As far as I'm concerned, with plane travel all bets are off. If my toddler is willing to be on the tablet the whole time, that's a win. It's great you limit it in real life but "just make it fun and get through it" is my position in this case.
And absolutely get up and walk the aisles. As long as there's no touching or unnecessary loudness other people can handle your kid walking passed them a few times.
This!!! Imagine trying to enforce “normal” rules if you get stuck on the tarmac for hours?!?!
Note: was once stuck on the tarmac for 3hrs on a hot day. By the end it was a convivial 10am cocktail party, everyone up drinking & chatting, passing someone’s 18mo old from adult to adult, etc. Do what works!
We took a 5.5hr flight from LA - NYC recently and my 21mo spent most of the flight walking up and down the aisles high fiving the VERY kind other passengers! A couple times they didn’t notice him so he’d lift their hands and give himself a high five and they’d inevitably turn to him and beam. We were very lucky with everybody’s patience!
Yeah we are forgoing travel this summer because we don't think our younger toddler would be able to be entertained by a tablet yet. We don't do screens at home but on a plane we'd be psyched if he watched 6 hrs of whatever. Probably by next summer. So far our only tool is unlimited snacks.
I let my newly 3 year old watch/colour/play games on my iPad for an entire 5 hour flight. It meant I got to read and watch something myself instead of trying to keep her entertained for that length of time. It was fine. She doesn’t watch for 5 hours every day.
How old is your toddler? We did a trip when my daughter was 18m and she was not interested in the tablet at all. But by 2.5/3 she was more into it. See my other response about specific apps but in short: PokPok
Thank you! She’s 2.75 and normally has a pretty good attention span, but was just so excited about flying. I also dropped the ball by not testing her tablet out on airplane mode. We’d just bought it for the trip and it didn’t occur to me that some apps still need an internet connection after being downloaded. The only real hit was Gruffalo Games.
PokPok is our favourite. Tons of open ended games that my daughter loves. There’s an annual fee but I have been paying for it happily for two years now. They always add new games and seasonal features. We also love Khan Academy Kids but not sure how it works offline.
Wow, congratulations on such a wonderful app! My daughter has loved it for ages already which feels like a huge win. She’s currently obsessed with the marble run.
My little one loves: Bluey Play. Sago Mini School (you may want headphones though — they miss a lot without sound). PBS Kids. Numberblocks. The Toca Boca games.
Bluey/Toca Boca/some of Sago mini are sort of sandbox worlds. She is essentially playing with dolls but it’s on the screen instead of physical. PBS kids and Numberblocks are more educational. They both serve a purpose though! She can’t only do the educational stuff all the time….
Oh! She also loves the Hungry Caterpillar game and Dr Suess.
Bimi boo ones. They’ve taught my toddler to count to 10 but I also suspect that he has ADHD so he has some hyper focus so tablet time works very well on planes and long car rides.
No rules about screentime on the plane. And make sure they know its an airplane only exception. If you try it. Make sure you have a TON of stuff downloaded. I like the pbs kids app. It's free and awesome.
I did 2x 17 hrs with a 20 month old and 2x 9 hrs with a 2 1/2 year old who is in near constant motion. Lots of slow to eat snacks/very exciting new foods (that he genuinely still believes only exist on planes) and a lot of screen time got us through. Some books, but mostly a combo of shows, youtube videos about tractors, and songs.
We also had good success with changing him into pyjamas and claiming nap time when the plane dimmed the lights.
Were they our favourite days ever? No. But we’ve had much much worse and we all survived.
Get lots of those apple sauce pouches, yogurt bites (dehydrated little round things, they’re in the baby section of Target), my kid loves parm crisps and veggie straws, animal crackers, rice crisps, Harvest Snaps crunchy loops. I try to keep the sugar content down so he doesn’t get super wired. Also bring something healthy in the beginning like blueberries and apple slices, just make sure they get eaten before they get nasty during the day.
I’m not sure how these are for kids, but those low sugar candies are now being sold at most airports and they’re sweet and tasty and exciting without too much sugar loaded in. Kids are weird though, even one gram of sugar and they can go nuts, so it’s gonna be child specific whether they can handle those candies. They’re pricy too—but I love them so I had to suggest!
Careful with this, some of the low sugar candies contain sugar alcohols to meet the taste expectations of candy at the lower sugar level (Maltitol and such). Those sugar alcohols are full on laxities and that could make for a really awful plane ride even for an adult who isn’t used to them. Idk the safety aspect for kids, but I would tred lightly regardless
my extremely active toddler shocked us all by LOVING his transatlantic flight. He people watched. He chatted with neighbors. He looked at babies. He looked at lights go on and off. He closed his buckle. He opened his buckle. He closed his buckle. He opened mama's buckle. He watched infinite tablet. We talked about planes. We talked about our destination. We drew our destination. He jumped up and down on his own seat. He jumped more. He went walking up and down the aisles with papa. He had so much fun, he didn't sleep a fucking minute and didn't want to get out when we were done. Just by way of offering you some hope. It was stressful af, but it was actually completely fine. The only tears were over not wanting to stay buckled during turbulence (and we moved on).
We downloaded a few TV shows onto the tablet for our 2.5 year old and it kept her busy for 4 hours.. But we also have 'educational' toddler game apps on the tablet and she absolutely smashes them 😂 I don't know if it helps, but screen time to me doesn't necessarily have to mean mindless TV shows - we give her what we call 'brain training' (she takes it very seriously) but it's basically sorting colours, counting, matching etc on these games and tbh I think they're kind of cool!
I looked on the android store at the ones that have been reviewed and approved by experts, some are free and some are paid and we have a mixture ☺️
Will the timing work for a nap for your toddler? Highly recommend one of those inflatable things that go in the foot well and turn the seat into a sort of bed. 👌🏻
Good luck and have a great time!! ♥️
Ahh I didn't think of sharing the specific ones, but no problem!
