Activities to Keep 1 Year Old Busy on Airplane

My sister-in-law had a great idea. Wrap a few small items (new or old) in wrapping paper. Kids love to open gifts. It takes a while to open each one, and then they can enjoy the item. It works great!

Hi N.,
Your ideas are great...I took our son on a 1.5 hour and then almost 3 hr plane ride when he was 13 months and my activities worked for a time, but then he wanted to get up and run around. My pediatrician had recommended taking Benadryl as a back-up, which I would recommend also. It made him sleepy enough to give in to taking a nap, something he was too excited to do otherwise, and it was really a life-saver. Hope it all goes well!
K.

I rode with my 13 month old to Turkey and it went unbelievably well. I brought all kinds of toys for entertainment, but she was interested in things like the barf bag and head phones. If you are still nursing, that helps soooo much. I nursed during each take off and her ears were never a problem. Also, the nursing relaxed and she slept so much of the 17 hour trip. Ask for a bulk head seat so they have room to stand and get on the floor if they need to, and you have more room. My daughter loved trying to twist the bottle cap on the water bottle. She slept so much because of the constant low sound, when I had to go to the bathroom, I asked a flight attendant to watch her while I went. On the flight there, there was a seat empty next to me, and that helped so much. You may be able to move where there is an empty seat. You are lucky to have your husband. Mine didn't go. 3 hours is really nothin' and I don't think you'll have a problem. My friend lives in China and most go back and forth 3 times a year, on her own with a 3, 6 and 9 year old. Wow. That'd be tough! Good luck!

I took my son on a plane when he was the same age. I had heard that people will give their children Benadryl to make them sleepy for the ride. I was a little uncomfortable about this. I felt that I would be drugging my son. However, my son was soo active. So, I called my pediatrician who said that people do it all the time and it wasn't a big deal. She gave me his correct dose for his weight and age. We also booked a flight for a time close to his morning nap so it would help him sleep the whole way. Hope this helps.

We just did this, same age daughter! You will be surprised at how entertained she will be just from the new surroundings and all the new people. My daughter is a major busy body and was just fine with LESS accoutrements for distraction. The little cups of water/juice (empty) they give you will be a huge hit, even though they seem completely irrelevant to you. And people don't mind a toddler at all, you will most likely have folks playing peek-a-boo with her and telling you how well behaved she is. Walking up and down the isle is always an option too. Don't sweat it!

I let my daughter (2) pick out a back pack, and then I stuffed it with a couple new toys and a new stuffed animal. I also put a bunch of snacks in there. On the way back we kicked in the 5 bucks and bought the snack pack that the airline sells, it was so worth it, it was like she got a whole new toy.Take some gummy bears for the lift off and descent. I only took one bag and had to monitor my husband's eating of them, so take a bunch. I got the lacing boards from Imagination Station. They were great. Take some zip lock bags and a change of shirt, just in case something gets spilled all over you or her during turbulance She had so much fun just opening and closing her backpack and taking things in and out. Have a great flight!

Stickers! My 18 month old seems obsessed with picking labels or stickers off of anything. For a recent trip I took a bunch of excess mailing labels cut in half, and let her pick away at them and stick them around (I made sure to peel them all off before we deplaned!) Or I would stick one on her arm, leg etc. and she would work at taking it off and moving it. It was good for about an hour, all together.

The noise of the plane does help put them to sleep too (sometimes.)

Last time I was at Target they had little airplane toys in their 'dollar' section.

Take your time to do everything, drag things out a bit, stretch out each activity as long as possible.

:-)
L.

my daughter was barely two when I flew alone with her (do not recommend that). However, at suggestion of some traveling parents I got several new things for her-even wrapped the books up so it seemed really special. The item my daughter liked the best was what the mom in the seat next to me had and that was a barrell of monkeys. She loved hooking them together it helped entertain her forever. If your one year old is into "coloring" already that would be helpful too. Good Luck

N., we took our daughter trans-atlantic when she was only 12 months, and I had read somewhere the idea of wrapping up little "gifts" that she could open along the way when she got fussy. They were small books, toys, treats, anything that might capture her attention for a while. Also- in our experience, flying at night makes things a lot easier. Good luck!

Hi,
First off, let me say (like a couple of other people have said) flying can be a really nice bonding time with your kids, an exciting and fun adventure together. I think communicating the excitement and fun can be key to making it a great trip.

We flew so much with our first child that we had it down to a science for him--but every kid IS different of course, so here are some ideas that we tried recently with all three kids. (ages 7, 4 and 2)

Gift bags with "surprises"! Little cheapy shiny gift bags from the dollar store work well, or paper or ziplock bags tied with colorful ribbon. Of course depending on the amount of carry-ons he wants to have you might want to minimize the size/complicated-ness of the bag situation.

