Tips for Entertaining Toddlers on a Plane Ride

We will be traveling with our toddler son for the first time in January and I am a bit excited and nervous at the same time. Our son is such a trooper when riding a car, but riding on a plane will be much of an experience for him and we are hoping he'll be a trooper too. I saw some tips online that I want to share and take down notes too.

• Let your kids do something scandalous. The first 15 minutes of being on every plane ride can involve standing on the armrest, turning the overhead lights off and on. But you should impose the strict rule not to touch the flight attendant call button (usually orange). It will keep him busy, turning the lights on and opening and closing the vents. Oh, the JOY!!! Sure it's annoying but he gets it out of his system and doesn't spend the next 6 hours asking or trying to mess with the buttons.


• Bright lights. Buy a spinning top that lights up when you give it a turn or any toy that lights up when he plays with it. Anything that lights up is interesting. You can probably even get away with something that makes a little noise because the plane is usually so loud.


• Variety is the key. If you have a toddler, odds are that you are only going to get a few minutes of entertainment with each item. As soon as your child loses interest, put the item away and move on to something else. Just because your son grew bored with his cars doesn't mean that he won't be interested again in an hour. Taking something away also adds a little novelty when you bring it back out again. Before you go, take a trip to the dollar store and pick up stickers, coloring books and inexpensive silly toys. You can also packed up Playdoh (which made it through security with no problem) for emergency modeling and getting out extra energy by prodding, pulling and exercising little hands.


• Rely on old favorites. If your child likes a special book, do yourself a favor and bring it along with you. Any favorite is a must, never leave them at home.


• Bring a special blanket that reminds your child of home. Sometimes it's nice to snuggle up with the smell of "home" against your cheek. A small stuffed animal can also be used a pillow to rest weary heads on mom's or dad's lap.


• Take a walk. Some will argue that there is nothing grosser than a plane lavatory. That being said, there is NOTHING more interesting to a small child (other than the cockpit) for that same child.Take your kid on a little field trip to the lav after the first hour of the flight. Sure that it is relatively still clean (it's all relative, isn't it?) and the best time for an adventure. If you are taking trips to the lavatory and he is bored on his seatm you can even take him, jsut be sure to wash his hands, wipe it with baby wipes and put hand sanitizer or alcohol after the trip!


• Videos/movies. If your child likes the tv, this can be a lifesaver. Saving a special or favorite movie for the trip to play on a laptop or portable dvd player may give you a couple of hours of peace and quiet. Getting your child used to using earphones is a good thing to work on in advance. Investing $10 on a splitter/sound enhancer is a great investment because you can hear better and it allows multiple headsets to be plugged in. Maybe Elmo isn't normally something you would watch but you never know how bored you may get. Always keep new movies handy. He may have his faves but sometimes new stuff can be very entertaining.