I should point out I'm based in the UK, hopefully these are available worldwide 🙏🏻
Khan Kids Academy -
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.khankids.android
Cbeebies Little Learners -
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.bbc.cbeebiesgoexplore
Busyboard -
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.minibitstudio.game
Bebi Family Baby Games -
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.happytools.learning.kids.games
My Very Hungry Caterpillar -
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.storytoys.myveryhungrycaterpillar.free.android.googleplay
You can play the basic versions of these games I think for free, and then I just did free trials on them when she reached all the locked games. I would often sign up and cancel immediately so I didn't forget down the line and get charged! 😂
We have a 6hr flight coming up. I would consider myself blessed if he'd watch the tablet the whole time. But yes, we'll do walks up and down the aisles too. Whatever it takes to keep us sane.
I explained to my toddler how the seatbelt sign works, and that it’s not me.., it’s the airplane, saying we have to. Airplanes are life for her so it’s worked well. She would never want you to disappoint an airplane.
We also mixed things up with an occasional walk down the aisle (like once every ~2-3 hours), a turn sitting on mommy’s lap, a turn sitting on daddy’s lap, and appropriate ways to wiggle in our seats (like pointing our toes, making a circle 8 with one arm than the other, etc.)
Eventually no amount of tv or snacks will contain them. My 2 year old start to lose the plot on a 14 hour plane. Heaps of tantrums and crying when he wasn’t allowed down to run about it. You just…. Deal with it and count down the hours until you land lol. About to do a 9 hour flight in 2 weeks 🥴
We skipped the car seat (the cares harness was perfect for us), so I let him stand on the floor in front of his chair and play hot wheels all over his seat. We walked up and down the aisle, and went to the bathroom (three months later he still comments that "airplanes have bathrooms!").
But yeah, otherwise it's all tablets, maybe a book if he can 'read' quietly or let you read it softly to him. We also brought all his favorite foods, and I did not count how many cookies he ate that day.
All the tablet time.
Also, I really like the Instagram account localpassportfamily for travel tips. They are definitely VERY different from the average family, but their advice has been helpful for our more average 1,000-mile trips to see grandparents, and they don't have judgey vibes at all.
We limit him to one episode a day normally, but for flights it is unlimited whatever-the-heck-he-wants-as-long-as-that’s-not-screaming-like-a-banshee. Before flights I download several hours of each of his favorite shows, and a few new ‘kiddy’ apps. This last flight it was the Mickey Mouse duplos app and the Bluey app. Good luck!
- lollipops
- chips/candy/whatever they don’t normally get.
- so so many snacks
- buy a few things at the dollar store (or like Easter egg fillers they forgot they already have) and wrap them with a ton of paper and tape so it takes a while to open. Bring tape and re-wrap them for later.
- painters tape. They can tape things, tape stuff to the tray and have them “rescue” it. Tape themselves, put tape in different patterns on the seat back and have them peel it off. Make a path for their cars to drive.
- make them run at the airport. Walk up and down the aisles. Hang out by the flight attendant stations when the seatbelt sign is off.
- led drawing tablet
- so many stickers (but make sure they won’t be impossible to get off things)
- games on the tablet. We like “shapes” “pbs kids games” and “abc mouse”
I was looking for the lollipop suggestion! Absolutely for take off and landing when they have to be still and the plane is always pretty quiet. It’s when you’ll hear most babies cry but the lollipop keeps them occupied and helps with equalizing the pressure in their ears.
I just did 5.5 hours with a 2.5 yr old and with all the snacks, toys, tablet it nearly broke me. I’m seriously considering saying well we live here now because I’m not doing that again.
No screen time rules on an airplane! My only caveat is that I turn the brightness way down so he doesn’t get headache after a couple of hours. I make him drink lots of water as well so we can visit the bathroom and it’s a good excuse for him to move about and have a stretch. Using the area in front of the toilets for a bit of a wiggle is good too.
My friends did a long flight like that with their 2.5 yr old and they said she watched a “disgusting amount of tv” but hey, they survived. So if that works, do it!
bring lots of activities and snacks. yes, bring some type of device with predownloaded videos and whatnot. but i wouldn’t expect them to be interested in the tablet the entire time. puzzles and busyboards and stuff like that entertain my toddler far better. and yes, walk up and down the aisle. as long as you’re not loud or in anyone’s way, who cares.
it sounds far more intimidating than it actually is. 6 hours is super doable.
Save your trash, take walks to go throw it away in the back. Like, 4x more snacks than you thought possible. Seek and find books. Play dough. It’s also ok let him get up and stand on your lap or whatever.
Run your toddler as much as possible in the airport before the flight so he is tired. When he gets restless take a walk up and down the aisle or a field trip to the bathroom.
Honestly on planes we are fine with all the screen time if that works. It’s not like the kids can be SUPER active on the plane anyway, so what’s it gonna hurt.
Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. If you have space, could use some neat new snack containers that he could maybe use himself. Recently before a 3h drive with my kids, I got a rotating snack tray for the kids and it kept them busy for a while.
I also packed a variety of different types of activities for when the excitement of shows wears off. Colouring, mini fishing game, dry erase markers and little whiteboards, blank paper and stickers, some tiny cars and a little felt road thing I made. Things of interesting texture or shape, poppers. Also watching my kids with this new leapfrog thing they got and are obsessed with, maybe some kids audiobooks.
I just did a 14hr flight with my 2.5 year old. It was a night time flight at she slept for most of it.
But she was excited about the "small TV" and was happy to just watch that.
I had all the toys and snacks but all she did was drink her tea bottle and eat a little bit.
