Traveling with a busy toddler can be challenging, especially if you are making a long trip on a plane. It is even more difficult than traveling in the car because you can’t pull over and let your little one burn off some steam and stretch their legs. The trick to a smooth and enjoyable trip for everyone is just to be prepared.
Since you are most likely traveling with plenty of luggage, you will want to make it easy on yourself and park as close to the airport as possible. It seems like your luggage doubles when traveling with children. It is well worth the price to use a service such as https://gotparking.com/airport/LGA to make your trip a little easier. The less lugging around you have to do, the better. You will be less exhausted when you finally arrive at your destination. That equals less time that you will need to recover and more time to enjoy the trip.
Luckily, there are so many different ways to get prepared and to ensure that your trip does not feel like the ultimate disaster. You just need to know what to bring. Toddlers are busy people so you want to make sure that you pack plenty of things to do so that they can stay occupied on the plane ride.
To give your little one something to look forward to, you can pack a bunch of dollar store items in colorful wrapping paper and let them unwrap one of their “gifts” every half hour or hour that they are good and sit quietly. You can give them some quiet activities to do such as coloring books or picture books in the meantime.
Don’t Forget the Snacks
You also want to make sure that you have plenty of snacks on hand. Fruit snacks and juice boxes, small bags of cookies/crackers are great to pack for the trip. Depending on the flight, you may even have the option of plane food, but you should call ahead to make sure. Better yet, just bring your own so that you are prepared. Plus, you will be able to take your toddler’s favorite snacks.
Fun Activities to Try
Toddlers are very interactive and they enjoy creating things. Be sure to give your toddler a way to get out their creative energy and pack some window clings to stick on the window. If you aren’t near the window, you can bring a blank, laminated sheet of cardstock to use as a surface. Bring Velcro sticks that you can make with popsicle sticks and sticky Velcro dots. Your toddler can create people, shapes, and anything else with their crafting sticks. If you have the time, you can also make a busy bag or activity binder with fun things to do such as mazes, dot-to-dot pages, and various activity sheets. You can also laminate the sheets so you can use it again and again. You can make it an opportunity for your little one to learn their shapes and numbers, etc.
Reduce the Stress of the Trip With a Favorite Toy
Sometimes flying can be stressful and even scary for little one so be sure to bring your toddler’s favorite stuffed animal or blanket to comfort them on et trip. It can help to keep them calm and more relaxed. It can also be a good idea to go over the trip with your little one. Tell them all about it and what they can expect. That way you can explain what you are doing as it is happening. You can even give them a journal to write in, and they can draw pictures of their trip and keep it as a souvenir. It will be fun to look at it many years later.
Play Some Games
You can even play some games like eye spy, and Simon says in your seat. Pack some travel games or a deck of cards. You can even pack some alphabet flash cards to help your little one learn along the way. Keep your little one engaged and occupied so that boredom doesn’t have the chance to set in. If you’re prepared, you will find your trip is much easier.