We leave on our trip on Sunday. I'm not worried about Ethan and Noah, but Eli...what are we going to do with him. He's 17 months. He is too big to enjoy sitting still and too little to read or even color--he usually draws a couple of lines and then puts the crayons in his mouth.
Suggestions?
We do not have a portable DVD player but I'm wondering if I can put movies on my ipod nano (does that work?) or if we should bring the laptop.
I don't know about the nano but itouches, iPhones, iPads and laptops work. Just make sure you have big headphones. I've found that the smaller the kid the bigger the headphones. Noise canceling headphones are even better to hold his attention. I think you can get some at target.
I would buy the cheapest portable DVD player. It was a lifesaver for us when we had to travel long distances when the boys were little. It was so much easier than trying to do the little activities and keep them entertained. I know it's bad but they zoned out watching a show and it made traveling so much easier. Also, having lots of snacks helps.
stickers were also a lifesaver...one non-stop flight from Orlando, Kevin put stickers all up and down my arm and his legs. I didn't care, it kept him busy and occupied.
I always make a point of walking my kids around and around the airport before we get on the plane, seriously for the full 2 hours that we have to be there for before the flight walk walk walk - they always fall asleep within an hour of taking off but usually before we even take off. I never take a dvd cause our flights are way too long for a battery to last. When we go back home we have a 10 hour flight and then usually a three hour stop over (more time for walking) and then another 1 hour flight. For the little flight we take colouring stuff that they never use, they love snacks and also if you take lollipops first they help with the ear popping/pressure thing and they last for ages.
my kids have portable dvd players and they were only $53 at target so you can probably find one cheap somewhere. they also carry those kid tough headphones at target..idk about eli, but i know at 19 months old there is zero chance jamison would let me put something like headphones on him.
You've already gotten some great suggestions, but I wanted to suggest raiding the Target dollar bins for toys. New, novel stuff goes a long way.
We flew on Continental at Thanksgiving, and we had TVs at each seat that you could swipe a credit card and watch whatever was on. So my kids got to watch Phineas and Ferb practically the whole time.
I totally agree with bringing tons of snacks. Even if they are things you wouldn't usually give him at home.