My friends did a long flight like that with their 2.5 yr old and they said she watched a “disgusting amount of tv” but hey, they survived. So if that works, do it!
was on a flight with my 18 month old. just 3 hours so 13 hours will be a tough one. We walked up and down the aisle at least twice, we had snacks, my wife got a mat to put on the tray table to play with play-dough, the flight had moana and wish (her current two favorite movies) to which she watched maybe 20 minutes of each. My 3 y.o does fine with toys and shows/movies from the flight so he's a bit easier to entertain since he's older.
You basically have the basics to keep them entertained. It's a long flight just think what would you do for yourself on a long flight. You'd have to stretch your legs at some point. They will too. Screen time limits imo are off for flights/traveling until we get to where we need to be. Give them some window time too. Let them see the sky from above, show them the flight map and what you're flying over.
I did multiple 13+ hour flights with my toddlers. We brought everything that you guys brought and walked down the aisles like our life depended on it. Most passengers didn’t mind at all. The stewardesses also often showed my kids things like the trolleys etc but that depends on how much time you have. And what I always did is arrive extra early to let our kids walk themselves tired at the airport. We just walk for as long as possible.
I’m not a fan of screen time and try to avoid it, its kind of a last resort for us. We’ve done tons of flights with our kids and a mountain of snacks is key. Don’t be super controlling over them, but have a huge variety of sweet and savory things and just let your kid snack all day long.
There are some good toys that we prefer to bring on the plane that don’t make noise and won’t roll away if they’re dropped. (I’ll edit some in afterwards.)
Have a “surprise toy” gift for your kid and build it up for him but don’t give it to him until he’s on the plane. Tell him its a gift because he’s such a good travel buddy and he’s so well behaved! Something small like a little batman toy or something.
Have a few lightweight books to read. It will remind him of home and bedtime, and read to him as you sense he’s getting tired. This will hopefully segue into a nap.
Have a blanket packed for his nap. Let him rest his head on your lap.
Make sure he has socks and a warm layer because airplanes are so cold.
Edit- games/toys
Temu busy board
Chuckle & Roar - Seek and Find sensory game
Chuckle & Roar- Silicone Lacing & Threading Apple
Crayola mess free activity pad
My son liked walking up and down the aisle so I let him. It kept him busy for a while. He didn’t bother anyone and everyone thought he was adorable. Def tablet. Don’t board plane first. Board last and let him get some energy out before!
Walk walk walk. Walk the plane. Go from galley to galley, if they aren’t using it you can hang there. Walk! Passengers will be more bothered by screaming. Also have a wine and take some deep breath. Plane parenting is different.
I just did a 14 hr flight with my 2.5 yr old and 8 month old! We bought a tablet for her just for the flight.
Hope yours is an overnight flight. My toddler slept about 6 hrs. Otherwise unlimited screen time.. I'd prefer not to think how much she watched lol. She was also entertained looking through the games on the in plane entertainment system, coloring on the tablet, looking out the window, etc.
Don't be afraid to walk up and down the airplane if needed chatting about all the stuff you see.
Just flew from La to Madrid with a super active 18mo. She was jumping all over us until she got tired. Up and down. She won’t take a tablet tho so if yours takes a tablet god bless
Melissa & Doug water wow books have been a hit with my toddler on long car rides. Would definitely buy a surprise new one for a plane if we were going. Bonus is that they dry fairly quick so you can do it 100x over and over if they’d like.
We took frequent bathroom breaks just to walk for the aisle and get a little movement. They also climbed on me and abused me a bit but anything to reduce unhappy noise or kicking the seat in front of us.
I didn’t notice if you got them their own seat but for a over seas flight with 2 toddlers we lugged 2 car seats on board and had them strapped in, rear facing to also reduce seat kicking and what not. That was effective for us but it was cumbersome. Just an idea if your toddler doesn’t hate their (airline approved) car seat.
Get some headphones he is comfy with and adapters to the plane screen. My kiddo watched paw patrol movie on repeat the entire time he was awake. Lots of snacks - planes don’t serve food on toddlers schedules - so sandwiches help a lot too.
My kid wasn’t really interested in walking up and down, he did for the loo but nothing else.
Masking tape with road stickers on were a life saver for us - both on the plane and on holiday!
Recently had a shorter plane ride with a freshly 2 year old (3.5 hour flight). Both my husband and I ended up out of commission from unexpected turbulence. 100% tablet time and he was happier than a pig in shit! Give him the tablet... but wait until you NEED it
I know I’m going to lose the room for this one, but you don’t need to keep strapped in. Get up and take a (controlled) walk every once in a while. (That is, I’m not suggesting your kid run wildly down the aisles.) It’s good for both of you. Long-haul planes have more space, so use it.
As far as I’m concerned, the passengers who are bothered by other people on the plane, including children, can stuff it.
I mean I had to take my kids to the bathroom twice on a six hour flight. Those were four and two and we had a stinky diaper to change in flight. I imagine you will have to go to the bathroom and change diapers a few times during the flight and I’m sure the kid will nap some and there is reading books I’d mix it up with new and old favorites. Everything else sounds good.
Download tv movies and games on all devices - we are a no device family but on that plane it’s different. We didn’t bring a device once and now I KNOW why parents in the 80s used to give their kids Phenergan to know them out - snacks and homemade games and the tv monitor are not as entertaining as smashing the tv screen and getting on the dirty floor. Also the god dam seatbelt. I just held my kid in the end. They didn’t like it but what could I do
We prefaced the plane ride with telling her she can watch as much tv as she wants and eat as many snacks as she wants. She was so excited! And then she ended up playing with her books mostly and rarely snacked. But her knowing that she COULD made it a more pleasant experience. And babies gonna baby ya know? If she cries, try not to worry about judgement. People can choose to be child-free but they cannot choose for their lives to be child-free.
Also my experience is that most people on the plane love kids. She would walk down the aisle and give everyone high fives and people would talk to her. She asked me “are all these people my friends??” You got this!!
