Engaging small toys for long flight

[paulamc]

We will be taking a long flight in a couple of weeks to the Middle East and I am trying to stock up on things to amuse our DS, who will be 15 months of age, on the flight. Aside from DVDs, which I'm ordering this moment, can anyone suggest any small toys that would hold his attention?

I'm thinking about this, which is a high quality wooden toy, but I recognize we may need some junky stuff as well!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...NCLQA&v=glance

So, tell me about small high quality or junky toys that keep your little ones amused for long periods of time!

[corrieoseal]

We haven't taken any long flights while DD was awake (red-eye from CA to DC and she slept was our longest flight.) But we just returned from a three hour flight with DD who was almost 18 months. We brought about half a dozen of her favorite books to read again and again, a travel-sized magna-doodle to scribble on, and a new hand puppet to perform silly songs with. We also brought our ipod touch and loaded it with a few Sesame Street shorts, which she enjoyed for about twenty minutes. I will warn you that if he doesn't watch TV (DD watches an extremely minimal amount, maybe 5-10 minutes per week) the videos may not help you. We tried to put on a Sesame Street movie at home for DD before our flight and she completely ignored it. Because she hasn't been conditioned to watch TV yet, she really doesn't have any attention span to view more than a minute or two. (Which is fine with us, but didn't help with the idea of using long videos to entertain on the flight.) The idea of bringing a few small wooden toys may help. DD doesn't care for Trix, but your DS might. Maybe a couple of cars to drive around on the tray table? A small plastic mirror for making funny faces? If he doesn't eat them, perhaps a few crayons and a pad of paper? Travel Aqua or Magna Doodle are really good, contained systems for a little creativity. Oh, and try not to be have seats too close to the bathroom as lots of activity might impede naps. Maybe others with long flight experience can come up with better answers.

[paulamc]

Originally Posted by corrieoseal

I will warn you that if he doesn't watch TV (DD watches an extremely minimal amount, maybe 5-10 minutes per week) the videos may not help you. We tried to put on a Sesame Street movie at home for DD before our flight and she completely ignored it. Because she hasn't been conditioned to watch TV yet, she really doesn't have any attention span to view more than a minute or two. (Which is fine with us, but didn't help with the idea of using long videos to entertain on the flight.)

Thanks for all the great advice! I've been wondering about your point above too. I decided to plunk DS in front of the computer to try out a couple of show ideas on youtube, and he was very interested for just a minute or two, then lost interest. It's a bit ironic isn't it. We forbid TV because it is harmful to children's attention span, and yet it means that he has a short attention span for TV now!

[possum]

When we flew from PA to Italy with my just turned 2 year old, Crayola play foam (like play dough, sort of) was the biggest hit. Runners up were some tiny pompom balls from the craft store in a plastic Easter egg and some glow sticks from the $ store. I personally wouldn't go for high quality = expensive for a trip where you are likely to lose things.
Melinda

[JudiAU]

Do you want to take my sister? Seriously, she entertained DS when he was that age when I was hugely pregnant one time. She played, no joke, 27 games of "oh no, the animal fell off the tray table" and then drew and drew and drew.

We love CARES because it lets you use the tray table. That was the biggest help ever.

[RiverSky]

Little People, just a whole bunch of them in a little bag or small box. At least, my children (around that age) would play make believe with little people for HOURS as soon as they were old enough.

I do think the Haba wooden toys would work well, that sort of thing was always great for my children. For a flight, we would always make sure we had
quite a few new things.

Do you have any playsilks? I imagine those would work nicely for various reasons. Don't forget a cuddly stuffed toy and a favorite blanket.

Definitely a travel size magna doodle!

[paulamc]

Originally Posted by JudiAU

We love CARES because it lets you use the tray table. That was the biggest help ever.

I would love to take your sister! What is CARES?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Subbing to this post since I am flying w/ my almost 1yr old in 2 days. I'll list the arsenal I've built up so far:

Lift the flap board book w/ a ton of flaps
a board book I found at Target that has pictures that slide up and down.
Freeze dried bananas and strawberries
applesauce in squeezy tube things (from Trader Joes)

I also plan on gathering a bunch of random little things and putting them in a bag or wallet of some kind. He would put things in and out of containers forever.

[vrclay]

don't underestimate the empty drink cups, a water bottle or the skymall magazine! my little guy loved them!

[MacroMama]

Here's what we have in a special travel bag that only comes out when we fly:

magna doodle
little cars
stickers (one mom rec. blue tape because it comes off easily)
books
puppet
cat toy that vibrates
spinning top
slinky
bell - yes, a bell. Annoying to the other passengers, but a lot better than a crying toddler.

I'm also planning on taking some playsilks.

Other suggestions I've heard are finger foods in interesting containers.

By the way, only some bathrooms have a place to change diapers so you may want to ask the flight attendant when you board the plan. We use night time diapers in case there is turbulence and we can't change him as often as would like.

Good luck and have fun!

[paulamc]

Thanks everyone! Here's the list I've compiled so far:

---travel magna doodle
---travel aqua doodle
---stacking cups (maybe these - not sure if they might be too big though)
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-K...0757009&sr=1-1
---mini animal puzzles
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance
---play foam
-glow sticks, the twisty kind
---haba trix toy
---discovery blocks - does anyone have these? I'm wondering if they're worth it. They seem to get mixed reviews. I was thinking these could double as an Xmas gift.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...RPVSY&v=glance
---a few books
---stickers left over from halloween, along with something to stick them on (construction paper pad)
---finger food in interesting containers - must go in search of the interesting containers now!


If it seems like a lot, keep in mind that we'll be traveling 24 hours or so, and he won't have his own seat.

Keep the ideas coming. Everyone has been so helpful!

