Flying with a Toddler: What to Pack

Everyone asks me for advice when traveling or flying with a toddler because in just two years, we’ve done our fair share of it. My daughter is a little too used to flying at just two years old. She is now asking if we are taking an airplane to Target. Mommy wishes… Target in Maui! 🙂

If you are looking for some advice on how to keep a toddler busy on a plane, cruise ship or even in the car, you’ve come to the right spot. We’ve tried it all but feel that we now have it down. With the help of the iPad, various mess-less activites and snacks and a “secret weapon,” you can make a plane trip with a toddler relatively painless… until they need to use the potty.

If your child is two or over, he/she will need their own seat on the plane. While this can be just as expensive as an adult ticket and a pain in the booty to pay, you will love it when you fly because you will be able to spread out your belongings that much further.

What to Pack for a Toddler for the Airplane Flight

(besides the obvious snacks and favorite toys)

I swear by the Melissa and Doug Water Wow mess-less paint kits! They are around $6.99 at your local Target or MelissaandDoug.com and a total lifesaver. You just fill the paintbrush up with water (we use a water bottle to fill it once we get on the plane) and your child can paint each page and watch it dry before their eyes. Once dry, they can keep painting over and over again.

– Crayola Mess-Free Color Wonder Peel and Stick markers and coloring pages are our next favorite airplane activity. The markers don’t color anywhere but the paper and each coloring sheet sticks to the airplane tray so it doesn’t move while coloring on it.

– iPad, iPhone or any other portable game device or DVD player – For obvious reasons, the iPad is great for plane flights. We have a few of our favorite movies on it along with games that don’t require Wi-Fi. The whole family ends up using the iPad while flying. It’s also great in hotels, especially if you are in a different country. For example, the TV in the hotel on our last trip to Mexico had a lot of Spanish channels so we let my daughter watch iPad movies before bedtime.

– Hyland’s Homeopathic Calm ‘n Restful for kids is our “secret weapon.” Formerly called Calms Forte, the Calm ‘n Resful naturally helps our daughter calm down and even fall asleep while traveling. We’ve had people suggest to us that we use Benadryl to help put her to sleep which we’ve had nothing but bad luck with. We prefer Calm ‘n Restful over Benadryl because Benadryl tends to make our daughter on-edge and irritable.