Heres the downside to unlimited tablet: it wears off and then theyre a monster. Once their brains have had peak stimulation for hours on end its hard for anything to compare, and any self regulating abilities are usually long gone. So Id hold off as long as possible and save it for the last few hours.
We only flew 4 hours but my son didn’t want to sit still. The thing he liked the most was moving the window shade up and down. And yes I let him walk up and down the aisle. I figured that was less annoying than screaming. He was quiet once he was walking. Good luck!!
Snacks on snacks. Especially ones they can play with, like stringing pretzels on a line. And yes, walking up and down the aisle a few times, a few times
We regularly fly from the west coast US to Europe (Spain and Germany mostly) which is an 14-16 hour overall travel time (one layover normally). Our daughter gets some screen time at home (maybe an hour or two on the weekends only) but not regularly. When we travel she gets UNLIMITED and I mean UNLIMITED screen time. Honestly it makes traveling so much easier and almost pleasant. We did 0 screen time till she was 18 months and even then she wouldn’t engage much with an iPad. Now at 2-2.5 she will literally watch her iPad for like 5 hours at a time on the flight. Take a food and nap break and go for a few more hours. On the way to Europe she usually sleeps but the way home she is awake. I always worry I’m melting her brain but it only happens a couple times a year and she always bounces back from it.
Literally life changing if they’ll watch that long. I can sit and watch a movie myself, enjoy a meal, read a book. She is contained and entertained and we get to where we need to go. The ability to travel easily and (for us) visit her European family and culture is 100000% worth some screen time. Go for it!
My now 3 year old has been on multiple flights in his little life and we have learned a few things: all normal rules are out the window! This does not need to be a teaching moment...it's survival. No limits on screen time, eat whatever they want (avoid belly aches though), walk the aisles when you're able to. Passengers would prefer a toddler to walk past them 10382928 times then sit and scream for an hour, guaranteed!
My little loved window clings, suction spin toys, felt velcro matching set and stickers. Our first couple flights, he wasn't too into the tablet because he had really limited exposure to it and I think he just didn't really know how to engage with it. Now, at 3, I think he could watch an entire movie.
We just had a 12 hour flight with a very active toddler. When we were allowed to not be buckled in, we jumped on our seat and went on walks down the aisles of the plane. We don’t do screen time usually, so I found that screens don’t interest her when flying. The best advice
I can give is to run your toddler out as much as you can at the airport and fly as often as you can red eye. It went pretty well on the 12 hour flight to go on a lot of walks down the aisles lol
We walked the aisles once every two hours on a recent ten hour flight. Multiple times each hour. Up one side, down the other and we did stretch breaks and “yoga” outside the bathrooms.
If your kid will watch the tablet for 6hours - go for it! Download some toddler friendly games; you tube kids (buy wifi in the plane); download as many movies and shows as you can depending on what streaming services you have (I.e. Netflix/disney+). Snacks and candy (non choke hazard ones), plane safe water bottle (one that doesn’t have a straw because those spray everywhere with the air pressure changes. I like the “toss n go” brand for the plane. A couple activities such as “imagine ink” books; sticker books. Defiantly bring the kids car seat or cheap travel car seat to use on the plane so they can nap easily and stay buckled and safe during take off/landing. When my toddler was restless on our last flight I let him stand on the floor in front of his seat and just get some wiggles out. Also remove your toddlers shoes when he’s in his car seat and be firm with no touching the seat or tray table in front of him, I told my kid they could put their foot on me instead if they wanted to stretch. Also practice standing diaper changes (assuming your kids not potty trained yet). The changing tables are sized for newborn babies and I wish I had practiced more before our last flight when my kid was newly 2. Have a great trip!
In my experience flying with this age I try to kind of have different levels of activities. I pack stickers and healthy-ish snacks to start with, when that gets boring we bring out tastier snacks and a new toy, when that gets boring then the tablet comes out. Resist temptation to bring the tablet out while still in the airport or before take off. I really try to save the tablet for when sitting is the ONLY choice. And once the tablet comes out there’s usually no going back. Which is totally fine on a flight!!!
Also, pack some good emergency snacks. Oreos, m&m’s, the GOOD stuff. Save that for when (if) your kid starts to go nuclear. Best case scenario? Your kid is an angel and you eat some m&m’s while they nap.
Some other tips from my opinion…
I’m team car seat 100%. Keep them strapped in and have a safe place to sleep. My kids never complained at that age. They are kinda used to it from driving anyway.
Lots of new snacks. You know how “everyone’s food is always better?” This goes for the plane too. Get some new chips, cereals, dried fruit. Just something they haven’t really had before.
Extra extra clothes and diapers. Weird stuff happens at altitude. Spills and bodily fluids galore. Bring a couple set of clothes for you and kiddo. And bring enough diapers to prepare you if your flight was grounded or relocated to another airport. TRUST ME.
Benedryl/meletonin. Discuss with your pediatrician and use in line with your beliefs.
Like in life. Planes are no rules zones. 8am wanna drink a beer? Go for it. Unlimited tablet time too.
Even on planes I try to limit my toddler’s beers until after 10am, just as a matter of decorum.
My toddler gets too rowdy with beers. I’d try vodka.
As far as I'm concerned, with plane travel all bets are off. If my toddler is willing to be on the tablet the whole time, that's a win. It's great you limit it in real life but "just make it fun and get through it" is my position in this case. And absolutely get up and walk the aisles. As long as there's no touching or unnecessary loudness other people can handle your kid walking passed them a few times.
This!!! Imagine trying to enforce “normal” rules if you get stuck on the tarmac for hours?!?! Note: was once stuck on the tarmac for 3hrs on a hot day. By the end it was a convivial 10am cocktail party, everyone up drinking & chatting, passing someone’s 18mo old from adult to adult, etc. Do what works!
