How to survive a plane trip with a child

Travelling with active children can be really challenging. Our first flight when Anton was 9 months old ran very smoothly since he was sleeping. At 2.6 I had to deal with the question of entertainment more seriously. We don't give gadgets to our child so I had to think about other activities. I packed lots of toys but some of them turned out to be useless. I will describe which toys saved us during 4-hour flight.

I should have left at home all the puzzle games, bingo, and mosaic because small parts kept falling on the floor. Moreover Tony was so overexcited that it was virtually impossible to concentrate. Books with lots of text didn't come in handy. 

What was really useful?

1. Sticker books were a smash hit. I took some books on different topics. They are much less messy than playdoh or paints, not to say that Tony is not really into arts. We also attached "plane" stickers on the window. It was so much fun! 

2. Hot Wheels cars and a mini track on the cardboard. Small cars don't occupy too much space but offer a wide range of activities: racing, sorting, and roleplays. We took emergency vehicles, building trucks, and public transport so it was possible to roleplay putting out fires, saving people after car crashes, building houses, etc.

3. Lego Duplo or other types of construction. 5-8 details were enough to build variations of cars and trucks.

4. Look and find books or other books with many illustrations. A child can spot different objects and make stories based on the pictures.

5. Fingerplays and songs. I had to learn them in advance and then perform them during our flight. Here are two interesting examples.

I'm a Little Airplane (written by Leanne Guenther)

I’m a little airplane, way up high, (Hold hand up to forehead to shade eyes looking into the sky and point with another hand)
With my great big silver wings, watch me fly! (Hold arms out like wings and tilt them side to side)
When the pilot tells me, I’ll come down, (Hold hands over both ears like you’re holding the radio headphones (earmuffs) pilots wear)
Swooping and gliding, to the ground. (Hold arms out like wings and spin in a circle, then kneel on the ground).

We Are Flying (tune: Frere Jacques) 

We are flying, we are flying 

Up so high, up so high. 

See the fluffy white clouds, See the sparkly sunshine 

In the sky, in the sky. 

We are flying, we are flying 

Round and round, round and round. 

See the tiny houses, See the tiny people 

On the ground, on the ground

Источник: https://hcplonline.org/downloads/newsletter-05-14.pdf

6. Sweets or cookies of various shapes. You can eat them, look at them and play.

7. Favourite stuff toys. We put a little teddy bear to sleep and fed him.

8. Game "Lift". If you have a window seat, lift and lower a window blind to make the lift go up and down. You can also stick "passengers".

9. Game "Barrier gate". Children can't sit for a long time so you can play a game. Block the way with your hand and let a child pass if he says his name or answers other questions.

Have a nice trip and the children are engaged in their favorite activities!