Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Good toy recommendation for a LONG flight

Next we're taking a really, really long flight with DD (16+ hours). I was wondering if anybody had any good toy recommendations for it? It needs to be something not too big (or noisy) but that can still occupy her for hours.

She's happiest with toys for kids about 12-24 months old. Although she has a few toys for 3 yrs+. Just can't have any little pieces!

Wikkistix!
www.wikkistix.com

Wow. Wish you luck with this, you are so brave.

This might sound lame, but if she will wear a headset I would get a small dvd/cd player and bring discs of shows she'll watch like blues clues or something, and also music she likes. Be prepared to take a lot of walks up and down the aisle... (is she walking?)

Hi newmom! Boy I would not want to be in your shoes. I could not imagine a flight that long for myself, let alone my toddler.

How old is your DD? I second chris' recommendation of a personal DVD player or a laptop but it really depends on her age and personality. When I fly with my DD (She has been flying since before age 2)we take a tiny laptop for some movies and some new books she hasn't read yet. We also take a doodlepro mini travel size so we can draw and write. This is what keeps her occupied during the flights but we are talking 3-4 hour flights, nothing like what you describe.

Is this her first flight? We also take little snacks for her to eat during take off and landing so she can keep her ears open. Really works.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. If I can think of anything else I will be sure to post.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions so far! DD is 8months. She is walking a bit (just started taking her first steps this week) and can walk well while holding on to one of our hands.

She's flown actually a number of times before (this will be her 5th flight!) but after how horribly the last one went we want to be prepared. Plus, she wasn't walking last time...

I really like the idea of the doodle pro, I think that's something she'd love, thanks!

Hi,

Not sure if your child enjoys books? For a (short by comparison) flight with DS then 10 mo we photocopied all of his books into one manageable binder. That worked great.

I wished we'd had a larger variety of snack foods, prepackaged in lots of little snack baggies so as to avoid fishing around while trying to also hold him. Also wish we had cut off food at the snack times ahead of being totally full. It broke the trip into sections by having it be time to eat more frequently than at home.

Good luck!

Polly

Yep, DD is already a little book worm. That's a great idea, thanks! We're trying to travel pretty light so that will cut back on the weight of board books.

We've did some pretty long flights with our kids when they were babies - the longest was 21 hours with a 3 month old and 23 month old - and yes, it was long! As you've flown before I'm sure you are aware that the biggest deal will probably be ear issues. I absolutely loved it when we bought a carseat/stroller that was approved for some airlines. (Always check this - but when it worked, it was worth it's weight in gold!)
Regarding games etc. I think the best thing is a bunch of different items that you can bring out as 'new' as the journey progresses. I'm not usually one for dollar stores, but buying cheap puzzles, books etc, which won't be a great loss if they're ruined or lost, helped a lot. Good luck.

I will quadruple the wikki stix recommendation!

Other things we did- I bought tiny stickers and covered DS's arms with them- then gave him a piece of paper to put them on. It would take him a good 30 min to peel off all the little stickers and put them on the paper! Post-it notes are fun too.

I used to buy a bunch of stuff at the dollar store and wrap it up like a present. He could open a new one every hour or when a meltdown was about to begin. Scotch tape is also a favorite on plane flights! Triangle crayons are still a big hit even at 6, because they won't roll off the tray tables.

We also loaded lots of Disney read-along stories onto the iPod and brought a DVD player.

DS is now 6 1/2 and has probably flown 30 times... maybe even more? He just plops into the seat now, buckles, puts on his headphones and grabs a lollipop. It does get easier!

First does she have her own seat or not? If she does, bring her carseat for her to sit and nap. DD flies incredibly well and I'm always overly prepared. We have her favorite blanket, new and old books, new toys, paper and few pens. DD started to draw at that age so maybe it would work for your DD. Lot of snacks. I second stickers, she is so young maybe try to find really big ones and easy to peel like wall stickers. Absolutely try to have her watch DVDs, maybe something with songs like Barney. She would not have to understand what is happening to enjoy it.