, maybe a trip to the bathroom will get him over the curiosity of the plane. Help to settle him down.

I really like the book idea, too. Or, kid songs on tape. Does he have his own backpack? Maybe let him pack things he wants to play with. Plus things you know he should take.

Good luck and have fun!!

I haven't taken a laptop on a plane, but I took my iBook on a 6 hour car drive and it worked really well. We have an extra battery-- it would not have worked without the extra battery.

Adrienne K

Originally posted by Bobcat

Oh yeah, has anyone brought a laptop/portable DVD on a flight with them and if so, how'd it go?

Thanks

Bob

I always take my laptop when I fly. It has a DVD drive and I usually watch a movie after the in flight movie is done or when I'm tired of my book. If you have an extra battery, bring it, but I've always been able to get one two hour movie out of my one battery. If you are in coach and the person in front of you leans back, sometimes its hard to fully open the screen, but I can always see.

Also, when you go through security, you have to take your laptop out of your carrying case and put into a little bin for the x-ray. Just something to keep in mind as you approach the checkpoint. They don't seem to want you to turn them on anymore, which was in vogue a few years back.

If you have any other specific questions about this aspect, please post them.

A friend who has a three-year-old girl takes her laptop on flights, and it occupies her daughter quite well. I would echo the "extra battery or two" recommendations, depending on how long the flight is.

Originally posted by lisap
Before I fly with the girls I make a trip to Target and buy things like books small toys, and snacks. I wrap them in pretty tissue paper and stow them in my carry on. Every so often when things are getting tense, I pull something out for them to open--I try to space it out to like one every couple hours if possible.

That's what we've done for the upcoming trip as well. Went to Wal-Mart and purchased several little things, like the little 79 cent Disney Activity books, mini-magnadoodle. I also found a little briefcase (smaller than a deck of cards) that has little colored pencils, paper, and an easel in it. And last week I found the coolest keychains! One is attached to a small can of Lincoln Logs, another to a tin of Tinkertoys, and even one to a small Candyland Game! They called them Yesteryear toys (or something like that). Now when the kids are done with them, Daddy has something to play with on the plane!

With my son being 11, I started teaching him Magic: The Gathering about 3 months ago. He's picked up on the general concepts and we play with beginner decks, which are pretty evenly matched. He loves to keep track of how many times he's beat me....And I tought him this why? ;) Anyway, I've created some new decks for us and will have them on the trip to keep him and I busy, while my wife plays with our daughter. You can use a simple 20-sided-die for a life counter, so it's a pretty compact game and plays on the tray tables pretty well.

I'm not a parent, but with the Travelite Web site that I maintain, this comes up every so often with the readers.

One mom would save her film canisters and stow things like raisins and banana chips in them. By using the black opaque Kodak canisters, her child couldn't see what was in them. It was both a "Oh, what goodie is that?" and getting them to try to pry the thing open (be careful they don't fling the lid off and lose the contents!).

All the games they sell at Wal-Mart and such for traveling on the road are good. You can also go to a local Rand McNally store, although they will charge more.

Main thing -- make sure they have something to suck on during take-off and landing, so they can equalize their eustachian tubes in their ears so they don't cry out in pain. Fruit chews may be a good idea, since at 22 months he's too young for gum. Make sure to bring juice or something for him to suck on, too. The cabin gets awfully dry.

When we flew with our little ones, we had taken our Portable DVD player...which now you can rent at a lot of airports (You can rent movies as well...once you are done with your flight, you just either return it at the arrival airport, or mail it back to them, I believe).

Also, the Crayola Color Wonders are great! You don't have to worry about them getting it on their clothes, on the seats or on anyone sitting nearby!

Books, smaller toys without a lot of pieces, and quiet toys.

Make sure that you have diapers and wipes accessible, as well as juice cups and snacks!

Hi! We are going to be flying out to Disneyland across country in April. I have also been thinking about what things I want to pick up for my two girls 6 and 8 for the flight.

For Christmas they each received a portable CD player and a few CD's. They really enjoy it. Today in Walmart I saw these really neat small dry-erase boards that zipper up in a case. Thought that would be something special that they would enjoy. Probably also bring a book, notebook, markers, etc.

I will pack a few goodies - things that are special. We have a long flight!

Enjoy your trip! :)

This is probably too pricey an answer but those handheld dvd players have REALLY come down in price!

As crc9998 mentioned many airports rent out those DVD players for a very affordable price. Check out InMotion Pictures (http://www.inmotionpictures.com/).

I've never used one though, we just use coloring books or other travel games. I wouldn't say it was a big success, but we survived. ;)

Originally posted by J-L
Hi! We are going to be flying out to Disneyland across country in April. I have also been thinking about what things I want to pick up for my two girls 6 and 8 for the flight.

For Christmas they each received a portable CD player and a few CD's. They really enjoy it. Today in Walmart I saw these really neat small dry-erase boards that zipper up in a case. Thought that would be something special that they would enjoy. Probably also bring a book, notebook, markers, etc.

I will pack a few goodies - things that are special. We have a long flight!

Enjoy your trip! :)

Dry erase pens + small airline cabin= headache. The fumes will make you sick, I don't recommend them on a flight!

Gameboys work very well, although, not with younger kids. But older (8+) will vedge out for hours. But, I traveled with a friends whose daughter was 3 and she had a childrens laptop (you can buy them at walmart ect. for like $30 and they have reading and spelling games and things like that on them.) and she was content through the whole flight since her mother bought her a new game for it.