4 hour plane journey with 20 month old...tips please!

[verity07]

Hi,

We're off to Tenerife with our 20 month old son soon. Wondered if anyone had any tips for keeping him happy?

Hopefully he'll sleep for some of it and we're taking our iPad, some new books and a sticker set. But any toys/activity books you'd recommend?

Thanks

Buy some new stuff along those lines and don't let him have it until you are actually on the flight. New stuff always has more mileage than toys they are already familiar with!

Sticker books, pop up books (that Usborne farmyard hide & seek got us through 3 hours of one flight!), easy puzzle type games. By the time he's munched on some snacks (take snacks!), had some milk, napped a bit you'll be home and dry.

And relax. It's fab that you're preparing so well in advance, the flight will be fine!

Thanks Kooza - will hide away some new bits for him! Really looking forward to some sunshine

I did a 4 hr plane journey with my DS when he was 21 mths. He was quite an easy toddler, in that he liked stories read to him, so we took some Thomas the Tank Engine comics to look at (not the end of the world if they get torn or lost) and are easy to fold up into a pocket quickly if you are using them as a distraction in queues. There are quite a lot of toddler comics around, and often have free toys on the front.

I found that between eating and snoozing, the time could go quite quickly. Try and let him have a little 'walk' down the plane gangway too, you might have to change a nappy at some point which gives you a good opportunity.

He does like comics so I'll stock up on a few! He'll love walking up and down the gangway...maybe a little too much

Thanks for the suggestions!

A portable DVD player was the best thing we ever bought. Also very handy for when you are dining out at night and little one just needs to chill.

Also the Colour Wonder sets that mean they can scribble away without getting covered in ink.

Plenty of carbs before flight and no caffeine foods like chocolate.

Good luck. IME that is the worst age to travel. Sorry!

When DD was a year younger than that I flew single handed to Sydney with her and she was great.

A year older and we could travel that far no problem.

But, oh dear, at that almost two stage we had the mother and father of all meltdowns on a short flight to the Channel Islands and became the most hated people on the plane.

Spend the whole 4 hours thinking how glad you are you aren't going to fucking Australia.