Activities and Ideas to entertain toddlers during plan trips

Since my last blog, we visited the lovely state of North Carolina.  Just in case you where wondering if I was  crazy enough to bring our now 20 month "Chickpea" in tow, the answer is YES.  Now I have to admit the easy thing to do was to just call up Nana and Popi (aka the Grandparents) in South Florida, and tell them that Chickpea was coming for a visit, while the hubby and I ventured off to North Carolina.  No, not me, I must love the pain as they say.  Rather, I think I love the challenge of trying to successfully travel with a toddler.

Now, I may love a challenge, but this momma was not raised by a fool, so I did some homework to find some great ideas to entertain Chickpea during the flight (I guess I still have that fear of being asked to parachute out of a plane mid flight with my 20 month old because of her disruptive behavior, you think they have therapy that can help me with this).  So I turned to my trusted laptop and fired up the internet search engine.

So first I would like to give credit where it is due, thank you to Debbie at deliciousbaby.com and the wonderful ideas she shared on entertaining our "little one's" during plane trips.  So in true David Letterman fashion here is her TOP 10 List of ideas.

1. Pipe cleaners- easy to pack, should not be a problem with securty and keep little hands and minds occupied (and quiet too!)

2. Books- small cardboard sytle books are great.  They are small and durable, just be sure to pick some that have fun bright illustrations to keep toddlers attention ( I personally recommend Sandra Boyton, her books
 ROCK!)

3.MP3 Players- be sure to download some kid friendly tunes (Unless your little one's are like Chickpea and love jam to Lady Gaga)

4.Washable crayons and a small spiral binder- easy to pack, no security issues, and encourages endless creativity

5. Catalogs/ magazines- especially ones that have pictures of babies and toddlers (Chickpea is a personal fan of Pottery Barn Kids, and Parenting magazine)

6. Scarves/ Pashminas- great for games of Peek-a-boo

7. Empty water bottle- kids love to screw and unscrew the caps, airline staff should be happy to share and empty bottle if you dont' have one (Caution: small caps can become a choking hazard be sure to watch your kids closely with this one)

8. Seatbelts- kids can practice fastening and unfastening the seatbelts, as well as with playing with zippers, buttons or snaps on a jacket or small carry-on bag.

9. Finger Rhymes-  Where is Thumpkin? Anyone (FYI, there is actually a book Finger Rhymes by Marc Brown)

10. Last but not least for when you are truely desperate. Barf Bag Puppets (Fun for the whole family)