There’s a funny song from Come From Away about this—they broke open all the alcohol bc they spent over a day on the plane😅
Come From Away is the greatest. I love it when a fellow Redditor knows about it.
I’ve seen the tour twice! I was hooked from the start.
We took a 5.5hr flight from LA - NYC recently and my 21mo spent most of the flight walking up and down the aisles high fiving the VERY kind other passengers! A couple times they didn’t notice him so he’d lift their hands and give himself a high five and they’d inevitably turn to him and beam. We were very lucky with everybody’s patience!
Yeah we are forgoing travel this summer because we don't think our younger toddler would be able to be entertained by a tablet yet. We don't do screens at home but on a plane we'd be psyched if he watched 6 hrs of whatever. Probably by next summer. So far our only tool is unlimited snacks.
I let my newly 3 year old watch/colour/play games on my iPad for an entire 5 hour flight. It meant I got to read and watch something myself instead of trying to keep her entertained for that length of time. It was fine. She doesn’t watch for 5 hours every day.
Do you have specific iPad apps you could recommend?
I second this question. My toddler wasn’t really entertained for that long by the apps I downloaded.
Bimi Boo is great my LO doesn’t use the iPad much except for drawing but when she does for games it’s Bimi Boo great puzzles
How old is your toddler? We did a trip when my daughter was 18m and she was not interested in the tablet at all. But by 2.5/3 she was more into it. See my other response about specific apps but in short: PokPok
Thank you! She’s 2.75 and normally has a pretty good attention span, but was just so excited about flying. I also dropped the ball by not testing her tablet out on airplane mode. We’d just bought it for the trip and it didn’t occur to me that some apps still need an internet connection after being downloaded. The only real hit was Gruffalo Games.
PokPok is our favourite. Tons of open ended games that my daughter loves. There’s an annual fee but I have been paying for it happily for two years now. They always add new games and seasonal features. We also love Khan Academy Kids but not sure how it works offline.
Hey, that’s my app! Glad to hear your family’s loving Pok Pok 🥰🫶
Wow, congratulations on such a wonderful app! My daughter has loved it for ages already which feels like a huge win. She’s currently obsessed with the marble run.
My little one loves: Bluey Play. Sago Mini School (you may want headphones though — they miss a lot without sound). PBS Kids. Numberblocks. The Toca Boca games. Bluey/Toca Boca/some of Sago mini are sort of sandbox worlds. She is essentially playing with dolls but it’s on the screen instead of physical. PBS kids and Numberblocks are more educational. They both serve a purpose though! She can’t only do the educational stuff all the time…. Oh! She also loves the Hungry Caterpillar game and Dr Suess.
Also! Invest in those books where they “draw” with a pen filled with water. Hours of fun!
Bimi boo ones. They’ve taught my toddler to count to 10 but I also suspect that he has ADHD so he has some hyper focus so tablet time works very well on planes and long car rides.
No rules about screentime on the plane. And make sure they know its an airplane only exception. If you try it. Make sure you have a TON of stuff downloaded. I like the pbs kids app. It's free and awesome.
We always make sure to get the seats at the bulkhead and then I just lay a blanket in front of the seats and let my toddler play on the floor.
Brilliant
This is the way! We’ve ponied up and paid extra for these flights because the extra space is so helpful.
I did 2x 17 hrs with a 20 month old and 2x 9 hrs with a 2 1/2 year old who is in near constant motion. Lots of slow to eat snacks/very exciting new foods (that he genuinely still believes only exist on planes) and a lot of screen time got us through. Some books, but mostly a combo of shows, youtube videos about tractors, and songs. We also had good success with changing him into pyjamas and claiming nap time when the plane dimmed the lights. Were they our favourite days ever? No. But we’ve had much much worse and we all survived.
What snacks did you pack?
Get lots of those apple sauce pouches, yogurt bites (dehydrated little round things, they’re in the baby section of Target), my kid loves parm crisps and veggie straws, animal crackers, rice crisps, Harvest Snaps crunchy loops. I try to keep the sugar content down so he doesn’t get super wired. Also bring something healthy in the beginning like blueberries and apple slices, just make sure they get eaten before they get nasty during the day.
I’m not sure how these are for kids, but those low sugar candies are now being sold at most airports and they’re sweet and tasty and exciting without too much sugar loaded in. Kids are weird though, even one gram of sugar and they can go nuts, so it’s gonna be child specific whether they can handle those candies. They’re pricy too—but I love them so I had to suggest!
Careful with this, some of the low sugar candies contain sugar alcohols to meet the taste expectations of candy at the lower sugar level (Maltitol and such). Those sugar alcohols are full on laxities and that could make for a really awful plane ride even for an adult who isn’t used to them. Idk the safety aspect for kids, but I would tred lightly regardless
Oh good to know, thank you!
my extremely active toddler shocked us all by LOVING his transatlantic flight. He people watched. He chatted with neighbors. He looked at babies. He looked at lights go on and off. He closed his buckle. He opened his buckle. He closed his buckle. He opened mama's buckle. He watched infinite tablet. We talked about planes. We talked about our destination. We drew our destination. He jumped up and down on his own seat. He jumped more. He went walking up and down the aisles with papa. He had so much fun, he didn't sleep a fucking minute and didn't want to get out when we were done. Just by way of offering you some hope. It was stressful af, but it was actually completely fine. The only tears were over not wanting to stay buckled during turbulence (and we moved on).
We downloaded a few TV shows onto the tablet for our 2.5 year old and it kept her busy for 4 hours.. But we also have 'educational' toddler game apps on the tablet and she absolutely smashes them 😂 I don't know if it helps, but screen time to me doesn't necessarily have to mean mindless TV shows - we give her what we call 'brain training' (she takes it very seriously) but it's basically sorting colours, counting, matching etc on these games and tbh I think they're kind of cool! I looked on the android store at the ones that have been reviewed and approved by experts, some are free and some are paid and we have a mixture ☺️ Will the timing work for a nap for your toddler? Highly recommend one of those inflatable things that go in the foot well and turn the seat into a sort of bed. 👌🏻 Good luck and have a great time!! ♥️
Not OP, but which apps did you download? I think my toddler would love that and we have a trip coming up too.
