Toys to take on 20+ hour flight? Post Reply

[moops]

Hello again!

First of all, well done on being so brave!! I flew to Australia alone with my then 16 month old Son last year so I know what it is like! I also took heaps of cheap toys which he grew tired of in 2 minutes - they were supposed to last him an hour each!!

I have said that if we go again I am definitely getting a portable dvd player, my Son is really into Peppa Pig at the moment so I would take heaps of new dvd's! I guess your older child might be more into this than your younger one? If it were me I would take some crayons and colouring book (all new and unseen of course!), a sticker book, a puzzle, and my Son doesn't go anywhere without cars!

Best of luck, if I think of anything else I'll post again.

Moops x

[moops]

Hi MM

Yes I am, I'm from Brisbane where are you from?

I think the dvd player would definitely be worth it, even though they had little tv's my Son didn't like their headphones or the programmes!

[thing1andthing2]

hey! well done on braving it - we go each year to NZ with our two (23m and 3.7yrs).

we have never taken a portable dvd player although we bought them for such a purpose - we didn't want to risk the tantrums when the battery runs out, and it will, after about 2 hours...

best things we've found to take are

favourite books - a few of each. things like dr seuss are fantastic as you can spin them out a bit or read different pages each time

if the older one is into thomas etc get a couple of the thomas magazines - they also have stickers in so they will keep them amused for a little longer.

a couple of things with wheels - thomas engines, cars etc - perfect for running over the arm rests etc.

crayons with a small notebook each - perfect for giving a sense of individuality, they're small enough not to be a pain to carry

some new stickers - for good behavoiur!

we packed a smal rucksack for our older son - it's a mini cath kidston one and fitted pretty much all the above into it along with a few packs of breadsticks and raisins, his muslin (that must go everywhere with him) and favourite bunny.

remember they'll be doing some sleeping anyway - and if you can get some infacol for your littlest one just in case the pressure gives a gassy tummy (speaking from bitter experience with 16m old on a night flight to south africa....)

Hope this helps

t1&t2

[moen]

hello,

the best thing I recently discovered are the activity cards from Usborne, we have '100 things for little children to do on a journey', keeps my girls busy for hours. Cards are wipe-clean and you can buy more special pens from the 99p store so that they can play at the same time.

[dizzymum]

I took my almost 4 year old to New Zealand last summer by myself and what kept me almost sane was the mini DVD player. I borrowed a very expensive one from a friend that had an extra long battery life and we also took extra battery packs. Although there were kids films on the in flight entertainment my daughter was much happier repeatedly watching Aladdin. It also kept her happy while our late night return flight was delayed and she had reached that "I'm so tired I'm going to run madly around while making a lot of noise" stage. Lazy parenting it may be, but long haul flights with small children and the evil eye from all surrounding passengers without children, are difficult enough without trying to play educational games non stop for 28 hours when you haven't slept. It is really not the time to make a martyr of yourself. On the up side, she did sleep for a lot of the journey. Good Luck!

[campxyz]

my little one (3 1/2) loves my ipod touch - i have downloaded lots of (educational) games, colouring, and storytelling apps that he can play all by himself or with one of us. You could also download videos, movies, talking books etc in advance for them to watch on the journey and the best thing is that the Ipod barely takes up any space.
The other thing I always suggest for long-haul flights is buying something really small to play with for each hour of the journey and to wrap it up in wrapping paper. It could be a toy car, a pack of trump cards, a tub of moonsand, a magazine, you name it. It'll keep them occupied for part of the hour until the next surprise pressie. Most toy stores or ELCs have a pocket-money corner where many of these little items can be found.
And do remember to take some spare clothes in your carry-on - not just for the little ones, but for yourself too as the last thing you want is to be sitting in a sticky applejuice spill-shirt for 9 hours of the flight...

[jafina]

I definitely agree with the dvd player! Or perhaps a Nintendo DS with suitable games for the older child. Take lots of soft-covered books (new and old), and buy them each a kiddie magazine in WH SMith just before you fly.

Foodwise, a friend recommended to me a tupperware pot full of cheerios and raisins. They are relatively healthy, relatively dry and can keep them occupied between meals. This really worked with my almost 2 yr old on a long flight last year. And a lollipop hidden away in case of ear problems.

Enjoy!