Need Ideas to Keep My 16 Month Old Busy on Flight!

I just flew with my daughter a couple months ago when she was 16 months old. Like most everyone has suggested I packed lots of snacks. I had raisins, fruit snacks, teddy grahams, you name it I probably had it! I also bought a couple new books for her and new small toys hoping they'd keep her interested for a while since she'd never seen them before. I had a portable DVD player - I tried headphones...she didn't like that at all. She did watch it for a little while but then she was more interested in the buttons. I also brought paper and crayons...that worked for a long time.

I would suggest sitting towards the back of the plane where the drink carts are stowed. We sat back there and while the flight attendants were up I could jump up and let Ella play in the little cubby area or try to bounce her to sleep.

Best of luck to you!
Michelle

DVD is good, but also think of other things when she gets bored with that. a bag of random things, toys, books, things to keep her hands and mind busy. Or she could be like my son we went on a trip to Michigan right after he turned 1 and he still had is pacifier at that time and we gave that to him after we took off and he slept the entire time, it was crazy.

Another ting, take snacks! crakers, things she can chew on when accending and deccending, it might hurt those little ears that don't know how to "unpop". (that's why we still had the paci.)

If you have a portable DVD player and can take that and those Baby Einstein videos with you, you'll be golden!! Even if she won't use the headphones, just keep the volume turned down to a minimum. Trust me, people won't mind it! We flew to and from Finland in January (she was 16 months old as well) - more than 20 hours of travel time! - and we took the portable DVD player with us...it saved us!! My daughter won't wear the headphones of any kind to save her life, so we kept the volume turned down real low but loud enough she could hear. We didn;t get a single dirty look. I think people won;t mind listening to the video over listening to a screaming unhappy and bored child. :-)

And get up with her every now and then and let her walk up and down the aisles. She'll get tired of sitting there for so long in the first place, her little bottom is going to get tired and numb and she'll want to be up and running. Walk around with her for a little bit, it will be okay.

Another thing - take lots of snacks! Maybe the food will help to keep her still when other things won't.

Good luck!!

-Char

We flew with our 2 young ones last December, and my Mom found the best thing for them. It's a small coloring booklet that has a small paintbrush thing that contains water in it. Don't worry no paint. The water turns the pages into full color pages. I just saw them again at Jo Anns Fabric yesterday. I know she may not be interested in the characters but my kids actually thought they were painting. And it's mess free! Once the pages dry off they're ready to paint again. Maybe that will be a good distraction.

Along with the DVD player....it's a MUST....animal crackers, in a ziploc. My son was almost 2 on his first flight (4 hours) and he loved getting the crackers out one by one and rezipping the bag (slider zip ones). It kept him entertained for hours. I will admit, we've also done the benedryl or dramamine thing. Benedryl does knock ours out (we knew that before), so it worked for a while anyway. Even if she won't normally wear the headphones, she might on the plane, ours does. Good luck!

J. :)

As a former flight attendant and mother of a traveling 6 month old...take the DVD player. If your toddler won't wear headphones, simply turn in down. Everyone would rather hear a little Baby Mozart than a bored toddler. Also, get a few new little things (coloring books, new reading books, travel games)and just don't give them to her until you are on the plane...anything "new" will be fun for her and will occupy her longer than something she already has. Good luck and have fun!

Hey, I just traveled with my busy body 2 year old on a 2 hour flight. Everything I thought would entertain her that she likes did not do the trick so one way was pure h*ll. Then on the way back I tried different things and that wasn't working so the stewardist gave her the demo seatbelt they use and she played with it undoing it and doing it and fastening her dolls etc for a good part of the 2 hour flight. Who would have thought? So, ask when you get on-they see little kids all the time and apparently are in the know. I also took frequent bathroom trips when we could move about just to let her out of her seat-she played in the water basin.

sticker books, aluminum foil to twist into shapes..last time I flew with Tommy..he was about that age..and I would actually suggest a portable dvd player..I was kicking myself the whole time for not taking ours...maybe you could take headphones..but I think that you can turn it down low enough to hear while just sitting there..we flew to and from florida and several people had they dvd players etc..what about an ipod? I wouldn't worry about making noise w the books or dvds..lol, they are much better than a screaming toddler :) Good luck!

ditto on the dvd player....it's a godsend!! i also pack treats that i don't usually give my child such as m&m's or cheetos. i put the m&M's one by one inside a plastic egg that he loves to open up and eat. it takes a long time to get a little sugar in!! i also bring a used wipe box (the pop-up wipe type) and put small toys inside there that he hasn't played with in forever. he loves to put the toys through the pop-up opening and then take them back out. i use cars, blocks, etc. inside the wipe box. new books are great...especially lift the flap ones which take a long time for a little one to explore. the tray table is a great toy if no one sits in front of you and the shade provides at least 10 minutes of play time. good luck and enjoy!!
M.

We flew with my daughter at almost 2 and got delayed on the runway so what should have been a 2 1/2 hr flight ended up being almost 4 hours. By the time we finally took off I thought that is it she is going to melt down any minute, but she never did. This is what we took.

1) lots of snacks (crackers, fruit snacks etc) bring a variety so they don't get bored with the same food
2) Crayola makes wonderful no mess products bring 1 or 2 (marks on paper only markers and book or paints on paper only fingerpaint and paint book)
3) books
4) small puzzles with only 4 or 5 big pieces

The portable dvd player is a must. Maybe, with a brand new dvd for her to enjoy. New goodies, toys. Snacks!! And she might be very interested by the little shade over the window as my boy was at that age. How fun it is to open and close it all over again :-)

Have a good trip!

Hey K.,

your DVD player should have a port for headphones. IF you're concerned with it being too loud I would use these. And I'm sure the other passengers would rather listen to the Baby Einstein DVD as opposed to screaming toddler. Good luck.

Bring the DVD and the music books. The noise from the plane does drown out the sound of these items quite a bit. Also I think the neighboring passengers will tolerate the music books better than a crying child. I just got threw flying to colorado and this is a hard age because they like to get up and go whenever they want. Good luck with your trip.

M. D.

I bring my dvd player and I found some headphones at big lots for 99cents. It works out great. Also if your worried about their ears popping on the plane i give my daughter a dose of expectorant. It has a medicine that helps with the ears. My daughter is now 21 months and she has been on a plane 7 times already with no problem. Also tylenol works to get them sleepy. but don't give them both medicines at the same time. Is this your first flight?