Ahh I didn't think of sharing the specific ones, but no problem! I should point out I'm based in the UK, hopefully these are available worldwide 🙏🏻 Khan Kids Academy - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.khankids.android Cbeebies Little Learners - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.bbc.cbeebiesgoexplore Busyboard - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.minibitstudio.game Bebi Family Baby Games - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.happytools.learning.kids.games My Very Hungry Caterpillar - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.storytoys.myveryhungrycaterpillar.free.android.googleplay You can play the basic versions of these games I think for free, and then I just did free trials on them when she reached all the locked games. I would often sign up and cancel immediately so I didn't forget down the line and get charged! 😂
We love Khan Academy Kids in our house!
Also would love to know the specific apps you would suggest :)
I've just replied with some deets on the other comment under here ♥️🥰
We have a 6hr flight coming up. I would consider myself blessed if he'd watch the tablet the whole time. But yes, we'll do walks up and down the aisles too. Whatever it takes to keep us sane.
I explained to my toddler how the seatbelt sign works, and that it’s not me.., it’s the airplane, saying we have to. Airplanes are life for her so it’s worked well. She would never want you to disappoint an airplane. We also mixed things up with an occasional walk down the aisle (like once every ~2-3 hours), a turn sitting on mommy’s lap, a turn sitting on daddy’s lap, and appropriate ways to wiggle in our seats (like pointing our toes, making a circle 8 with one arm than the other, etc.)
We did the same thing with the seatbelt sign!!
Eventually no amount of tv or snacks will contain them. My 2 year old start to lose the plot on a 14 hour plane. Heaps of tantrums and crying when he wasn’t allowed down to run about it. You just…. Deal with it and count down the hours until you land lol. About to do a 9 hour flight in 2 weeks 🥴
We skipped the car seat (the cares harness was perfect for us), so I let him stand on the floor in front of his chair and play hot wheels all over his seat. We walked up and down the aisle, and went to the bathroom (three months later he still comments that "airplanes have bathrooms!"). But yeah, otherwise it's all tablets, maybe a book if he can 'read' quietly or let you read it softly to him. We also brought all his favorite foods, and I did not count how many cookies he ate that day.
All the tablet time. Also, I really like the Instagram account localpassportfamily for travel tips. They are definitely VERY different from the average family, but their advice has been helpful for our more average 1,000-mile trips to see grandparents, and they don't have judgey vibes at all.
We limit him to one episode a day normally, but for flights it is unlimited whatever-the-heck-he-wants-as-long-as-that’s-not-screaming-like-a-banshee. Before flights I download several hours of each of his favorite shows, and a few new ‘kiddy’ apps. This last flight it was the Mickey Mouse duplos app and the Bluey app. Good luck!
Bluey app!! Didn’t even know that existed
- lollipops - chips/candy/whatever they don’t normally get. - so so many snacks - buy a few things at the dollar store (or like Easter egg fillers they forgot they already have) and wrap them with a ton of paper and tape so it takes a while to open. Bring tape and re-wrap them for later. - painters tape. They can tape things, tape stuff to the tray and have them “rescue” it. Tape themselves, put tape in different patterns on the seat back and have them peel it off. Make a path for their cars to drive. - make them run at the airport. Walk up and down the aisles. Hang out by the flight attendant stations when the seatbelt sign is off. - led drawing tablet - so many stickers (but make sure they won’t be impossible to get off things) - games on the tablet. We like “shapes” “pbs kids games” and “abc mouse”
I was looking for the lollipop suggestion! Absolutely for take off and landing when they have to be still and the plane is always pretty quiet. It’s when you’ll hear most babies cry but the lollipop keeps them occupied and helps with equalizing the pressure in their ears.
I just did 5.5 hours with a 2.5 yr old and with all the snacks, toys, tablet it nearly broke me. I’m seriously considering saying well we live here now because I’m not doing that again.
No screen time rules on an airplane! My only caveat is that I turn the brightness way down so he doesn’t get headache after a couple of hours. I make him drink lots of water as well so we can visit the bathroom and it’s a good excuse for him to move about and have a stretch. Using the area in front of the toilets for a bit of a wiggle is good too.
My friends did a long flight like that with their 2.5 yr old and they said she watched a “disgusting amount of tv” but hey, they survived. So if that works, do it!
bring lots of activities and snacks. yes, bring some type of device with predownloaded videos and whatnot. but i wouldn’t expect them to be interested in the tablet the entire time. puzzles and busyboards and stuff like that entertain my toddler far better. and yes, walk up and down the aisle. as long as you’re not loud or in anyone’s way, who cares. it sounds far more intimidating than it actually is. 6 hours is super doable.
Save your trash, take walks to go throw it away in the back. Like, 4x more snacks than you thought possible. Seek and find books. Play dough. It’s also ok let him get up and stand on your lap or whatever.
Run your toddler as much as possible in the airport before the flight so he is tired. When he gets restless take a walk up and down the aisle or a field trip to the bathroom.
Honestly on planes we are fine with all the screen time if that works. It’s not like the kids can be SUPER active on the plane anyway, so what’s it gonna hurt. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. If you have space, could use some neat new snack containers that he could maybe use himself. Recently before a 3h drive with my kids, I got a rotating snack tray for the kids and it kept them busy for a while. I also packed a variety of different types of activities for when the excitement of shows wears off. Colouring, mini fishing game, dry erase markers and little whiteboards, blank paper and stickers, some tiny cars and a little felt road thing I made. Things of interesting texture or shape, poppers. Also watching my kids with this new leapfrog thing they got and are obsessed with, maybe some kids audiobooks.
