Anyone take a 2 year old on a plane?

Ginger123 · April 2010

Tomorrow we are taking our almost 2 year old on an airplane for the first time (our almost 4 year old too). The flight isn't long....about 90 minutes.

What did you bring for your little to keep busy during the flight? I was thinking of bringing crayons and a small coloring pad and one or two of his favorite books. I also considered bringing our portable DVD player but not sure if its worth it for such a short flight.

Any advice is appreciated!

EliseB0323 · April 2010

A DVD player is SO worth bringing.

breezee_bean · April 2010

I would FOR SURE bring the DVD player. 90 mins. can be a while with kids. We also brought snacks.

amhough · April 2010

I have never flown with a two year old, but I just wanted to point out aht the portable DVD player might be more trouble than it's worth because on a ninety minute flight you won't be able to use it for almost half the flight since you can't use any electronics during takeoff or final descent. You might also have an issue with crayons and coloring since you can't have the tray table down during those times. But books would be great for those times, and then get out the crayons one you can put the tray table down.

Dougsgirl4ever · April 2010

Silly putty is great ~ New snacks they don't normally get.

CleoKitty · April 2010

I would not bother with a DVD player for such a short flight- sounds like total overkill and it's so hard lugging extra crap around an airport, IMO. At that age and for such a short flight I probably wouldn't bring anything special to entertain my 2 y/o. Maybe a book or two and her favorite doll, but that's about it. She'd also be happy with a pen and piece of scrap paper from my purse or playing a game on my phone. For the most part though I think the average 2 y/o will be more than entertained just by the novelty of being ON an airplane, LOL!

august06mom · April 2010

CleoKitty:
I would not bother with a DVD player for such a short flight- sounds like total overkill and it's so hard lugging extra crap around an airport, IMO. At that age and for such a short flight I probably wouldn't bring anything special to entertain my 2 y/o. Maybe a book or two and her favorite doll, but that's about it. She'd also be happy with a pen and piece of scrap paper from my purse or playing a game on my phone. For the most part though I think the average 2 y/o will be more than entertained just by the novelty of being ON an airplane, LOL!

This. You'd be surprised how exciting just being on the plane will be. I took DS on his first flight when he was 2 and it was a 3-hour flight. I brought some special treats (special juice, Fruit Loops, chips, etc.) and he was enthralled by just eating them on his tray table. I also brought some books and some crayons, but he wasn't really into coloring at that point so I just mostly drew him pictures. I'm not a fan of using the DVD player while traveling unless it's a long trip, which to me is usually 4 hours or more.

breezee_bean · April 2010

august06mom:
CleoKitty:
I would not bother with a DVD player for such a short flight- sounds like total overkill and it's so hard lugging extra crap around an airport, IMO. At that age and for such a short flight I probably wouldn't bring anything special to entertain my 2 y/o. Maybe a book or two and her favorite doll, but that's about it. She'd also be happy with a pen and piece of scrap paper from my purse or playing a game on my phone. For the most part though I think the average 2 y/o will be more than entertained just by the novelty of being ON an airplane, LOL!

This. You'd be surprised how exciting just being on the plane will be. I took DS on his first flight when he was 2 and it was a 3-hour flight. I brought some special treats (special juice, Fruit Loops, chips, etc.) and he was enthralled by just eating them on his tray table. I also brought some books and some crayons, but he wasn't really into coloring at that point so I just mostly drew him pictures. I'm not a fan of using the DVD player while traveling unless it's a long trip, which to me is usually 4 hours or more.

My son was like this, but I didn't want to be stuck without a DVD player just in case

jerseygirly · April 2010

When we flew in Jan. (2 1/2 hour flight) my son was almost 2 and the other one was almost 4 1/2. We brought the leapster for my 4 yo and tons of snacks for both of them. We also brought coloring books and crayons but never pulled them out (thankfully because I think there would be crayons rolling all over the plane). We also didn't have a seat for my almost 2 year old since he didn't require it so we just played with him on our laps (DH & I), let him look through magazines and he was pretty content. We also brought his sippy cup and that's about it. GL

DevonPow · April 2010

We fly with DS all the time. He has his own airplane backpack he brings along with:

DVD player/DVDs

coloring book/crayons

a few vinyl sticker playset things

lacing cards

silly putty

a few books

a few small/quiet toys (usually cars, airplanes, etc)

enough snacks to feed the entire plane

Ciarrai · April 2010

Ok, I'll disagree with most of the pp about the crayons/coloring. We travel a lot (at least 5-6 times a year) so maybe the novelty has worn off for my girls. We just made our first trip with all three a week ago. The girls did color. I bring baggies of crayons and they (usually) only get one out at a time. They put the coloring books in their laps since they can't reach the tray tables while they're buckled anyway. Sticker books are also great. (I get new coloring/sticker books for each trip so we have a novelty.)

Not sure the DVD player is worth it. Like some of the pp said, you can't use it for the first 20-30 minutes of the flight or the last. If you do bring it, make sure to bring headphones. We got asked to turn ours off this last trip b/c we didn't have any. (It's never been a problem before and both girls were watching it. I doubt anyone in any of the rows around us could hear it, but whatever.)

This time around, we also brought the tiny things of playdough. I was totally skeptical about this but someone else on here had recommended it, but the tiny things that only have 3-4 oz were great.

We also brough a bunch of books like I Spy type things and animals and whatnot. We even brought DD#1's Magic Treehouse books that she's into and DH read to her for a bit. They love books.

For snacks, I highly recommend packing the snacks in serving-size portions in little baggies. Then you can hand each kid their bag and let them go for it. It keeps it (mostly) contained and you don't have to constantly hand things out. My almost-four-year-old is totally excited that she can now chew gum (only gets it on planes and special occations). DD#2 obviously can't (though she tries) so we give her suckers for take-off and landing.

Good luck and have fun!!

ETA - FWIW, we have two CARES Harnesses and use those for both the girls. Both get seats (and have since they were about 1) because it's just so worth the money (to us). The harnesses make us feel safer but also keep them in their seats and not bouncing around as much b/c they feel like they're in a carseat. They're tiny too so the seatbelts are still way too big to fit tightly on either of them. You can rent them on ebay if you're interested. They're expensive so I dont' recommend buying them unless you travel a ton.

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