Plane Activities for 18 Month Old

A magnadoodle can work well.
A little thought for the crayon front. My daughter also would (and still does) eat crayons. I found the crayola twistables are great because there is not as much to chew.
How this helps,
S.

A box of Bandaids! Let them open them themselves and stick them on. My daughter in law used them for many trips to Cali.

Think of things that take time to do, like stickers (hand them to 18 m/o and show where to put them).
Another interesting idea is a deck of cards. Though they won't be playing poker, it is interesting to take them out and put them back in the box. Your 4 y/o can play a matching game with them as well.
A couple cars to drive around the seat would be fun.
Lift the flap books are great time-occupiers.
Hopefully they'll be able to move around a bit or run around at the airport beforehand.
Good luck!

J.,

I like the dollar books at dollars stores and the dollar aisle at Target. If they get lost I don't care. Also magna doodle is good for drawings and a non messy activity. Magazines also worked for my daughter. She likes tearing the pages and looking at the babies or animals. Also look in Target or Toys R Us in the 'travel games' section. Sometimes they have some items that will work for little kids.

And when all else fails walking the aisles gets them in a better mood I have found.

Good luck,
L.

Stickers, snacks, picture books that are appealing to her. You may end up reading A LOT! There are short podcasts you can get for free at iTunes of Sesame St Word of the Day and SuperWhy. The Word of the day segments are short and might be effective for short bursts. I always found that my kids LOVED to look at photos. Do you have an album of photos she could look at? Or even better an iPod or something that would store even more photos? I also think that bringing a little sack of stuff that is BRAND new might be good- stickers, snacks, puzzle, little figurines. Also if you can, sit her by the window so that she can look out. The plane itself should be useful for at least a little while. Hopefully she will fall asleep for some of it. Do you think she would eat play dough if you were sitting right next to her playing with it? I think my daughter was 2 when we first introduced play dough, but it was a big hit. Also, if you find a book in the library or your local bookstore about fingerplay songs you can do with her- itsy bitsy spider type stuff- it might entertain both kids at the same time. THen THEY might entertain each other and you could relax for a minute or two! GOod luck.

You can get Crayola color wonder, There are a bunch of different choices and they are easy to just let them color anyway they want!! I just took a trip with my kids and they loved the travel candy land I brought, they have pretty much every game you can imagine in a travel size. Good luck!!!

I just got off a 12 hour transatlantic flight with my 3 kids. For the most part they busied themselves with coloring and books - and each took 2 naps. Snacks were essential. everyone else has made great suggestions. I just wanted to add that I brought along a Viewfinder - old-fashioned alternative to DVD players and iPods. My youngest is 2 1/2 and loves it.
Have a wonderful and safe trip!

Hi!

We all just had this discussion at my son's playgroup when one of the mom's was flying down to Florida with her husband & three kids. Our facilitator, and a former kindergarten teacher, had traveled extensively as a youngster and told us her mother would make a surprise bag for each child. It was filled with crayons, coloring books, books, small party favor toys, etc, and they could only open it every hour or half hour depending on how long the flight was. Hope this helps it worked great for the Florida mom!

Barb

Last October, we flew from CT to FL with a 4 1/2 year old and a 20 month old--quite similar to you. The dvd player was a god-send. The girls loved it and it kept them occupied--unfortunately, the batteries weren't charged, so it died shortly into the show. So, make sure that your batteries are, indeed, charged. Also, I brought their favorite snacks, about 10 small board books, some quiet toys, a couple of stuffed animals--I know this sounds like a lot, but it all fit into the diaper bag (plus the normal diaper bag paraphernalia) and my daughter's very small backpack.

Good luck--have a fun and safe trip.

Take the time in advance to wrap several small and new (or new to them) toys. The excitement of a new toy coupled with the time it takes to unwrap is great! How about tiny containers of play-dough, match-box type cars, finger puppets, board books, tiny doll with cradle....The thing to keep in mind is that flying with an 18 month old will not be like flying with another adult. Unless they are sleeping, you will need to be "on" the whole time and actively playing with/engaging them. Are there activities that YOU like to do with her? Take those along. It will be a flight of the two (three) of you playing together. You said that she eats crayons but with you sitting next to her and coloring with her, she is less likely to.
Good luck!

I flew with a 2 and 5 year old to Europe for 8 hours. I brought lots of little new toys they had never seen. Two of each so they could each have their own. Magnetic dolls in a little tin with clothes to put on them. Sticker books and stickers. Those Crayola Color Wonder books and markers that only work on the paper, not anywhere else. Also Scratch Art, little black sheets that you use a wood stick on to scratch away the black which leaves a colored underground (www.scratchart.com). A new little stuffed animal. Little tubs of play doh. A small travel Magnadoodle. Perhaps a new movie for the DVD player (Barbie Thumbelina is cute and fairly recent as is Bolt). A small electonic "book" that has buttons to push that say the sound of the letter, or another mode where it will ask you words you need to spell, but the favorite mode was where each button had a short tune it played (I got it from an Avon catalog but toys-r-us has similar items). Check out a local small toy store since they often have things the big chains do not (we like Learning Express in Acton and the Paper Store in Chelmsford - a chain but it has fun things for kids).
Just any kind of little toys that you can keep in your carry-on bag and pull out a new one every half hour if needed. And of course any kind of blankie or favorite they cannot live without from home. Also remember to pack a few extra new toys for the trip home.
And finally: don't worry if your child cries. Crying kids on a plane are just a reality. My Europe trip left at night so the kids actually fell asleep after a while which helped.
Good luck.

Hi, Activities for the 18 month old, I would suggest playdough (the smaller containers), stickers, books. I think the DVD player will work more than you think, but if not those are small, easy things to throw in a backpack to bring on the flight! Good luck!