I agree bumpontheway, anything to get through it!

My daughter loves colouring in at home but on a flight it was the least on her mind with so much going on. Thankfully we had on demand tv and the iPad. The only bad thing about the iPad was the two of them fighting over it and when there was turbulence we had to put it away. My two year old didn't understand why we had to turn it off so there were a few tears (screams more like). We turned into one of those families we used to hate sitting near before we had kids! You just learn to look at no one and keep your head down, only 12 hours to go!

It's a one off flight that maybe happens once/twice a year and you do anything to get through it.............I have travelled with lot's of children in my time and by using electrical equipment such as those mentioned it has no long time lasting effect. The children just see it as a novelty that happens on a flight, also as other people have mentioned you mix it up with toys/playdough/books and crayons.

I understand the problems as much as anyone but should we really be encouraging such young children to stare at close range screens (Nintendos/Ipads/etc etc) for hours? I think that contravenes all good advice.
Sorry to be a bore but I think juliantenniscoach's advice about Crayola crayons and drawing/colouring books is by far the healthiest advice...

Plasticine was my lifesaver on a 9 hour flight, on my own, with a just turned 3yo last year! Unlike Play Doh, it doesn't crumble, and it kept her occupied for ages A pack of Crayons and plenty of paper also proved useful. I worried about it way more than I needed to, and brought way too much, though. I should have brought a lidded cup, too...but I found that out at the same time as I discovered how they deal with an entire can of lemonade being spilled on a seat at 35000ft! Snacks are a must, too, just in case they don't like the airplane food. And, if you are on a night flight, try to follow your normal routine - put PJs on them, brush teeth, bring a blanket/pillow (Yondi or Snoozihead by the Trunki people are really good) and encourage them to sleep for a bit.
Good luck - it won't be as bad as you think!

Here is what I generally pack for that age group (last time was 6 flights in 6 weeks with 2yo twins, travelling economy incl. 2 rounds of toddler gastro and 1 of diahorrhea!)....

Backpack: easy access side of front pocket
1 pack nappy wipes
1 small pack anti-bac wipes
No-spill sippy cup
Kids' plastic fork and spoon in plastic zip lock
Nappies/pull-ups - just in case
Nappy sacks (food for rubbish;nappies;sicked on clothes...)
Snack for fast grabbing e.g. Raisins, cereal bar, seed and dry-fruit mix
Plastic zip-lock of: meds, alcohol gel, calpol or nurofen sachets, diarrholyte, nappy cream/moisturiser
Identity documents

Main bag:
Big ziplock bag with one set of spare clothes, 2 spare underwear, one set light pjs (incase of severe delay)
Blanket-lightweight (airplane ones are barely steam cleaned and have horrific bacteria growing in them between each use)

Bought beforehand for main bag:
Crayola magic water pens and pad
I go to £land (though of course you have to be careful about toy safety) and similar and buy:
Sticker book
Plastic tea set
Favourite small toys in baggie e.g. Toy cars, plastic dinosaurs, dress the teddy wooden set)
Comfort item e.g. Blankie/teddy
New lightweight books esp. Gruffalo, Commotion in the Ocean variety
A magazine of eir choice in the depaure area.

New stuff I wrap up (dep. on customs) and hand out as treats/distactions etc every hour or so.

A portable DVD player is good if the onboard entertainment won't hold their attention but then you have to carry DVDs
ipads made everything soooooo much better, if you possibly can borrow or buy. Pre-loaded with kids' jigsaw puzzles, cartoons, films, books, games, educational games, photos, flashcards. Lots are free and if you ban playing on the ipad and hide it for a month before you go, it holds attention much longer as a novelty.

Bag of snacks; often planes will have. Big free selection so I don't worry too much unless there is a dietary issue.
Little bitey snacks that keep them busy...cheerios in a baggie, seeds and dried fruit (watch out for the loose tummies, I discovered the nasty effects of dried apricot in a confined space!), couple of favourites for sesperate measures.

Food: if you have a child who eats really well and mainly very healthily, with a wide variety, then airplane food sucks. It is full of sugar, chocolate, cookies and sandwiches but not a lot of filling stuff. Maybe request a grown-up meal. You can always buy something yummy in the depaure lounge too.

