I'm looking for any quiet suggestions for a 2yr to do on an airplane. She just turned 2 on 4/2. I thought about bringing the DVD playing but wasn't thrilled about lugging another item. She will only color for 15 min max before she is ready to move on. Our flight is at 10:30 so she won't be ready for a nap until we land.

Thanks

Bring the DVD player. It's well worth it. I just stuck our in the backpack that had all the kids coloring books, crayons, video games, etc in it. Our DVD player kept our 14 month old happy for the few hours he wasn't sleeping on the plane. Kept my 4 year old pretty happy too.

I second the DVD player. I won't fly without it! We always buy one new movie that our son wants, and that keeps him happy for most of the flight.

DVD Player! My son is now 6 but we have always brought along Playdoh, Wikki Stix, triangle crayons and paper, individually bagged snacks that are rarely offered at home. When he was that little, I'd cover him in stickers and give him a special prize if he could get them all off and stick them on paper. If you buy cheap stickers, they won't really stick well to anything on the plane. I also go to the dollar store for long trips and buy stuff and wrap it up tightly like a present. Every hour he can open a new one. It's never fancy stuff but it's fun!

Make sure you have something for the child to suck on (juice? water? lollipop?) at take-off. All the best preparations you bring with you will be irrelevant if the child ends up with pain in their ears from the ascent.

I always, always, always suggest Earplanes (for kids). They are these earplugs with pressure relief valves in them that keep the ears from hurting. Ever since my son decided to pull them out and then had a miserable time on land for several hours after (with aching ears), he wears them religiously on flights! (Me too - I wear the kid's size)

Crayola makes triangular crayons (I found mine at Staples) that don't roll off the tray table. I also like the small Color Wonders books and pens. No mess. I've also heard of stringing Fruit Loops or Cheerios on dental floss and then they have a fun, edible necklace to wear.

If you dont' want to carry your DVD player, most airports rent them for flights and let you drop them off on the other end. For longer flights, I know Alaska rents DigEplayers that are loaded with movies and TV shows. We bring a three-way splitter (Radio Shack) and pay about $10 to get one of those. My son (almost five, now) usually watches 2-3 shows and then passes it off to us and we get to enjoy a movie (or at least part of one . . . I still need to see the end of "An Affair to Remember" - don't give it away!) :)

Lolly pops are a great thing!!! Dum Dums are just about all you need for up and then another for down. Since you can't bring your own drinks, but you might want that sucking action for her ears, either bring your own sippy cup and buy a juice/water once past security or you can buy this really cool water bottle topper from Gerber that makes just about any bottle into a sippy! At any rate, you may want to bring an empty sippy for the flight attendants to put juice/milk/water in on the plane. Bring plenty of snacks. You never know WHAT they are gonna give you on the plane - IF they give you anything at all!

We have a portable version of Pass the Pigs. Although my little guy didn't get it right away, he loved dumping the pigs out and seeing how they landed. I added up his points and we just played for fun.

Remember to make a trip to the potty JUST before you board. Even for those who are potty trained, sometimes the potty isn't the same on trips. Pull ups and a portable toilette seat cover might be handy. Um, this might be TMI, but bring raisins or craisins. I've known more than just one kid who gets constipated on vacation . . . makes for an anxious moment when it finally happens! (Hollywood studios, dinner at the ABC Commessary, emergency bathroom trip . . . it wasn't pretty - and he was FOUR and potty trained). It happens to the best of us. :)

Have a wonderful trip!!

Not sure I'd invest in Earplanes without knowing if your kid will be affected. I can pop my ears at will and neither of my kids has ever had an issues with their ears on an airplane.

I'm going with the DVD player. We brought one for each kid on our last trip. Made for quiet kids. Make sure you bring the earbuds for them though so you don't disturb the other passengers. They slipped easily in the kids backpacks and put the DVDs in a CD holder book. It also comes in handy if you happen to get a rainy day and you don't have a dvd palyer in your room. We have also brought them into restaurants to keep the kids quiet while waiting for entrees to arrive. Also the kids liked colorforms. Not sure where I got them since I can't seem to find them now. I think I found a cars and a thomas one a few years ago. Luckily when we would travel when the kids were that young we made the flights for late or around nap time and they would sleep most of the flight.

I always bring NEW toys... maybe little HotWheels cars or magnet playsets where they can stick the magnets to different backgrounds... make sure it's something they've never seen before and something quiet - it will keep her entertained much longer than the familiar toys. I sometimes bring a book to read to my son, even though he can read to me now!!! I would also make sure she has something to suck on for take off and landing... I used to breastfeed at that time and we didn't have any problems (although you can't keep her in her carseat at that time... well, not easily anyway!) For long flights we will watch movies on the laptop since I'm usually bringing it anyway for picture uploads and checking in online or writing trip reports.

