Airplane Activities for Your Toddler

We have been jet setting with our daughter since she was 4 months old! Lucky her right? I remember that first flight wondering how I would ever survive it, but somehow we made it through! Each stage is a completely different task on how to keep them busy, but now we have it down to a science! We do not travel with our car seat, never have. If we rent a car, I rent a seat, and if we are in Mexico, well she rides in my lap or next to me in the car seat belt. She rode on my lap until we had to pay for a seat at 2 years old, but honestly, it is so much better to have her own seat. She has freedom to stand and move her legs, and usually curls up in her seat for a nap! But do whatever you find works for you and your family! 

I pack her a BACKPACK, usually her school bag, small enough for her to carry herself, but big enough to fill full of goodies. A trip to TARGET usually does the trick for me! Here is what I stuff in her backpack:

CRAYOLA MINI COLORING PAGES. These are found in the painting and coloring isle. There are a few versions of these like DORY but it comes with pages and markers to color with. If you want the mess free markers, they have those too!

Scour the dollar spot and you will find all sorts of goodies! We love these crayon packs that come with stickers, crayons and more pages to color! My daughter really just loves the stickers.

If you have any sort of handheld device, earphones are a must! These are under $20 but you can find some for less too like THESE. Bonus: Use these at restaurants too with the devices!! Sometimes it is nice to have a quiet dinner with your sig.other!

WINDOW CLINGS I think this is the most brilliant thing I have ever thought of! You can find these almost every season and they are super cheap! They stick to the windows, seat, tray table and not clothing! Plus you can rinse them off if you want to reuse them, but if not, pitch them out! Total must have for any age!

WATER WOW! Another must have! You fill up the pen with water, then you can color on the pages with no mess. Once you are done, the pages will dry, and you will be able to re-paint them over and over again! It also have several things to reveal upon "painting" the photo. 

The best of the best. The iPad. Make sure you have a good case like this one HERE. I am pro- iPad but we definitely monitor the use of it! So for things like traveling, here are some iPad tips:

1.) Download some new Apps!

2.) Download or rent a new movie for your child to watch.

3.) Put on some new music for them. We love Pandora baby Einstein radio.

4.) Load some photos of them over the years or videos of themselves in your Photos App. My daughter loves watching old videos of herself as a baby.

5.) YouTube. Ugh I have no idea why my daughter loves watching people make slime or open eggs but her eyes are glued to that screen. Hence the need for timed iPad use in our house. (only if airplane has wifi availability)

We are off to Cabo this Saturday and her bag is already packed! Don't let them peek inside the bag until they are on the airplane! That way it is all a big surprise!

We also used those Dum Dum suckers when she was younger to suck on if it seemed her ears were bothering her, but honestly it was more of a bribe 😊 She can now chew gum without getting it on everything so that is another helpful thing for her.

If you have other suggestions that you love, let me know! I am always looking for new surprises to pop inside of her bag! XOXO