Have a fab time!

Definitely worth investing in children's headphones for each of them, if you're even thinking of using the in-flight entertainment system. We had a nice white pair we bought in the airport, can't remember which brand, but they were really good and included noise-reduction.

The only snag we found with the in-flight system is it tends to be touch-screen and little hands kept touching the screen, stopping the play, and then getting annoyed!

Brill ideas on here- will use in our long train journey to france

Lots of great tips. Agree iPad is great. Also have games/apps on iPhone. Peppa pig episodes went down well. My 4 yr old has an in innotab which is a bit like a kids iPad and they can do drawing etc on it. Having things in separate bags a great idea. Was about to throw out a couple of old make up bags but will keep them. Those drawstring toiletry bags from Superdrug would work well and quite cheap. If long haul is also consider buying them a toy or even just a CBeebies mag at the airport. New things always seem to capture attention more. For little ones mummies boobs are very helpful!

Bon voyage

I have travelled many times to Australia with little ones. I would agree with sticker books and snacks that you know your kids will enjoy. I'm not sure I wd bother anymore with portable DVD players as inflight services are quite extensive these days. I wd def take extra clothes and a couple of plastic bags to keep dirty/wet clothes in. It might even be sensible to keep 3.5 yo in a nappy, just in case. When packing the nappy bag I put a clean nappy inside clean nappy sack so when you take them off to change nappies you just need to grab a bag and the wipes. Just makes life a little bit easier! There is a kids play area at Singapore airport and I generally head straight for it when I get there. They also have pushchairs to borrow at the information desk.

ipad. It's all you need. I went around the world for 3 months with my 20 month old... only "toy" I brought was an ipad for the plane rides. Just download all the right games and movies. Loads of educational games too that he loves.

Thanks for all your advice everyone, will definitely take them on board

Having flown lots of short haul and long haul - My tips are all the above + Have everything in a different bag - I use old make up bags or drawstring bags - as they get excited to see what is next. The usborne sticker books are very good. A lovely new book to read with your child and an old favourite. Also make sure you have changes of clothes for both you and the children - drinks get split so easily. I again make sure i pack complete outfits all together - so can easily grap bag ( nappy bags are good for this ) change and then put wet things safely away.

A variety of snacks are also good - for using time -and chewing helps in turbulence.

My last tip is your child to wear crocs - my child always wants shoes off but when you need to get to the toilet you want easy to put on shoes. Also you can easily wash and dry is any spills.
Good luck and its never as bad as you think it will be!

Hey there, i just did a 15 hour flight with my 20 month old....as mentioned the dvd player was a god-send!!
i also bought a make bag and filled it with interesting things, "Tiger" in southside are full of bits that kids hav never seen b4 and keep them very interested.
The stickers idea is agreed defo...lotsa minutes spent putting stickers everywhere
I bought a mini sketch-a-sketch from Next which he loved.
magazines of his fave tv program are good with lots of pictures to colour and nearly always lots of stickers inside too!
Hope all goes well...dont forget the calpol, we ended up getting very sick on the way home and calpol was much needed
Hav a great holiday!

Just came home from a 10 hour flight with my 2 year old, the flight there was wonderful, believe it or not!! Definitely get the portable DVD player and all new toys, as the previous poster said, left in the new packaging. That way they can take their time looking at the package, opening it and then playing with it. I know it sounds silly but every occupied minute is a happy minute! And, hand on heart, the flight there was the fastest 10 hour flight I have ever done. Crazy, I would have thought just me and my son on a long flight would be murder, but it was lovely. One warning though, be sure to ask whether the arm rests move as the flight back was not so good (and my other half was with me on the way back) because he could not get comfortable enough to sleep or play.

Hi

We took a leapfrog tag pen and a couple of books for our youngest once and it kept him and his brother happy for the flight and most of the holiday! They can 'read' the story to themselves with the pen, and they could touch the pen on any of the pictures to get more information, and do puzzles and extra bits on each page. I'd thoroughly recommend it. I thought that the noise might annoy other passengers but you could barely hear it above the general plane noise, so no problems there.