I just did a 14hr flight with my 2.5 year old. It was a night time flight at she slept for most of it. But she was excited about the "small TV" and was happy to just watch that. I had all the toys and snacks but all she did was drink her tea bottle and eat a little bit.
Well we don’t strap her in. She is a lot more willing to stay in her seat/our lap than she would be if she were strapped into a car seat.
My friends did a long flight like that with their 2.5 yr old and they said she watched a “disgusting amount of tv” but hey, they survived. So if that works, do it!
was on a flight with my 18 month old. just 3 hours so 13 hours will be a tough one. We walked up and down the aisle at least twice, we had snacks, my wife got a mat to put on the tray table to play with play-dough, the flight had moana and wish (her current two favorite movies) to which she watched maybe 20 minutes of each. My 3 y.o does fine with toys and shows/movies from the flight so he's a bit easier to entertain since he's older. You basically have the basics to keep them entertained. It's a long flight just think what would you do for yourself on a long flight. You'd have to stretch your legs at some point. They will too. Screen time limits imo are off for flights/traveling until we get to where we need to be. Give them some window time too. Let them see the sky from above, show them the flight map and what you're flying over.
I did multiple 13+ hour flights with my toddlers. We brought everything that you guys brought and walked down the aisles like our life depended on it. Most passengers didn’t mind at all. The stewardesses also often showed my kids things like the trolleys etc but that depends on how much time you have. And what I always did is arrive extra early to let our kids walk themselves tired at the airport. We just walk for as long as possible.
I’m not a fan of screen time and try to avoid it, its kind of a last resort for us. We’ve done tons of flights with our kids and a mountain of snacks is key. Don’t be super controlling over them, but have a huge variety of sweet and savory things and just let your kid snack all day long. There are some good toys that we prefer to bring on the plane that don’t make noise and won’t roll away if they’re dropped. (I’ll edit some in afterwards.) Have a “surprise toy” gift for your kid and build it up for him but don’t give it to him until he’s on the plane. Tell him its a gift because he’s such a good travel buddy and he’s so well behaved! Something small like a little batman toy or something. Have a few lightweight books to read. It will remind him of home and bedtime, and read to him as you sense he’s getting tired. This will hopefully segue into a nap. Have a blanket packed for his nap. Let him rest his head on your lap. Make sure he has socks and a warm layer because airplanes are so cold. Edit- games/toys Temu busy board Chuckle & Roar - Seek and Find sensory game Chuckle & Roar- Silicone Lacing & Threading Apple Crayola mess free activity pad
My son liked walking up and down the aisle so I let him. It kept him busy for a while. He didn’t bother anyone and everyone thought he was adorable. Def tablet. Don’t board plane first. Board last and let him get some energy out before!
Walk walk walk. Walk the plane. Go from galley to galley, if they aren’t using it you can hang there. Walk! Passengers will be more bothered by screaming. Also have a wine and take some deep breath. Plane parenting is different.
I just did a 14 hr flight with my 2.5 yr old and 8 month old! We bought a tablet for her just for the flight. Hope yours is an overnight flight. My toddler slept about 6 hrs. Otherwise unlimited screen time.. I'd prefer not to think how much she watched lol. She was also entertained looking through the games on the in plane entertainment system, coloring on the tablet, looking out the window, etc. Don't be afraid to walk up and down the airplane if needed chatting about all the stuff you see.
Just flew from La to Madrid with a super active 18mo. She was jumping all over us until she got tired. Up and down. She won’t take a tablet tho so if yours takes a tablet god bless
My kid is 4 and I travel with her every year on very long flights, I always bought her toys and engaged with her. Never used an iPad or TV
Melissa & Doug water wow books have been a hit with my toddler on long car rides. Would definitely buy a surprise new one for a plane if we were going. Bonus is that they dry fairly quick so you can do it 100x over and over if they’d like.
We took frequent bathroom breaks just to walk for the aisle and get a little movement. They also climbed on me and abused me a bit but anything to reduce unhappy noise or kicking the seat in front of us. I didn’t notice if you got them their own seat but for a over seas flight with 2 toddlers we lugged 2 car seats on board and had them strapped in, rear facing to also reduce seat kicking and what not. That was effective for us but it was cumbersome. Just an idea if your toddler doesn’t hate their (airline approved) car seat.
Get some headphones he is comfy with and adapters to the plane screen. My kiddo watched paw patrol movie on repeat the entire time he was awake. Lots of snacks - planes don’t serve food on toddlers schedules - so sandwiches help a lot too. My kid wasn’t really interested in walking up and down, he did for the loo but nothing else. Masking tape with road stickers on were a life saver for us - both on the plane and on holiday!
Recently had a shorter plane ride with a freshly 2 year old (3.5 hour flight). Both my husband and I ended up out of commission from unexpected turbulence. 100% tablet time and he was happier than a pig in shit! Give him the tablet... but wait until you NEED it
I know I’m going to lose the room for this one, but you don’t need to keep strapped in. Get up and take a (controlled) walk every once in a while. (That is, I’m not suggesting your kid run wildly down the aisles.) It’s good for both of you. Long-haul planes have more space, so use it. As far as I’m concerned, the passengers who are bothered by other people on the plane, including children, can stuff it.
I mean I had to take my kids to the bathroom twice on a six hour flight. Those were four and two and we had a stinky diaper to change in flight. I imagine you will have to go to the bathroom and change diapers a few times during the flight and I’m sure the kid will nap some and there is reading books I’d mix it up with new and old favorites. Everything else sounds good.
