Post by rupertpenny on Nov 26, 2014 6:54:09 GMT -5
I'm flying home for Christmas and I feel like it is time to get prepared. One of our flights will be 16 hours (wilted) :drink: :? so I need a LOT of entertainment. She will be 16 months old. We've done this flight several times already, but never when she was mobile, and never when I couldn't just shove my boob in her mouth.
I have the Sandra Boynton app and all of the Peek-a-Zoo ones, but I feel like I need more. She doesn't quite get anything very interactive yet, but a lot could happen in a month right? Any apps that were a big hit with your kids?
Is 16 months too young to attempt any kind of coloring? If not, should we start practicing at home? I haven't tried stickers yet either. I'm about 50/50 on whether or not she would just eat them.
She isn't too interested in TV or movies yet (unfortunately), but on the off chance she can be distracted by the in-flight entertainment is there any such thing as baby headphones?
She will have her own seat, and we already have a CARES harness. I plan on doing a lot of aisle walking and on bringing enough gold fish to fill a kiddie pool. I am resigned to the fact that this might be one of the worst 24 hours of my life, but is there anything else I can do to prepare?
Oh, and we also purposely DID NOT book on United because they no longer offer complimentary beer and wine in economy on international flights. That was OBVIOUSLY not an option here.
Post by DarcyLongfellow on Nov 26, 2014 8:01:34 GMT -5
Definitely bring a way for her to watch TV. Try Elmo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse -- those are pretty common early favorites. Get her used to the headphones ahead of time.
Flipping through pictures on your phone.
I'd look hard for any other apps!
Coloring is huge with my 17 month old. She loves regular crayons, but she also loves her magna doodle (isn't that what it's called -- the magnetic screen with the little pen).
I'd bring so many different snacks that she could eat something new and different every half hour! Break out the big guns -- cookies, icing, chips, whatever will keep her occupied!
Stickers are probably worth trying.
Bring lots of little toys that she can play with in her seat. Do you have any Duplo blocks? My DD2 loves those, and a couple would fit easily. Also those magnetic blocks everyone was buying -- Tegu? And at this age they're still very into putting items inside something else. See if you can bring smallish containers for the toys so she can put them away and take them out.
Lots and lots of snacks,esp new stuff they haven't had before. I have never done that long of a flight with a LO but when I did fly with DS1 at that age it was tons of snacks and just rotating things. Ipad , stickers, crayons take a walk etc. Good luck!
DD likes some of the fisher price apps. She is also fascinated with movies of stuff like farm animals or other babies. She's about 20 months now and I would say she got a lot more interested in tv in the past few months, so there could be a chance.
We always have done crayons, and if you can get them try to get triangular ones so they don't roll off the tray table. Reusable stickers are the best (like these www.amazon.com/Sticker-Dolly-Dressing-Fairies-Leonie/dp/0794513913/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417011797&sr=1-1&keywords=usborne+sticker+books&pebp=1417011798868) because she could put them anywhere on the plane and they come off. Window clings and band aids are good for this too. I know some people bring playdough on planes, I never do because I think it would be a mess and at her age she may just eat it. I have heard bubbles keep kids occupied too, but not sure how everyone around you would feel about that Books, ipad, and honestly snacks. I would just let her snack whenever she wants, all rules go out the window for us when we travel so they eat way more snacks and watch way more shows than at home.
J (19 months) really likes the Wonderkind apps including My Animals and Tiny Airport. We are packing right now for a shorter plane trip tomorrow. I am downloading a movie. I picked up some favorite snacks and bought baby headphones and crayons at Target. I also picked up a few items including figurines and stickers out of the dollar bin.
Post by countthestars on Nov 26, 2014 10:27:52 GMT -5
Tessa was 16 months on our three hour flight and did really well - I don't think she knew that you can walk around in an airplane so she just sat in her seat? It was a much shorter flight though so that helped.
Some things that worked for us: ipad. She liked episodes of Elmo's world and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but also loved this dumb app Zoo Train. Basically you choose which animals you want on your train and then watch the train go. Over and over and over. I think it is free or super cheap.
Stickers!
A little zippered purse full of "treasures" - I put in some old house keys on a keychain, an old flip phone, a box full of bandaids that she could open/close/empty/fill, some figurines. I think she thought she was getting away with something since it was all "adult" things
Color wonder
Snacks
Didn't work - those stupid window clings that everyone recommends. She was too young for them - wanted to eat them.
I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard that a roll of painter's tape can entertain for long periods of time. You give the kid the roll and let her cover the tray, seat back, window, whatever she wants. Then taking it all off again and rolling it in a ball is another fun activity.
DS loves videos and pictures of himself. He also likes taking selfies or watching things around us on the phone camera (like mommy, daddy, etc.) Lift the flap books of a topic that's interesting to her. Grown up magazines with pictures of things she likes. DS likes trains/trucks so we have things like Trains magazine or Jeep catalogs that he likes to page through (and eventually rip up). My kid eats stickers, so that's more frustrating than entertaining.
We bought along those little colored puff balls you can use for crafting and put them in one of those snack cups that he has to reach into and pull each puff out one by one. He loves doing that and making a pile and then putting them all back in.
Board books are good - new ones she hasn't been exposed to.
I also brought a notepad and stickers and he would put stickers on the paper or just rip the paper up.
They do make kid headphones that don't get too loud. We bought some off amazon for our kids for flights. I'd definitely load up with videos just in case.
And lots of snacks. Maybe a Cheerios or froot loop necklace? Just string them on a piece of yarn. Makes for more interesting eating.
Definitely get stickers. They sell pads of stickers at the dollar store. Peel one off, hand it to her to put on something, peel another off etc.
Lots of books. Lots of small toys. You can wrap them up to make it take longer to get to them and add an extra activity.
DD1 colored at that age but we learned very quickly to only use triangle crayons when traveling so they didn't roll away. We also had markers for the novelty.
Post by thecatinthehat on Nov 26, 2014 14:17:29 GMT -5
I got a ton of errands to do but our 11-hr flight with an 18 month old is next week and I feel like I am not prepared. I will come back to read this later
A pad of post-it notes bought us an hour on our last flight. She loved sticking them to the tray, peeling them off, sticking them to the windows, sticking them to her shirt, etc.
Post by rupertpenny on Nov 26, 2014 19:22:33 GMT -5
Thank you all for the ideas!
Hopefully I can get a chance to go shopping soon and load up on plane friendly toys. I'm especially glad to know baby headphones exist. I hope I can find some that will ship internationally.
My 16 month old loves taking the caps on and off of markers, which keeps her occupied about as long as coloring itself does. I highly recommend the Color Wonder markers and coloring books for a flight though.