[paulamc]

Oh, so I looked up "playsilks" on Amazon, as I wasn't familiar with them. The seem kind of expensive there - over $10 for one silk. Is there a better source?

[physmom]

We just flew today (horrible trip but the flight itself was great, long story...). Anyways, DD is really getting into pretend play and has a little baby dolll that she carries around and played with that for quite a bit. We also REALLY lucked out because of DH's medallion status. They put us in the first row (3 seats together) and she even had a bassinet to sleep in.

Basically, we let her run back and forth between us for awhile. We also let her bother the other passangers (they all seem to love her giggling at them, so I let her) and then she slept over half the flight because night flights seems to work the best for us. Also, lots of snacks were a HUGE lifesaver for us. We didn't bring along many toys just:

her doll
manga doodle, which we lost on the plane
minature ball

Since we don't let DD watch TV at all she has zero patience for that although she did stare up at the screen for a minute or so at a time. She was, however, very fasicnated with the headphones and the buttons on the side of the arm chair. We also played a lot with the plastic cups they give you (we talked into them, put them on our heads or ears) and the blankets (peekaboo is always a lifesaver).

[MamaPhD]

We've only gone on one short trip (1 hr flight), but these are some of my 12 mo DD's favorite toys that are small, cheap, and entertaining.

*Travel fold-up mirror/brush: like this but you can get one at Target for $1.
http://www.letravelstore.com/711_123.html

*Books/kids magazine: we have a box of hand-me-down children's magazine that are small, thin, and has a lot of different things inside (pictures of animals, people, drawing, etc.) Also DD LOVES any books especially touch/feel books.

*Musical greeting cards: it can get a little annoying so must choose carefully which song you don't mind listening to 40x in a row, but DD loves opening/closing the cards and listening to the songs. great space-saving musical toy!!! used to be $5 but now they sell small ones for $3.

*airplane tray itself: put things on it, fold it up/down!

*small tin cookie can: DD loves opening/closing it. We hide a small stuffy in it, she opens it, etc. Also can be used to bang onto itself (lid to body) for percussion.

*small travel facial cream jar: I keep my old cosmetics jars. DD is fascinated by opening the jar by rotating the lid (as opposed to pulling like the tin can)! Also mine has a shiny gold lid (Estee Lauder) and she likes it.

*zippers on anything (bag/sweater/etc): DD loves pulling down zippers.

Have a safe trip!
-Sue :-)

[blizzard_babe]

Just did a cross-country flight (split into several legs). Here were the contents of DS's little backpack...

*several matchbox vehicles
*our Nintendo DS (he loves to hit random stuff with the stylus )
*my iPod Nano, loaded with YouTube videos of stuff he loves... planes taking off, moose, dogs, etc. We also don't do TV, but these are things we KNOW he loves
*pad of paper and crayons. ETA: These were in one of those slide-zipper ZipLoc bags, and I discovered that the bag itself was a toy... all the fun of mommy's hoodie zipper without annoying mommy nearly as much!
*goldfish crackers
*his favorite books, which mysteriously "disappeared" two weeks before we left and we somehow magically found in his backpack on the plane
*an exciting new sippy cup
*a mini stuffed animal
*this weird wooden turtle toy we have (the legs and head flip under it and are all held in place by an elastic cord... hard to describe but he likes it for some strange reason)

We go for quantity over quality on this stuff. Other than the Nintendo DS and the iPod, it's all stuff that, if it fell under the seat or got lost in the craziness of deplaning, is no great loss. Think of small household items that your DS can immerse himself in.

[sharr610]

Ditto on stickers. Also, a container that small balls or something can be put in and dumped out again and again is helpful.
We flew with DS with limited toys from West Africa back to the states at exactly that age, and, honestly, he was more into the people than anything. I didn't have to worry about the distractions when flying until he reached 18 months.

[slgt]

One key is to make sure the toys are new or long-forgotten. Novelty is a HUGE factor!

The only new thing I have to add is that i got a dress-up doll - with buttons, zipper, etc. (Dressy Bessy?) for DD for a solo car trip I did with her.

The other thing to remember is that sometimes, your LO might just need quiet. Walking up & down the aisle, etc.

Bring hand sanitizer!!!

[calpurnia]

stickers, snacks & a small box with pom poms to put in, take out, hide, find etc...

[wembles]

We've done 4 round trip flights with a layover each time with my almost one year old son...things we've found that worked:

• a puppet: feed it, make it talk, have it eat pieces of the sky mall magazine, etc.
• Rip out pages of Sky Mall--at least 10 minutes
• Have you seen those thin foam pieces you can buy in the craft section of any store? We cut one into shapes and then dipped them in water on the plane and stuck them to the window (a small mirror would also work if you don't have a window seat...)
• Books with flaps, pop ups, or moving pieces
• Sippy cup and finger foods
• We tried out those magic markers that only color on the special paper (by Crayola). My son was a bit young for them, but your kiddo might be old enough that they'd hold his interest. And you wouldn't have to worry about him coloring on the seats or tray table.
• We brought sanitation wipes and wiped down the seat arms, tray table, and window as soon as we sat down.

Good luck!

[ChinaDoll]

great ideas here

we also took magnets in an altoids box - you can find magnetic paper dolls, but this was cheap

buttons threaded on a string

pipe cleaners

little plastic animals

a little mirror

triangular crayons if you can find them, they don't roll off the tables

a tape measure - I found one in a sewing kit that was fabric and made a little click when pulled out, retracted with just a touch - HOURS of fun

post it notes - seriously, stick them everywhere, throw them away at the end

check the birthday party favor section at your local store for other ideas

wrap everything for more novelty factor (we used aluminum foil so it could be unwrapped/rewrapped by security if needed)