HELP -- ideas for a 5hr plane ride! - Page 2

[Hoopin' Mama]

subbing - flying to Hawaii in a few weeks.

[alaskaberry]

I kept my 3 yr old up for as long as possible (or wake your kids up super early) before the flight. He slept through most of it. I also packed a travel doodle, bendaroos, and some small books to read in-flight. Another option is renting a dig-E player (the mini movie players)...yeah it's cartoons but it keeps them quiet. Don't forget plenty of yummy snacks! Airport food is ick.

(We traveled recently, 1 way 9 hrs, the other way 16, although we did change planes more than once)

[eepster]

Originally Posted by Kivgaen

An excellent idea! Thank you, I wouldn't have thought to wrap them up. The un-wrapping part will add an extra 5-10 minutes. I should cover all of them up completely with tape to make the unwrapping even more time consuming

The airline didn't get concerned with any of the wrapped items?

I wouldn't wrap anything. Just b/c something went through security unchecked once doesn't mean it will go smoothly for you.

DS loves Dover little activity books. They are small enough to fit in a pocket.

When we took 3 1/2 yo DS on a long train ride that left early in the morning recently, we dressed him in his PJs for the trip.

I'm sure it varies from airport to airport, but many I've seen have indoor playground areas by the gates.

Don't try to get in breakfast before you leave, just pack the kids in the car still asleep, that way breakfast at an airport restaurant can be an activity in and of itself (expect to pay 3 times what you normally would though.)

[TiredX2]

Moved to The Childhood Years

[jtbuko]

Looks like you have gotten lots of great advice. All I have to add is don't bring silly putty! Seemed like a good idea once, but I think I was temporarily insane...

[Kivgaen]

What do you do when everything you bring turns out to be complete failures?

I mean, you bring something, and they get bored with it quickly, or just don't seem interested in what you got for them.

Are there any games that you can play (I liked the counting seats idea!) that doesn't involve actually BRINGING something? What about child-parent interactive games?

I spy...
count airline seats...
what do you see in the clouds...

etc.

Any other ideas for those when-nothing-else-is-working moments?

[aelf]

When nothing else is working, we tell stories. When my daughter was about 2, they were very simple. "Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She sat in a chair. The end!" (Mine would be a bit more complicated, but only after we'd gone back and forth a few times and she'd gotten the hang of it.) Now that she's 6, the stories can be quite complicated. We can also take turns starting one and letting the other person add, and so on. "Once upon a time, there was a little girl and she went for a walk in the woods. While she was walking she saw ..." next person's turn!

We also play thumb wars. Rock paper scissors. We make bunny rabbit ears with our fingers and hop little bunny rabbits everywhere. We use our fingers are puppets and put on little plays (think The Shining, but not creepy ). We play guessing games. We play hide and seek (this is legacy from when she was a baby and toddler. I guess all sorts of ridiculous places she could be hiding. Is she in my book? Nope, not there. Is she under the seat? Nope, not there. And then finally I find her. At 6, she still thinks it's fun, but probably only because of it being a traditional "trapped in a seat" game for us).

[mamatoablessing]

Originally Posted by Kivgaen

What do you do when everything you bring turns out to be complete failures?

I mean, you bring something, and they get bored with it quickly, or just don't seem interested in what you got for them.

Are there any games that you can play (I liked the counting seats idea!) that doesn't involve actually BRINGING something? What about child-parent interactive games?

I spy...
count airline seats...
what do you see in the clouds...

etc.

Any other ideas for those when-nothing-else-is-working moments?

Our "go to", "nothing else is working", things are:

food - maybe even some M&M's or other fun foods that are a very special treat

cell phones/camera - the kids love to play with our cell phones (iphone so we have some kids apps on there for them) and our digital camera. They can take pictures of anything and everything for hours, I swear.

[Kivgaen]

Originally Posted by aelf

When nothing else is working, we tell stories. When my daughter was about 2, they were very simple. "Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She sat in a chair. The end!" (Mine would be a bit more complicated, but only after we'd gone back and forth a few times and she'd gotten the hang of it.) Now that she's 6, the stories can be quite complicated. We can also take turns starting one and letting the other person add, and so on. "Once upon a time, there was a little girl and she went for a walk in the woods. While she was walking she saw ..." next person's turn!

We also play thumb wars. Rock paper scissors. We make bunny rabbit ears with our fingers and hop little bunny rabbits everywhere. We use our fingers are puppets and put on little plays (think The Shining, but not creepy ). We play guessing games. We play hide and seek (this is legacy from when she was a baby and toddler. I guess all sorts of ridiculous places she could be hiding. Is she in my book? Nope, not there. Is she under the seat? Nope, not there. And then finally I find her. At 6, she still thinks it's fun, but probably only because of it being a traditional "trapped in a seat" game for us).

I need a bit more explanation for "guessing games". What sort of guessing games would you play with a 3 year old?

[aelf]

The guessing games could be "I'm thinking of a number. It is bigger than 1, but smaller than 5. What number is it?" My daughter was probably 4 before she stopped shifting what number she was thinking of Or think of a color, an activity, a season, etc. Or I'd use my finger to write a letter or number on her arm, and have her guess what I wrote. Or I'd put a penny in one fist, present her with both closed fists, and she'd guess which one had the penny in it. Then she'd do it to me.

Related to this, we'd also make funny faces at each other and try to copy them. Sort of an "I bet I can make a face so crazy you won't be able to copy it!" thing.

[Kivgaen]

Originally Posted by aelf

The guessing games could be "I'm thinking of a number. It is bigger than 1, but smaller than 5. What number is it?" My daughter was probably 4 before she stopped shifting what number she was thinking of Or think of a color, an activity, a season, etc. Or I'd use my finger to write a letter or number on her arm, and have her guess what I wrote. Or I'd put a penny in one fist, present her with both closed fists, and she'd guess which one had the penny in it. Then she'd do it to me.

Thanks again !

I'm so stressed... only 31 hours until my flight. I have soooo much to do tomorrow

[proudmamanow]

This is such a a great thread. We will be flying across the country with 22 month old dd2 and 4.5 yo dd1 in a few weeks, and then will be staying with friends for 10+ days, so I'm looking for LOTS of similar ideas.
My thoughts so far:
stickers!!!! They both love 'em, and happily dd2 doesn't eat them anymore.
I will be bringing my ipod touch and will download some cool new games. (Dd1 has actually requested that I bring it on the plane, lol...you can play all the games without internet access.)
We are flying Air Canada, which I think also has tv in the seats. This will also be helpful for both girls.
Dd1 LOVES workbooks which is great, so hopefully she will work away on some.
We all love books on tape, so we may dig out a portable cd player with earphones...hopefully this will go through security okay?
Not sure what to do about snacks, dd2 has multiple food sensitivities to pretty much anything you can think of (dairy, gluten, soy, eggs etc.) so we will have to bring our own food. We will bring empty water bottle for them to fill.

I will definitely start stocking up from the dollar store on new books etc.

Great thread!