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Toys for flights...

Pandora II

Ideal_Rock
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Aug 3, 2006
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I'm going on a trip in 2 weeks time and I'm taking my daughter with me.

The flights are around 17 hours each way, but I've split them with a 3 hour stop-over in Dubai in each direction around halfway through. Outbound, we leave at 9pm so I hope she'll sleep most of the first leg. The second leg is daytime. In-bound - the whole flight is during the day.

My daughter will be 2 in May. She's a bright kid and fairly advanced for her age in what she likes playing with, books etc but she is not a television watcher at all. I will have a DVD player as it's on my laptop, there is also children's TV on the flight-entertainment system but if I'm lucky she'll watch it for 10 minutes tops.

I'm putting together goody bags to try and entertain her. She's extremely 'wilful' to quote my father and fairly energetic so I feel very sorry already for whoever is sitting next to us. She is also not a child who likes to sleep - nor will she eat things like raisins etc.

So far I've come up with:

- selection of books
- new doll with clothes and accessories
- colouring book
- pens
- new sparkly pencil case
- fluffy easter chicks
- easter themed erasers
- easter themed pencils

I'm really stuck for other ideas - she loves her cousin's dolls-house and I'm wondering if there are mini or portable ones. She's quite a girly girl which makes it hard for me as I was not.

Any ideas gratefully recieved! (Or I may just opt for a big bottle of Benadryl :Up_to_something: :devil: )
 

Tacori E-ring

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Aug 15, 2005
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there have been other threads on this that might give you some ideas. What works for me is colorwonder markers/papers (only marks on the paper so there is no mess), stickers, LOTS of snacks (aka junk food), gum, books, a few dolls, and dvd player w/ a new movie.
 

TravelingGal

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Dec 29, 2004
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17,193
sticker books are good.

Also, buttons. Like, a ton of random buttons. Or beads. If you can go to a store that sells odds and ends ones, just take a bunch and put them in a container. she can dig through them and take them out, examine, group them, put them back, etc. This is assuming she won't hurl the container of buttons, because that could be a major disaster.

Also lots of random bits in your purse. What is it about mommy's bag that kids love to rummage through?
 

Pandora II

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Dreamer_D|1302319036|2891718 said:
To add to tacori's list: Play Doh.

Do people object to the smell?

Thanks for the suggestions so far - sadly snacks and stickers are out as she has no interest in either other than crisps. Again is it fair to subject people to the smell of pickled onion Monster Munch or Cheese Quavers?

Buttons are a great idea - although the throwing potential is actually quite high.

I found some Sylvanian Family sets yesterday on eBay that have baby bathing, baby feeding, baby sleeping etc with cots and baths and highchairs for the little characters which would probably go down well and are small enough to fit in a bag. Luckily we're flying with Emirates who have a massive baggage allowance!
 

Tacori E-ring

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Dreamer_D|1302319036|2891718 said:
To add to tacori's list: Play Doh.

I would be worried about the smell. Sometimes I am polite to a a fault.
 

chemgirl

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No kids, but I fly fairly often so I have some ideas of things that don't work.

Anything she would want to throw is obviously bad news (you'd be surprised how many parents don't think of this and give their kids a ball to play with on the airplane)

Dolls, action figures, plastic dinosaurs that she will give loud voices to. I was stuck in front of a boy who was making his dinosaurs eat his sister's barbi dolls for 5 hours. They screamed as they were getting eaten and everything. It wasn't very pleasant for the people sitting around them.

Candy! I hate it when a kid is kicking my seat, so parents give said kid chocolate, and the kid just kicks harder. Candy doesn't distract bored children for very long, and then they're bored and full of sugar.

Anything that requires concentration works well. I've seen small puzzles, colouring books, and dress up dolls work fairly well. Maybe you could quietly read her a story book? Given the length of the flight, hopefully she sleeps through most of it.
 

KaeKae

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My girls are 15 and 12 now, but we did a lot of flying when they were small, though fortunately, it was usually just 2-3 hour flights.

Defintely bring her 'lovey' or whatever her favorite is, even if you are fearful of losing it. Neither of my girls went anywhere without their Bears, and it made takeoff, landing and naps possible. DD1 was a champ at sending Bear through the x-machine. In 1998, the TSA agents had more time, and got such a kick out of watching her wave, run through the checkpoint, then wait for Bear. Also, bring your own little blanket. I don't know if they give blankets anymore, but you want your own, clean, soft, anyway.

