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Flying with a toddler can be an adventure, especially when you’re 30,000 feet above the ground. But fear not! With some thoughtful planning and a dash of creativity, you can turn that potentially chaotic flight into a smooth journey for both you and your little one.
We’ve been flying since before out little one turned 1 and there is definitely a turning point after this where entertainment is required. Now each time we go away (even for long car journeys) I pack him a little activity travel pack which keeps him happy and busy all flight long.
Here are my top recommendations to help guide you build your own pack perfect for your 3 year old:
1. Sticker Books
The perfect inflight entertainment – not going to create a mess and generally can be found quite reasonably priced . I make up one pack for the journey out and one for the journey back . My favourite are these Usborne sticker books linked below :
2) Mess free colouring books
Furthering the mess free theme – we love these colouring books . You can get them in the airport but beware they will be a lot more expensive (recently I saw one for £9.99!) plan ahead where possible and save yourselves some money . Plus sides : these pens don’t work on anything except the special magic paper provided – negatives these pens only work on the special magic paper so perhaps not the most reusable of craft supplies .
I’ve put links to our favourites here :
If you’re sticking more traditional I would still recommend Crayola washable pens or crayons as a quick wet wipe should get the marks off most surfaces. I’ve linked them below to make things easy for you .
Wipe Clean Activity Books are also a great way to stay mess free and bonus is you can use them again and again – transfer them into your return journey pack ! There are a wide variety available but why not have a travel themed airport book like this one :
Dot to dot is also fab at keeping 3 year olds entertained . We love this wipe clean version :
3. Amazon Kindle Fire
If screens aren’t for you then skip this section . Personally we’ve found our amazon kindle fire incredibly good value and helpful on long journeys .
There are hundreds of apps to choose from many with educationally beneficial games that help teach your little one new skills we felt less guilt about the screen time and were also impressed at how easily we could link our accounts such as Disney+ to the tablet . Download a few of your little ones favourite TV shows (Bluey anyone ?) ready for the journey
We really like that the tablet comes with a carrier which is fairly tantrum/drop proof and that amazon will replace under warranty .
We also took the plunge and subscribed to AmazonKids+ which has been great for our family – I’ve included a link to this here :
4. Games
I would recommend a card game like snap or junior uno – the best sets are ones you can adapt for multiple card games of your choosing and being simply a pack of cards they fit in even the smallest of travel bags . If you have space why not bring along another game such as a memory tile game or one of the Orchard Collection . We love these for being adaptable on the go but also when you reach your destination entertainment which draws them into the shade during those hottest hours is always a winner .
I’ve linked our favourites here :
5. Fidget Toys
Easy to pack and keeps little hands busy . We have found having a few little fidget toys to hand has always been helpful . I would avoid anything which makes noise . We have found a rainbow pop it to be our favourite little thing to pack – easy to clean is always a bonus and we adapted to make games out of it eg complete the pattern as he has gotten older .
I’ve linked our favourite few fidget friendly toys here :
Finally pop in a collection of some of your toddlers favourite little toys : cars and figurines are a great idea and then some excellent flight friendly snacks and you have yourself the perfect Toddler Inflight entertainment system .
Related Posts :
- Travel friendly snacks for toddlers
I do hope you found this helpful .
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