Not sure I'd invest in Earplanes without knowing if your kid will be affected. I can pop my ears at will and neither of my kids has ever had an issues with their ears on an airplane.

Yeah, it depends on the kid. Mine had major ear infections and we almost had to do tubes, so he's highly effected. Some kids are fine with a lolly pop or sucking on bottle/sippy. They are about $7 - not a HUGE investment, but there if you need them.

I totally agree with bringing toys that your child has never seen before! We flew with our daughter when she was two and that worked really well.

I just made sure that she had a lollipop or drink on take off and landing and she did fine.

We got some travel games...a matching one for her. All the pieces stay attached to the board so no pieces are falling on the floor. She also played with her older brother/sister's travel Connect Four. All the pieces stay attached to the board via a stretchy cord. I believe they were "Melissa and Doug."

We also got her a brand new "Disney" activity book to "color."

Good Luck!

DVD player a MUST. I have two sons (2 &3) we travel by air about three times a year and the DVD is our best friend. They each have their own little backpacks that I put coloring book and triangular crayons in. I also have a travel size mangadoodle for each of them. I let them chose one small board book and a couple of hot wheels. Matchbox makes these cool, hot wheel sized airplanes. The ALWAYS take them when we fly....so cute. I also use my kidsafe ID tags (look like dog tags) whenever we travel and always in the parks.

I 2nd the DVD players! We are taking our FIRST plane ride to WDW this year with our kids (7 & 6). Not knowing how they will react on a plane is harder than the planning. Since they are older I am bringing their Nintendo DS's & games. I am planing on earplanes only because they have never experienced cabin pressure before. To be honest, my BIGGEST fear is we will be stuck on the runway for hours like the horror stories I have heard. Can't wait till Jan 2010!!

Do you plan on bringing a carseat on the airplane to put on the regular seat? When my kids were still in carseats (as opposed to boosters)they were always more comfortable on the plane in their own seat.

My favorite bonus tip for dealing with all the toys that they bring AND DROP. Take an airplane blanket and drape it on the seat bottom and then tuck it into the magazine pocket. Then put your carseat on top of the blanket. The blanket makes a little sling that most of the dropped items fall into and can easily be retrieved!

Take an airplane blanket and drape it on the seat bottom and then tuck it into the magazine pocket.
Great idea, if you can actually FIND an airplane blanket. (A lot of airlines seem to be removing blankets and pillows as a way to cut costs.)

When my kids were that age, I would bring a small bag of Froot Loops, and some string licorice. They could use the cereal like beads, and make a necklace, and you can tie it closed. A fashion statement and a snack. I agree to bring a tote bag with lots of little activities, for the short attention span. Sticker books, coloring, Color Wonder, that sort of thing. Too bad on domestic flights, they don't have built-in screens in the seats, like they do on international flights. My kids kept busy for hours, watching movies and playing games on their own.

I really agree with the DVD player idea. Just remember that it can also be a laptop if you're planning to bring one anyway. Also, other newer small devices like phones can have movies loaded onto them. Kids typically don't care how big the screen is so long as they're watching characters/movies they like.

I think a DVD player is a must! We were given an Ipod that has the ability to play movies for one of our last flights. It was a life saver. It fit in my pocket and my Daughter loved holding her own movie. I did not have to worry about her kicking the DVD player or knocking it about and it was much lighter.

http://www.seatguru.com/
It is diagrams of various planes used by airlines that show you notes on things like overly cold, noisy, that there is no window for that seat, seats not reclining, bathrooms, and bulkhead seats. They also color code the seats with red for not good and yellow for possible problems

I used that on my last airline trip for for different legs of the trip. Bulkhead seats have more room but they make you put everything in overhead storage so that is not a good spot for a person with lots of stuff. I have used it on several flights now and was able to find good seats and avoid bathrooms and bulkhead seats as well as seats that to not recline.

I think a DVD player is a must! We were given an Ipod that has the ability to play movies for one of our last flights. It was a life saver. It fit in my pocket and my Daughter loved holding her own movie. I did not have to worry about her kicking the DVD player or knocking it about and it was much lighter.


Yes, we have children's shows loaded onto our ipod for just such occasions! It's so nice to have something so compact to play movies on! We've used to keep my son occupied at dinner time at a wedding reception and out at restaurants. I think stickers are handy to have because they're light, take up so little space and a 2 year old can be kept occupied for a bit just with sticking and unsticking them on things.