Keeping an Active 4 Year Busy on a Plane!

Lego's work wonders. He can built things on the food tray that drops down in front of him. Also, simple crafts from places like Hobby Lobby, etc.

We took our little kiddos to Japan -- talk about long flights! One thing that worked great for us was to put some things into ziploc bags -- so put a couple of cars in one, some playdough in another, etc. Then, one bag can come out at a time, and all things that were in the bag go back into it when the child is done with that activity. It's helpful for cleanup, takes a few extra minutes, and makes sure you don't leave things on the plane. We got new activity books for the kids to work through. My son was more interested in that than my daughter. She likes imaginative play better, so she played with her Rescue Heroes more. (only took 2 as they're so big!) Favorite snacks are recommended! Also, we told the kids what to expect -- we'll get on the plane, you'll play, we eat, you sleep. We told them and told them and told them. Then, as we were getting on the plane, we told them again. It seemed to help them understand our expectation. They were both better than we anticipated! Good luck!!

Hi, J.! You can find good wipe-off activity books at Michael's. My son likes Mazes, and we recently got him a spider-man activity book which he loved. There's also a game called Rush Hour Jr., and he loves that--it has little cars that you set up on a grid and your goal is to maneuver the cars so that the Ice Cream truck can drive off. It's really a lot of fun. Bring his favorite stuffed animal to cuddle in case he gets tired and wants to sleep. Good luck! It looks like you've gotten lots of great ideas.

Safe travels! God bless!

When I bring my kids traveling ( 2and 5 yr old hyper active boys) I bring along their favorite storybooks, snacks, download cartoons to my phone for them to watch, pen and paper for them to doodle,draw, snakes & ladders or other pocket games. Colouring book and colour pencils. It depends on which airline you are taking, sometimes they do have toddler traveller packs which include some fun games which the kid can enjoy. If the flight is in the afternoon I would normally prevent my kid from having a nap prior to that or get them fully exhausted so there is a higher chance that they will fall asleep when the plane starts to take off and nap for at least 1-2hr to cut down the time you need to "entertain" them on board.

I just recently got this same advice from another parent that just took her child on a plane.

Make sure to bring all new toys and movies... something they have never seen before. This way, they will stay more interested for a longer amount of time. She even suggested wrapping items and every 30 minutes let him open something new. This will keep him interested and could possibly even be able to watch the time tick away. The other idea for an actual activity was the magic markers that only write on a specific paper/coloring book. That way you do not need to worry about it getting on him or other things! Good luck!

Board the plane last so you don't sit while everyone else I'd boarding.

You know your kid best, so look for some new toys, small games, puzzles, crafts, snacks that would be interesting to him. Don't take them out all at once, space it out as you need to. You don't say how long the flight is. You'll need to keep in mind take off, landing and if there is a service. You'll have to sit for that, but there is nothing that says you can't walk around any other time.

When you get your toys or snacks keep flight attendants in mind. Don't get something that makes a mess unless your going to clean it up. It's not their job to clean up after your kid but you'd be suprised what people expect them to do. (My Mom is a flight attendant).

Good Luck.

I just flew with my active 4 year old too. One thing that helped was having him sit in his car seat on the plane. He is used to it and it helped him stay put. I agree that new things are good. We would surprise him with something new all along the trip. (Just don't forget to save some new things for the trip home!) Our son loves Bob the Builder, so we got him a new hour long Bob video and we didn't hear anything out of him for an hour. Also good was the Tag reading system. You can plug earphones into it. I got him new books for that too. New snacks he has never eaten before were good too.

Buy something NEW that he has never used before so that he will have the excited for one to try something new and that will keep him busy! Even if it's just a new "type" of crayons and coloring book. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that they aren't as hard to entertain as you think. Alot of times the excitement of the trip takes over - Reading him books is always a good calming action. Snacks! :-)
Have a fun trip!

Wikki stix (found at Creative Kidstuff and other stores) are great - they are bendable wax-coated strings that they can form into different shapes. Also, a disposable camera. He can take pictures of you, the view out the window, etc. And of course - snacks and books!

Make sure you have NEW things that he has never used before... A new DVD, new sticker/coloring books(color wonder is great for plane travel) new books, preschool activity books. "I Spy" books. Bring them out one at a time so there is something new to hold his interest for a bit before moving on to the next thing.

When we travel I always make sure to bring new things for my kids. They can't wait to see what I have in my bag. I always make them wait until we are on the plane, so the activities don't get used up before hand.

Also be sure to bring snacks so he does not get hungry.

Lots and lots of snacks! Also, band-aids are great because it takes the kids a long time to open one and they are easy to remove from pretty much anything they might stick them to. However, be sure to have a small bag for all of the small trash pieces it creates. I've also had success with Color Wonder paper and markers. They can draw with markers that don't make any marks except for on the specific Color Wonder paper. Good luck!

I like all the ideas of new things and books and favorite snacks. another good thing is that wonder magic play dough. not as messy as play dough and it can dry into shapes, so he can save them or reuse the dough. Lift the flap books are good too. good luck

I just flew with my overactive 18month old and we went and bought a bunch of stuff from the $ store and brought it out. We also had DVD player but that did not last long. We used crayons/color book, a magnetic doodle board,little cars and stuff that he does not get all the time. Maybe pick up a couple new books with music on the side or something. We made it and were very nervous. Good luck on your adventure.

J.,

They are expensive, but the handheld Leap Frog Leapster game systems are worth every penny. They are education and have helped my children with reading, writing and math skills. They also entertain my children well on trips. You have to turn them off for take off and landing, but once the pilot says it's fine to turn electronic devices back on, it's fine.

If you are looking for something more friendly on the budget, you can put little snacks and toys from the dollar store in a bag and let him go through them. My kids also like writing with a special pen or new crayons or markers. Color wonder (won't mark anything but special paper) are great.

Good luck,
S.