Flying with a 5 and 6 Year Old

My son liked playing with magnetic scenes, mini-matchbox car playsets (he had a service garage with a ramp, car wash, gas pump, and repair section); the set comes with a car, but I got him an extra one, too. I think it cost about $15 or so and it all folds into a neat little case only slightly larger than a hardcover novel. Another big hit for both my kids on the plane was party favor sized playdoh. We had all kinds of fun with that. I would make things for them to guess, then they would try to copy me or they would make something for me to guess. You can get the "doh" now in resealable bags that come with a shape cutter (cookie cutter). I found them at K-Mart.

We took our kids on trips to England every year, so this old hat for me. :)

Mad Libs are fun, but may be difficult for him, since he probably doesn't know the difference between a noun, verb, adverb, etc. so you will have to assist alot with them, but he will love the silly stories that result!

We used to take playdoh with us. Just the little cans, in three or four colors. A plastic spork, knife, etc. work well as 'tools', and it cleans right off the tray table.

Bring a coupld of simple games to play. Uno, Pass the Pigs, Yatzee (you do the final math), etc. All three of those games fit into gallon ziplock bag together with a deck of cards for go fish, so they don't use up much space in your carry ons.

We would also bring a good book to read to them at this age. Something a little longer than his usual bedtime story. At his age he probably would like the Magic Tree House stories. They are too hard for him to read by himself, but they are very exciting stories when read aloud. There are tons of them, so you could pick two with topics he likes. Dinosaurs, dolphins, knights, egypt, etc. One for the flight out and one for the flight home. Just read a couple of chapters at a time in between other activities. Your daughter will like these stories too.

The last thing is snacks. You can't bring liquids or things like yogurt, etc., but you can bring peanut butter pretzels, cheese and crackers, granola bars, apples, etc. The flight attendants are happy to keep you in drinks. They know that a kid eating is not a kid whining!

Have fun on your trip!

I took my 6 and 4 year old on a plan just last week a 14 hour flight, we played cards and did letter games, example like a, they would each think of a word that started with a. simple but fun and educational! you can do the same with numbers and colors too! try to find shapes on the plan.

I've been on long flights with my own kids and have also witnessed others traveling with their children. It isn't easy, no matter which side of it you're on! I understand that you would like to avoid electronic games and movies, BUT please consider that there are lots of other people on the flight and 5 hours of a "busy" young child (even thought it is totally understandable at that age) can be a lot for others to handle in such a tight space. :) Especially if they have left their kids at home and are on vacation and trying to relax. They have paid for a seat and it really isn't fair to them to deal with a child kicking the back of it the whole flight. Many people try to rest/sleep when they fly because they have an important meeting for work the next day. Children's ears often get plugged while flying and they sometimes talk even louder than usual. passengers will start giving you looks and may even complain to the flight attendants. Believe me, it will be very stressful for YOU if you are worrying the whole time about keeping your son still and quiet. It is hard to do when kids are in a new environment and are very excited and maybe even tired from a different schedule. You can't blame the kids under those circumstances! It is hard for them! I beg you to strongly consider letting him break up the time a bit with a movie and/or an educational elctronic game or two. (You can rent tmovies with certain airlines but the selection isn't always great.) He may do just fine and you may not even need to use them them but it it so good to be prepared and have something with you. It can really reduce your stress and keep a 5-hour flight from feeling like 10! Good luck and have a really nice trip.

Maybe pick up a few activity books, or puzzle books intended for their age group.... You can also pick up MadLibs... I remember them from my childhood and wow.... I couldn't get enough... Fun and FUNNY =D

Good luck!

I know you want to stay away from electronics BUT:
When we flew and the kids were younger I bought them a Nintendo handheld game system (one for each) and gave it to them while we were waiting for our flight at the airport.
We flew many times that summer and were stuck for 10 hours for a delay in St. Louis (oh my gracious that was a LONG day!). Those little game systems were worth their weight in gold!!
I had rules - you can use them while we wait. You can use them when they turn off the fasten seat belt sigh. You HAVE to put them away when the pilot says... When we are walking through the terminal, they have to be in your backpack.
The kids were as good as gold!
We also do a LOT of driving. Those little systems - since upgraded a few times - still entertain the kids who are now teenagers. I still have the same rules... Heck - I have my own game system now and when we travel we all connect and play the same game. It's a blast!!
YMMV
LBC

What about some small cars - one or two match box sized ones - and a mat with roads on for him to drive them around? You could even get him to help draw the roads, either prior to boarding the plane or let that be one of his first activities on board. Make the mat about the size of the tray tables so he'll have a solid surface to use it on.

I think you are making it harder on yourself by not allowing electronic toys or movies. At this age these are two activites which pleases them. It's not like they can go ride their bike while you are on the airplane. I have four kids who go to Japan every summer. They are now 10, 14,16, & 19. I cant imagine these trips without electronic toys or movies. But i am married to Japanese who love their electronic gagets! You can only color for so long. Good luck!

My sons LOVE Rush Hour and Rush Hour Jr. They are logic type games have you moving cars around to get a specific car out of the traffic jam. They are small in size and worked great for us on a trip to Spain last year. Also check out Nate the Great books.

http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/550

There might be some ideas here for you.

I bought these interesting sticker books at KMart. They kept all my kids busy (girls and boys about your kids' ages) on a long flight for many hours. I will try to describe the books as I don't know exactly what they are called. They were in the workbook area. They are thick paperback style books that are about a full regular page sized. There is a section with many pages of colorful stickers in different themes (like farm,beach, garden, school etc). The following pages are pictures that are missing little things that must be found in the sticker pages and placed on the page to complete the picture. This was a real hit as my kids hadn't had one before. I saved the not completed books and used them about 6 months later on a long car drive. They were fantastic successes. Good luck. Don't worry too much. Your kids are at a fairly good age to be fascinated by the whole experience and will likely sleep too.

We have tried books which lasted only a few minuets, and etch e sketch which lasted only a short while as well. We have found that a DVD or computer game was what made it a pleasent experiance for the children and for the other passengers.
Why are you so against that ? I wish you well. I have seen parent that have little cars that land in the asile and were steped on and became a problem for a passanger, and the irration of childrens playing cards being tossed all over the seats is a royal pain for other passengers that deserve to enjoy thier plane ride.

My best idea was to keep the kids up and have them actually sleep on the plane. Entertaining for 1 hour is much more appealing than the full 5. If it's a night flight, it should be easy but if it's a day flight and you keep them up late enough they will sleep or at least nap on the plane. Best of luck!

I agree that you need to rethink the movies and games! The DVD player is a LIFE SAVER for the 4-hour flights we take with my 3.5yo 4 times a year :) He also plays with cars and his Thomas laptop. He also loves his magna doodle, but gets bored VERY easily with drawing/coloring/etc.