Traveling by air can be a great way to save time to get to your vacation destination. It can even be a way to save a lot of money depending on how far your destination is. Toddlers may be exciting to get to be able to fly on a plane, but you will want to keep them occupied so that they do not get restless. So here are some of the best activities and the best travel toys that your toddler will enjoy in a confined space:
Prepare A Bag Of Young Kids Favorite Treats
There is nothing worse than sitting on a plane and having them complain that they are hungry. Choose snacks that will make a minimal mess, if they are messy eaters.
Talking To Your Child Before You Go To The Airport Is A Good Idea
Let them know where they are going, and why you all are going to that destination. It may be for vacation, or even to visit a family member.
Make Sure They Have Used The Restroom Before Boarding The Plane
Most planes will start boarding about thirty minutes before departure, and if you arrive in plenty of time this will help get in all bathroom breaks so that you do not have to get up all the time on the plane.
Pack Toys For Entertainment Even For The Older Children
If they are into video games and they love their screen time, purchase a handheld game or other electronic small toys to keep them happy. A good book is great for the plane ride because it allows you to read to them, or they can read it themselves if they are old enough. A book is a great way to pass along the time if it is a long flight.
Play Airplane Games Together
There are a lot of game ideas available on the internet that you can put together beforehand. Get some trivia cards made up ahead of time about your destination. You can make it a learning experience!
Traveling with children can be difficult at times. While car trips make it easier because only the parents have to deal with it if the child misbehaves, a bored child on an airplane can annoy a lot of other people and sometimes embarrass mom and dad. However, many simple travel games can be played with a child during the flight which will make the journey more enjoyable for everyone.
Virtual Hide And Seek For Some Imaginative Play And Travel Activities
Playing hide and seek using your imagination can sometimes be more fun than playing the real game. To play, simply think of someplace at home to hide. Because it’s imaginative, this can be any place big or small, even someplace like the silverware drawer. The person who is “it” then has to make guesses to “find” the other players, who will hopefully be nice enough to give some hints along the way.
Making Puppets Is One Of The Best Airplane Activities
Remembering to put coloring books, crayons or colored pencils in a child’s carry-on bag can be a great idea for some quiet time. While it’s fun to draw pictures on paper on their airplane tray table, you can make use of the things an airplane has to offer. A busy toddler can make a fun game of turning the motion-sickness bags into finger puppets. Simply turn the bag over and draw the face on the bottom. The part of the bag that folds at the bottom will become the mouth opening. Once the bag is decorated, the children can have so much fun talking with the puppets in their hands with the flight attendants.
I Spy For A Long Haul Flight Is A Fun Way For A Great Time
Whoever’s turn it is should look around and choose something visible to those playing. Then they say, “I spy with my little eye something …” and add a descriptive word for the object like the color or shape. The other players must then take turns guessing what it is the person spied on.
20 Questions For Younger Kids When You Airplane Travel
The object of 20 questions is to try to guess what the player is thinking about in 20 questions or less. The person whose turn it is thinks of an object. The player’s first question will be, “Is it a person, place, or a thing?” From that point on, the players are only allowed to ask questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no.” If they can guess the object in less than 20 questions, they win.
Find It! Is Great For Long-Haul Flights
The magazines provided by the airline are usually full of pictures. Look at them with your child and challenge him to find a particular thing on each page. Challenge the older kids to search the whole magazine himself to find the object you have selected. You can even go further and ask for a type of thing, a striped animal for example, and have him find something in that category.
Guessing Games With Different Themes
You can keep your younger children entertained with some simple guessing games that can be played from the seat of the aircraft. Use three plastic cups and hide something under one of them. Move the cups around and get him to guess which cup the object is under. Blindfold him with a scarf and give him various objects to feel and guess what they are.
Map Making For Some In-Flight Entertainment
A great game for encouraging your little kids to improve their hand-eye coordination and to think about the journey is map making. Take a few sheets of paper with you and draw a simple map of the journey you are taking. Explain to him where you are going to and from on your international flight and show him where various people he knows to live on the map. Next, get him to imagine what it would be like to take the journey over land and imagine the adventures that he would have at each point along the way. Let him draw the adventures onto the map.
Window Eye Spy Is Great For Younger Toddlers Or Any Age Group
Flying is a pretty amazing experience for toddlers, if only for a short while. Try and engage them with the experience and a great activity. If you are flying over land take them to the window and play a simple version of eye spy. Rather than choosing a letter, simply name things you can see from the window and see if he can see it too. Take turns to let him pick something and make a show out of trying to find it.
Toddlers and young children can find plane travel difficult and they don’t feel shy about communicating it to other passengers. Keeping a toddler entertained can go a long way to saving you and your fellow passengers the experience of being cooped up for hours with a disgruntled toddler. A few simple games can be all you need.