Any parent, who had the experience of travelling with their kids, especially if they’re young like in the case of toddlers, can testify that it’s a stressful job.
Imagine a toddler who starts screaming and crying loudly right at the moment when the passenger next to you was trying to sleep. You feel helpless and embarrassed at the same time.
Why Toddlers are annoyed so quickly?
One of the root causes of all the irritation a kid gives you during a flight is that young kids like toddlers have a very small attention span.
In fact, many researchers have found that on average the attention span of a toddler is no more than 45 seconds.
Hence you making silly noises, smiling at them, playing with them or doing anything else to entertain them will be transitioned towards them crying and screaming soon.
Practical and useful tips for entertaining a toddler on a plane
So what’s a more effective yet practical tip to entertain your toddler on a plane?
Here are a few tips;
- Bring toys with you
One of the best ways of entertaining and distracting your toddler is to give them toys to play with. You can pick some of the toys they play with most of the time and bring them on the plane.
You can pick anything from princess toys, action figures or some of the best dollhouses for toddlers with you. Playing with toys is a whole different experience for children than you just pointing at the birds of the airplane’s window.
And in most cases, it can keep them busy and entertained for quite some time.
- Bring snacks for them
You can carry a variety of snacks with you when travelling on a plane. One thing we know is that you can’t ever get enough of the snacks for your child.
In fact, some parents advise to bring snacks twice the toys you’re bringing.
It’s a tried and true fact that children love this slight eating between meals. You can keep anything from drinks, to candies and from chocolates to lollipops with you and anytime you feel like you’re toddler is getting bored, you can hand some of those to them.
- Make use of gadgets
The idea of giving young children access to technology is highly debatable and there’s no disagreement in the fact that there has to be some level of control from the parent’s side.
However, these technological gadgets can be a good source of learning and entertainment as well. Especially when you’re on a long flight with a toddler, the same gadgets become a life saver.
All you have to do is hand your toddler an iPad with their favorite cartoon series on it and you’re good to relax. Or you can put your headphones on them (ensure the volume isn’t too high for them) and let them listen to some music and you can unwind yourself.
Conclusion
Travelling with your toddler on a plane isn’t an enjoyable experience for everyone but at least you can try to find some joy in those moments if you’re child isn’t going out of control.
Using some of the tips mentioned above you can have a journey which way less mental stress provided by children’s continuous tantrums to parents.