The surprises can be anything she hasn't seen or played with in a while, or even small toys from the dollar store, crayons and paper with stickers, a few small books and magazines, or the snacks you have already. My newest addition to this idea was small amounts of playdough. It wasn't messy since I was playing with them, and the amount was so small that they didn't want to lose any! It was a good change of pace and a nice tactile outlet.

I also really like to pack things like a small "family" of dolls/characters. You know the hand-holdable size of character type toys. So we had a bag of superheros (they can fly around your seats without the kids having to run), a bag of winnie the pooh friends, a bag of cars, a bag of bendy guys, you get the idea.

Each one can be opened when she seems to get tired with with the last, interspersed with snacks and an occasional walk up and down the aisle (when the seatbelt sign is off, of course!), made the time pass pretty quickly.

Oh, and never underestimate the excitement of take off and landing time, (keeping a drink or pacifier available at those moments is key is her ears are bothering her) as well as the seat pocket, airplane magazine, barf bag--it's an adventure for any doll family to discover a fun cave with pictures and places to crawl in and out of.

By the way, a good thing to think about is when to change diapers. Depending on the airline he's flying, there may be no changing table in the bathroom on the plane. If possible change right before you board. But if she has a blowout stinking diaper on the plane, a great(and small) resource is a couple of safety pins pinned inside your bag and a small airplane blanket. You can pin it to hang from the seat in front of you to the back of your seat and create a little privacy for the fun "laptop change".

I once had to change a two month old on my lap who had an all out crazy up the back with all the clothes full of it kind of poopy diaper on my lap! I had to fully unclothe her. The guys *across* the aisle actually asked me why I couldn't find a more "suitable place for that activity". I was alone with the baby and a feverish 3 year old. Needless to say, that was BAD trip. It was after that trip that I heard the tip about the safety pins.

Hey, I've also had really fun fantastic trips that we've all enjoyed very much. And lots of people are often very helpful and kind on the plane! My advice would be to choose one or two strategies that seem like they'd work for her and keep it relatively simple (ha, I say that at the end of this super long post!).

Hope he has a great time. Lots of times my kids just fell asleep, and that works out great, too. Let us know how it goes!
S.

Have you thought about the little travel lite brite game? It seems to hold a youngster's interest. You can share in the activity with her, and it can be hours of fun.

Save yourself from a disaster and don't bring crayons. A lot of airplane staff frowns on young kids with crayons since they are afraid they will color where they are not supposed to. Instead bring a magna-doodle. It's so much easier and less to keep track of. They have little sized ones pretty cheap at most stores.

Since you will be right there with here, perhaps you could buy a new playdough set for you to play with her. I have done this on airplanes many times. Just pull the tray down, and play! Good luck!

Hi!! How fun to be travelling!!! You will be thankful to have your husband along for support so you can run to the bathroom or sit and relax for quick moments throughout the travels. We've travelled way more than I'd like to admit since our now 2 year old has been born...we have family scattered throughout the country and they all like to see her!! Here's a few tricks that have worked for me:

1) I pack 2 different sets of toys. In a small bag her size I pack toys she can play with once we're through security and waiting for the plane and boarding...these include little toys she likes to move around, a small ball, her little people camper set, a doll or stuffed animal...just small toys that I know she loves to play with. I set her up in front of a window and let her play freely there...with close supervistion/interaction of course.

2) The second bag I pack is for the plane. I use a large pouch that came with a diaper bag we have, but a zip lock bag or something else would work just as well. In it I have a magnadoodle, a travel size aqua doodle (the most amazing thing ever!!!), and color wonder markers (also amazing!!!)...I also have stickers and a few other "craft" type activities that are also clean. I keep this one in reserve for on the plane only so it is new and exciting and she's not bored with it.

3) I ditch my purse for the day...and use a backpack. I always pack my purse in my suitcase. A backpack is friendlier on your back and you can fit a lot more in it! This is where I store my "plane toys", snacks, books, diapers, a change of clothes and all the other odds and ends that normally would be in my purse...a backpack is just easier and there's extra room to throw stuff in at the last minute.

4) I pack special books that she can help me count or lift flaps or basically take longer than usual for her to read.

5) I pack special snacks that she normally won't get...fruit snacks, special crackers, puffs....you know all the things you only give on special occasions and only in moderation.

6) I pack a sippy cup and she gets water in the airport(I usually buy a bottle for myself anyway) and then gets a special treat of juice on the plane).

I hope some of these ideas help...it took me quite a few flights to figure out what worked best for us, but I highly reccomend the aquadoodle at least...and color wonder markers are great too...plus it's a special treat to use markers!! Good luck!

