Tips for a 12hr flight to Seattle with 4 yr old and 7 yr old

[ruthydd]

My brother in law is flying long haul next week with his 2 kids, aged 7 & 4. Any helpful tips much appreciated e.g. what to take on board to keep them entertained. He's flying BA. Are they quite good with kids anyhow ?

Anyone ?

They'll spend most of the time watching the seatback TVs. Puzzle books,

I wouldn't say BA are any better or worse with children than any other airline I've flown with. They're Ok but I wouldn't call them spectacular (ie they don't take your child away and entertain them). They'll get a goody bag which might keep them occupied for an hour or 2, the seat back TV will work for a few more hours, puzzles/stories take care of another couple. Um... snacks. Maybe something you wouldn't ordinarily let them have

Nothing small that can be dropped.

plain paper and pens cover a variety of entertainment opportunities.

Have been flying 9 hour trips with dd (age 5.5) since she was tiny. I take along a "toy suitcase" that slides under the seat in front of us that contains pens/pencils, colouring books, sticker books, activity books (connect the dots, what's wrong with this picture, etc), small plastic animals (most recently it was dinosaurs), a few small games, etc. All are either specially purchased for the trip, or are "travel only" toys that she only plays with when we fly - that way there's maximum "novelty" value.

At Christmas I also got her a handheld computer game thing that is sort of a junior gameboy - again this is a "travel only" toy, so it's a real treat for her to play with. I'm also thinking she is now getting old enough to consider a portable cd player for books on tape, or children's music. Final activity suggestion - hope that he's lucky enough to be on a flight that shows at least one movie that will keep the children absorbed for a bit.

Would also advise him to take along some food for the children - sandwiches, etc as sometimes airplane food is often unappealing to children....even when they've been provided with a "child's meal".

Good luck, it's a long time to keep them confined in a small space.

Thanks - pretty much the things I would have guessed then.

Dont know if this is too late but we got our two a cheap MP3 player and put their favourite story cds on it and some of their music - worked a treat on the plane and throughout the holiday actually!