NEW crayons, NEW color or sticker books, NEW toys. DD1 and DD2 both loved the little figure toys. Among other things, DD1 was into Barney. DD2 was more of a Sesame Street girl. They would set them up on the table and play, play, play. I would wrap everything up as gifts and slowly dole them out during a flight. Made for a little excitement, and the wrapping was minimal for cleanup. We loved the markers that only worked on the special paper, but not for flights. Unless Crayola has improved the product, they had a strong scent that I wouldn't want to subject seatmates to.

If it's possible that her foot can reach the seat in front of her, take off her shoes. I know you will try to prevent the kicking, but it she makes contact, maybe the impact will be minimized.

Work of caution regarding Benedryl, if you were serious. I did use it, if there was a chance of trouble with the ears. Definitely give it a try before the trip day, but close to that day, too. Once, when they were 4 and 1, I had to fly alone with them. Both were getting over a cold, so I gave the Benedryl. Great idea. For the 4 y/o. She quietly sat and colored the entire trip. Not for the 1 year old. It hyped her up. She wanted OUT of that seat. Not possible on a 90 minute flight, with turbulence. Between the turbulence and drink service (back when you got that) there wasn't much time for walking. The kid SCREAMED for most of the second half of that trip. I so wished I'd tried it the day before, to be sure. Then maybe I would have known not to give it to her for the flight.

Good luck, and safe travels.
 

Pandora II

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Thanks KaeKae and Chemgirl - lots of food for thought!

Love the idea of wrapping things up.

Sorry, have to laugh at the Barbie-eating dinosaurs! Luckily madam's attention span means that she's unlikely to do anything irritating for long (although the potential for a series of irritating things is there).

Unfortunately, Daisy and food are a major issue - she basically doesn't eat and we have a gazillion hospital appointments because of it. She will eat chocolate - but no other types of candy - and crisps but that is pretty much it - so all bribes need to be of this sort. On the other hand, I am still breastfeeding which should help with the take-off and landings and keep her quiet for stretches at a time.

KaeKae - I'm not averse to the idea of doping my kid - my father used to bring stuff home from the hospital he worked at to get me to sleep as a small child. I'm told Medised or Benadryl are the two to go for but to do a trial run to see if they are sent hyper or not. I'd prefer not to, but if she gets in a total state and looks like she might scream for hours then I'm happy to give her something.

Like most almost-2 year-olds, she's pretty unpredictable. Took her to a friend's barbeque tonight and she was a complete angel all evening, took her to another friend's for lunch the other week and she was the child from hell. I've had people tick me off in IKEA and people compliment me on my beautifully behaved child after a 3 hour train journey where she did colouring the whole way...
 

luv2sparkle

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As a mother of five, I second the benadryl-grape flavored. But I would do it only for the sleeping portion to make sure she is
rested for the next leg of the journey. There is nothing harder than combining tired/cranky and bored/restless. She is much more
likely to be on her best behavior if she was able to rest.
 

Pandora II

Ideal_Rock
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Aug 3, 2006
Messages
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luv2sparkle|1302486649|2892937 said:
As a mother of five, I second the benadryl-grape flavored. But I would do it only for the sleeping portion to make sure she is
rested for the next leg of the journey. There is nothing harder than combining tired/cranky and bored/restless. She is much more
likely to be on her best behavior if she was able to rest.

Thanks! The two times I would feel it might be a wise move are the first over-night leg so that she is as you say well-rested and possibly the first night at our destination. We get there at 6.30pm local time which will be midday UK time so I'd be expecting her to go to bed very early. I've left the first day as nothing too strenous but I need to get as much sleep as I can as I will be working for the 3 days following so being up all night with a wide-awake child would not be ideal.

I'm going to try some out in the next week or so to check it doesn't make her hyper - she never goes to be before 9pm anyway so it could be a blissful evening! :bigsmile:

Tacori - that book looks fantastic!


ETA: I've discovered and bought a book called: Have Toddler, Will Travel - it's British but has some great tips on all things toddle-travel related!
 

Tacori E-ring

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Aug 15, 2005
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20,041
Pandora, T still loves that book. I love that they are magnets so lower chance of losing pieces than a typical puzzle.
 
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