Flying to New York

[TrixieVix]

We're flying to NY in May with our DS who will be just under 18 months old. What on earth can we do to keep him iccupied during a 7 hour flight? He's a really active toddler and is always on his feet, so am beginning to panic about what we're going to do with him!!

What should an 18 month old be playing with or doing by that age? I've bought him some crayons today in the hope that he'll get used to 'drawing', so will be able to scribble on the plane (not literally!!) but what else?!

Any hints/tips would be gratefully appreciated!

I tended to take a mixture of few exciting toys and old favourites. Things that have worked for us:

mini magna doodle This sort of thing great as you don't spend half the time trying to find dropped crayons and no mess potential. erasing scribbles half the fun of it. You can get cheaper smaller ones too.

Some good picture books with animal pictures vehicles etc- you can do names, noises etc

Simple small toys eg a toy car, couple of plastic animals/dinosaurs etc, particularly good are figures with bendy positionable arms and legs.

Lots of snacks, things like raisins reasonably time consuming! Having a window seat can also distract him if poss. when there's things to see.

So basic rules:
Nothing that makes a noise - it will drive you and everyone else mad.

Nothing too precious - except maybe one special cuddley.

Do let him walk up and down when appropriate - no-one will mind, people like making faces at toddlers. If they do mind - tough...better a quick wander than screaming!

Really it'll be fine! The time goes quicker than you think.

Good luck and have a great holiday!

Thanks for those tips - am worrying that I'll not enjoy the holiday because I'll be fraught from the flight. I guess preparation is the key hey?

Got to be honest - I think between 1 -2 and a half-ish yrs is the hardest time to fly with children. Under 1 yr they can bounce around on your knee, feed and sleep a lot. Over 2 and a half/3 yrs they can watch cartoons and do puzzles etc.
That said...

What time of day are you flying? If day time, I suggest trying to tire your little one out as much as possible before the flight, and walking him up and down the aisle of the plane loads in the hope that he might burn himself out and sleep a bit. Otherwise, what does he like doing at home? Does he like stories, scribbling with crayons, soft toys? Bring a rucksack stuffed with stuff to amuse him. Oh, and snacks. I am definitely all for bribery with food on long flights!

If all fails, try not to get too stressed. 7 hours isn't too bad, and I think the flight back from NY is even shorter. Good luck!

One other thing, try and get him to drink water/milk etc (from a bottle is ideal if he still has one at all) once the plane starts descent, the swallowing action will help combat ear pain.