Screen free play

When travelling with a baby on a plane, it’s important to keep them entertained and comfortable. Here are some screen-free play ideas: 1. Interactive books or cloth books with different textures. 2. Small, quiet toys such as soft animals or rattles. 3. Finger puppets or hand-held puppets for interactive play. 4. Colourful and crinkly fabric toys for sensory stimulation. 5. Simple stacking cups or blocks for building and knocking down. 6. Baby-safe mirrors for self-discovery and entertainment. 7. Board books with large, colourful pictures and textures to touch. 8. Singing or humming lullabies or nursery rhymes to soothe the baby. 9. Baby-safe teething toys for comfort during takeoff and landing. 10. A small, soft blanket or lovey for comfort and familiarity. Remember to also have snacks, drinks.

Dot sticker play

Dot sticker play for babies is a great way to encourage sensory exploration and fine motor skills development. You can create simple activities by sticking colorful dot stickers on objects like paper, cardboard, or even plastic bottles. Let your baby peel off the stickers and stick them back on different surfaces. This activity can provide hours of entertainment while also supporting your baby’s development.

Win-win wipes

We know your toddler loves to pull wipes out of a container. Bring a small travel pack just for them and get them to put the wipes to additional use by wiping seats, airplane walls, and tray tables.

Little presents

Wrap up some new little toys for your toddler to open that you won’t be devastated to lose. You can wrap them in leftover wrapping paper or newspaper, or in little containers, bags, or small boxes. This is a great way to use up those extra scraps of odd-sized wrapping paper you have lying around if you are anything like me. Unwrapping loosely-wrapped gifts is a great fine motor activity for your toddler, allowing them to practice using both hands at once.Prepare some new small toys for your toddler to unwrap that you wouldn’t mind losing. You can use leftover wrapping paper, newspaper, small containers, bags, or tiny boxes to wrap them. This is a great way to use up any extra odd-sized wrapping paper you have lying around. Unwrapping loosely-wrapped gifts is a good fine motor activity for your toddler and allows them to practice using both hands at once.

Ideas for inexpensive presents to entertain your baby or toddler on the plane:

Wind-up toys: Toddlers love to hold wind-up toys and stop the motion with their hands (they rarely want to just watch it go, and that’s okay).

Finger puppets: You can sing songs and play games like peek-a-boo with the puppets on your flight.

Sticky note flags

These are fun to stick around the seats and easy to unstick (and eventually reuse) when you are done. And also stickers are simple to apply and remove, making them reusable.

Markers and paper

It will be a great fun for your baby on the plane. Washable markers make it easier to create marks and are more fun to draw with than crayons, despite the potential mess. If the markers get on the tray table or your toddler’s hands, they can use their own travel pack of wipes to clean it off. For toddlers aged 2 and up, the Anywhere Art Kit (from The Helper Play Kit) is a travel-friendly portable case with bright, chunky tempera sticks for mess-free creativity.

I like to bring some blank sheets of white printer paper to color together. Coloring with your toddler makes it more meaningful and they are more likely to stay engaged longer. Child development specialists call this “shared attention.” 

You can also use one of the dot stickers to stick and display your toddler’s art on the airplane window or the seat in front of you.

Books

Remember to bring a few new, lightweight storybooks for the plane, as well as a few favorite books to reread. Introducing new books that your toddler isn’t familiar with might make them more excited to be read to. It’s also a good idea to have at least one reliable favourite on hand in case they’re not in the mood for something new.

Portable, multi-purpose toys

Our family’s favorite Love very playthings for travelling with toddlers can be easily packed in a carry-on and serve as a game, a puzzle, and inspiration for imaginative play.

The Montessori Animal Match from The Companion Play Kit comes with a packable drawstring bag for travel and can be played with in so many ways on the plane. You can match the animals to the tiles, make animal sounds together, play hide-and-seek with the animals, or let your toddler simply pull each animal and tile out of the pouch one by one and stuff them back in.

One of our favorite on-the-go playthings is the Fuzzy Bug Shrub (from The Adventurer Play Kit). Your toddler can practice that peel-and-stick play that’s so irresistible to them, and they can open the container to stuff the fuzzy bugs in and pull them out, which they’ll want to do over and over again.

Open, fold, and close the safety pamphlet

In the seat pocket, the safety pamphlet is intriguing for your toddler to unfold and refold. 

A lot of the ideas for keeping a toddler entertained at a restaurant also work well for the plane. Send me your favorite tips for travelling with toddlers. I’m always looking for more!

Play peek-a-boo

The Bright & Light Play Scarf from The Explorer Play Kit is perfect for playing peek-a-boo while travelling.

An exciting excursion to meet the flight attendants

Flight attendants are occasionally occupied, but when they have a moment, they are happy to engage with your toddler. It’s a great opportunity for a brief visit. Sometimes flight attendants are busy and can’t take the time to engage with your toddler. But often they have a few minutes and will welcome the opportunity for a short visit. 

• You can have your toddler bring their trash to the back of the plane and dispose of it in the flight attendant’s are busy sometimes they can’t do it. So you can go back of the plane and throw it away in the flight attendant’s trash bag.
• Your toddler can give the attendant some of their artwork or stickers as a “gift.”
• You and your toddler can go to the back of the plane and ask for a cup of ice together.