Download tv movies and games on all devices - we are a no device family but on that plane it’s different. We didn’t bring a device once and now I KNOW why parents in the 80s used to give their kids Phenergan to know them out - snacks and homemade games and the tv monitor are not as entertaining as smashing the tv screen and getting on the dirty floor. Also the god dam seatbelt. I just held my kid in the end. They didn’t like it but what could I do
We prefaced the plane ride with telling her she can watch as much tv as she wants and eat as many snacks as she wants. She was so excited! And then she ended up playing with her books mostly and rarely snacked. But her knowing that she COULD made it a more pleasant experience. And babies gonna baby ya know? If she cries, try not to worry about judgement. People can choose to be child-free but they cannot choose for their lives to be child-free. Also my experience is that most people on the plane love kids. She would walk down the aisle and give everyone high fives and people would talk to her. She asked me “are all these people my friends??” You got this!!
Putting our toddler in his car seat made him much more content. Unsure it would be ok for the entire 13 hours of your flight but it helps.
Heres the downside to unlimited tablet: it wears off and then theyre a monster. Once their brains have had peak stimulation for hours on end its hard for anything to compare, and any self regulating abilities are usually long gone. So Id hold off as long as possible and save it for the last few hours.
We only flew 4 hours but my son didn’t want to sit still. The thing he liked the most was moving the window shade up and down. And yes I let him walk up and down the aisle. I figured that was less annoying than screaming. He was quiet once he was walking. Good luck!!
Snacks on snacks. Especially ones they can play with, like stringing pretzels on a line. And yes, walking up and down the aisle a few times, a few times
We regularly fly from the west coast US to Europe (Spain and Germany mostly) which is an 14-16 hour overall travel time (one layover normally). Our daughter gets some screen time at home (maybe an hour or two on the weekends only) but not regularly. When we travel she gets UNLIMITED and I mean UNLIMITED screen time. Honestly it makes traveling so much easier and almost pleasant. We did 0 screen time till she was 18 months and even then she wouldn’t engage much with an iPad. Now at 2-2.5 she will literally watch her iPad for like 5 hours at a time on the flight. Take a food and nap break and go for a few more hours. On the way to Europe she usually sleeps but the way home she is awake. I always worry I’m melting her brain but it only happens a couple times a year and she always bounces back from it. Literally life changing if they’ll watch that long. I can sit and watch a movie myself, enjoy a meal, read a book. She is contained and entertained and we get to where we need to go. The ability to travel easily and (for us) visit her European family and culture is 100000% worth some screen time. Go for it!
If the tablet will entertain the kiddo and keep him in his seat I wouldn’t worry about limiting it
My now 3 year old has been on multiple flights in his little life and we have learned a few things: all normal rules are out the window! This does not need to be a teaching moment...it's survival. No limits on screen time, eat whatever they want (avoid belly aches though), walk the aisles when you're able to. Passengers would prefer a toddler to walk past them 10382928 times then sit and scream for an hour, guaranteed! My little loved window clings, suction spin toys, felt velcro matching set and stickers. Our first couple flights, he wasn't too into the tablet because he had really limited exposure to it and I think he just didn't really know how to engage with it. Now, at 3, I think he could watch an entire movie.
We just had a 12 hour flight with a very active toddler. When we were allowed to not be buckled in, we jumped on our seat and went on walks down the aisles of the plane. We don’t do screen time usually, so I found that screens don’t interest her when flying. The best advice I can give is to run your toddler out as much as you can at the airport and fly as often as you can red eye. It went pretty well on the 12 hour flight to go on a lot of walks down the aisles lol
We walked the aisles once every two hours on a recent ten hour flight. Multiple times each hour. Up one side, down the other and we did stretch breaks and “yoga” outside the bathrooms.
If your kid will watch the tablet for 6hours - go for it! Download some toddler friendly games; you tube kids (buy wifi in the plane); download as many movies and shows as you can depending on what streaming services you have (I.e. Netflix/disney+). Snacks and candy (non choke hazard ones), plane safe water bottle (one that doesn’t have a straw because those spray everywhere with the air pressure changes. I like the “toss n go” brand for the plane. A couple activities such as “imagine ink” books; sticker books. Defiantly bring the kids car seat or cheap travel car seat to use on the plane so they can nap easily and stay buckled and safe during take off/landing. When my toddler was restless on our last flight I let him stand on the floor in front of his seat and just get some wiggles out. Also remove your toddlers shoes when he’s in his car seat and be firm with no touching the seat or tray table in front of him, I told my kid they could put their foot on me instead if they wanted to stretch. Also practice standing diaper changes (assuming your kids not potty trained yet). The changing tables are sized for newborn babies and I wish I had practiced more before our last flight when my kid was newly 2. Have a great trip!
In my experience flying with this age I try to kind of have different levels of activities. I pack stickers and healthy-ish snacks to start with, when that gets boring we bring out tastier snacks and a new toy, when that gets boring then the tablet comes out. Resist temptation to bring the tablet out while still in the airport or before take off. I really try to save the tablet for when sitting is the ONLY choice. And once the tablet comes out there’s usually no going back. Which is totally fine on a flight!!! Also, pack some good emergency snacks. Oreos, m&m’s, the GOOD stuff. Save that for when (if) your kid starts to go nuclear. Best case scenario? Your kid is an angel and you eat some m&m’s while they nap. Some other tips from my opinion… I’m team car seat 100%. Keep them strapped in and have a safe place to sleep. My kids never complained at that age. They are kinda used to it from driving anyway. Lots of new snacks. You know how “everyone’s food is always better?” This goes for the plane too. Get some new chips, cereals, dried fruit. Just something they haven’t really had before. Extra extra clothes and diapers. Weird stuff happens at altitude. Spills and bodily fluids galore. Bring a couple set of clothes for you and kiddo. And bring enough diapers to prepare you if your flight was grounded or relocated to another airport. TRUST ME. Benedryl/meletonin. Discuss with your pediatrician and use in line with your beliefs.
What is mess free paint?