Hi N.. I have an 18 month old son who flies quite a bit with me. My family is on the east coast so we travel a lot. He is used to the airplane, but still is very busy. We use the DVD player and that is a huge help. But my number one hint. . . Buy a pack of pipe cleaners from the dollar store. This keeps my son occupied for a while. Any age, this seems to work really well. Also, lollipops are good especially for taking off and landing. Good luck!!

Hello N. - Aside from her usual/familiar toys, books & movies I would introduce something new & wrap it in colorful wrapping paper for her to unwrap. Depending on how many new things you have for her space them out a little bit to give her something to do. Hope this helps.

We have taken several plane trips with our children. I would recomend boarding last instead of first. My kids tend to get fidgity if we board first. Good Luck!

My daughter and I have flown many times. Her first trip was with my huband and I at 4 months...her and I have flown from Michigan to Victoria BC three times by ourselves. The way I do it is to tell her about it a couple of days before and talk about how much fun it will be! We have a portable DVD player that we watch movies with, the plane is noisy so we take headphones. I pack a variety of snacks so that we don't get hungry. I go to the dollar store with her and we pick out a few items to take on our special trip. I set the expectation that this is going to be fun!! We play the entire time unless she is napping and we have a BLAST!

During our last trip I witnessed a women at the beginning of the flight try and force her child to be quiet (during the safety stuff)...kids don't need to listen to that stuff, give your daughter something fun to to.

It is way better than a long car ride since you can sit right next to her and you can give her all of your attention! Have a great time!

L.
www.HealthyFamilyHome.com

N.

We just flew with our 20 month old daughter who never sits still. I worried for weeks about the long plane ride and discussed things with our doctor. He said the main thing is to make sure their ears don't pop. We knew of our vacation months in advance so we purposly kept her pacifier. Otherwise a bottle or sippy cup will do the trick. To help with the security check in we kept the cups empty and bought milk and juice inside of the airport. We packed a bag full of supplies but her favorite was a sticker book. But, it actually turned out that we didn't need anything because we took a total of four plane rides on our trip and within 15 minutes of take off an all of them she was asleep for the entire trip. They say the sound of the engines will put most kids to sleep. We did not give her anything to help make her drowsy.

Good Luck

I read from someone to put a bunch of toys on a string/ring and let her play with it.

The string will keep her interested and if she drops it, it'll be alot easier for your to retrieve.

FYI- I flew w/ my DD in Feb who was almost 3. I was worried about the same thing. She NEVER sits! She was fine! Though her DVD player's volume wasn't enough to overpower the airplane's noise!

Oh and I'd buy a package of pull-up style diapers. Pamper's sells "Easy-up". I've heard it makes any diaper changes on the plane ALOT easier!

Oh and give her something to suck on during take off and landing ;)

N.:
I don't have any suggestions, however, if you get any from anyone else, please consider passing it along to me. We have friends going to Ethiopia next weekend to bring home their newest daughter. She is 3 and the trip will be 20 hours long. Thanks!

We had to do the same thing when our son was 15 months old. I was terrified because he is also VERY busy and does not like to sit still. I went to the dollar store and LOADED up on cheap toys. Whenever hed start to get a little antsy I would just pull out a new, wonderful, toy! A favorite snack was also helpful. Wed give him one cracker at a time and hed munch away and then get another. Its amazing how long it can take ot eat a snack one peice at a time! He did pretty well. He had one melt down but he was overly tired and is one of those children who will not sleep if hes out in public (there is just too much to see!). I bet your flight will go even better then you are imagining! Good luck!

Stick Colorforms on the plane windows.

Good Luck!
J.

My son has flown many times, and always surprises me with how well he does as he, too, is one of those busy little people. I bring along the snacks and toys and books etc, but I have always allowed him to play on the floor in front of his seat or mine (when we were sharing) and that was just enough space to keep him happy. The having to sit in a seat for the 5+ hours just was not going to happen and being flexible enough to realize that him hanging out on the floor was not a big deal worked!

Hi N.!
Just last month I went through the same thing. I flew alone with my then 17-month-old daughter. I was terrified at the idea of it, because with little ones always expect the unexpected. You never know how they're going to react in a situation. I worried for nothing, though. It was fine. We had a two-hour flight & she was obsessed with the buckle on the seatbelt. I had chosen a flight during naptime, though, which backfired on me because she was too excited to sleep but cranky because of lack of sleep. This resulted in one meltdown toward the end of the flight, not a great big deal, though; we survived! Everyone surrounding us was helpful. Returning home was much better; she fell asleep. I would take all of the suggestions the other mothers have given (I didn't give my baby Benadryl, though, just my preference). Also, my baby loves photographs, so I created her own photo album with pictures of her grandparents & all of the family we were flying down to visit. That was a big hit, too. Try not to sweat it...it will work out just fine. Have a great trip!