Flight Activities for 12 month old

[Sleepeeyoyo]

Hi,

We're going to be flying to WDW with our 12 month old (lap) Any tips for activities to help keep her occupied??

We flew one time with my 4 year old nephew and we used coloring books and activity books from Dollar Tree. Obviously these won't work with a 12 month old.

Note: LO is totally uninterested in screens beyond 15 seconds and our flight is 2.5 hours. Our plane is 3 seats + 3 seats across and we have the window and middle seat.

 

[Expiry]

Unfortunately, this is just a hard age on a flight. We've done many long and short haul flights at that age, and I was surprised at how interested both of my kids have been in just turning the pages in the on board magazines. Not even looking at the pictures, just being able to turn the pages took up some good time. Also, having very small portioned snacks in little wrapped baggies. They finish unwrapping/opening, have a few goldfish, and then can unwrap the next snack. Finger puppets (if you're willing to do all the talking for the characters--they obviously can't do that yet). Handheld/pocket mirror so they can look at themselves (maybe my kids were just little narcissists, but they loved that)

 

[heather13]

My kids were perfectly happy walking up and down the aisle. Over and over. Then we'd sit, have a snack, look through a book, walk up and down the aisle. Color, play doh, walk up and down the aisle. Sometimes I'd manage to get them to sleep and that was heaven. I always made the snack something they never got at home so they'd savor it, and once my DD pushed an ice cube around on the seatback tray for about 10 minutes.

 

[DisneFamily]

Every year, since my DS was 1 (he's 6 now), we would go to the dollar store and buy 4 or 5 little items. We would take out a new item every half hour or so. Anything from stickers, coloring pages, little cars, action figures or a puzzle. It has always been a success.

I can't remember if he was 1 or 2, but I created a small LEGO container for him and that worked amazingly. He used it for the next 2 or 3 trips.

I agree with the PP, my son loves walking the aisles and saying "Hi" to people. While you may feel awkward or think it is rude, most passengers can't help but smile. I travel a lot for work and see this a lot. He also LOVES using the bathroom. I know, weird.

Snacks and water are always key. They will need them anyway to help with the pressure. They won't understand and make it hard to communicate to you.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[PirateRedhead]

once my DD pushed an ice cube around on the seatback tray for about 10 minutes.

Ha ha! Yes! At 13 months old, my daughter went bananas for ice in the plastic airline cup. That bought us a good 10-15 minutes. When my son was little, he loved to crinkle the little bag of airplane snack mix.

All the ideas here are great. Instead of a mirror, I'll put my phone camera in selfie mode so the kids can see themselves. If all else fails, I usually end up doing interactive stuff like "This Little Piggy" about a million times.

Have so much fun!

 

[Figmentmommy]

Hi,

We're going to be flying to WDW with our 12 month old (lap) Any tips for activities to help keep her occupied??

We flew one time with my 4 year old nephew and we used coloring books and activity books from Dollar Tree. Obviously these won't work with a 12 month old.

Note: LO is totally uninterested in screens beyond 15 seconds and our flight is 2.5 hours. Our plane is 3 seats + 3 seats across and we have the window and middle seat.

Board books, pop up books, a soft toy with open & close flaps, zipper, Velcro, and mirror - maybe some stacking/nesting cups. Also some chunky washable crayons and a notepad for scribbling. I would avoid toys that make noise - out of respect for fellow passengers as well as for your own sake. It's amazing how loud some of those toys can seem when you're confined in the space of an airline seat!

 

[westie55]

At 12 months, my son did not have the coordination to stay interested in coloring very long, nor was he captivated by board books but he did love the in flight magazine and safety card lol! Eating was a big activity. Snacks and/or a meal depending on the time of flight. I was lucky enough to get him to napfor at least part of each flight at that age. He also enjoyed walking around (me carrying him, that is. He couldn't walk yet) but that is a double edged sword because once up, they sometimes don't want to sit back down! Flying with littles has proven to be easier than I expected. I think you'll be fine... and even if he's fussy the flight will be over eventually.

 

[Kelly014]

We went when my DS was 9 months old. Lots of snacks! Bring a few new toys. He loved this toy at that age, it's cheap and the button is easy to pick for little ones. Sometimes they like stickers at that age. If your flight is around nap time, I wore DS in a carrier and he slept part of the flight which was nice! One is such a fun age for Disney, not quite as mobile or opinionated as a toddler!

 

[TOBS2010]

I would say plan for little activities and have enough of them for about every 10-15 minutes of the flight time. At that age they like the simple things. A packet of post-its that they can stack up and onto the seat backs. Bring some crayons and paper to try to get them to color. Little cars---maybe wrap them up so they can open them. Board books. Snacks will be key to your sanity. We flew with my oldest at 14 months and this is what we did. Till this day, I always make a stop at the dollar store for a few little things for my kids whether we fly or drive on vacation. I hand them out when I know we are going out to eat and it might take a while or to use as a bribe during long car rides.

 

[leahlefler]

I flew frequently with my kids at those ages - stacking cups and putting in/taking out types of toys went by well. Little People style cars, sunglasses (these oddly kept my DS occupied for over an hour once), and a lot of small snacks to dole out one by one. Hopefully your flight isn't a long one (we fly from NY to Los Angeles to go "home" and it was a challenge)!

 

[Thing 1]

You will be his best entertainment. Just accept the fact that you will likely spend the entire trip entertaining him. Are there two adults and he does not have a seat or one adult and he has his own seat? While walking the isle can offer a break, it sounds like you will have to climb over a third person every time you get up. Lots of different things works well. My boys liked a magazine to look at when they were toddlers. We looked at all the pictures and talked about them and it can then be tossed. Things you would not normally think of can be great distractions. A roll of masking tape to stink on themselves and you, or the plastic window clings to stick on the windows. Tons of fun snacks. Animal crackers one at a time... make the animals noise and make him walk across the tray etc, mini M&Ms.... mane the colors, multi colored cereal. Good luck!

 

[MickeyWaffles]

When DD flew there at 12 months, she slept almost the whole time. We purposely flew early in the morning on the way down (like get to the airport at 4:30 am early) and late at night on the way home (after 7pm) hoping she'd sleep. She did.

She's 2.5 now and easy to entertain but we leave Sunday with our DS for his 1st birthday trip. Hoping he sleeps like his big sister did at that age!

 

[MHT to MCO]

Stickers!!! I introduced them to my daughter when she was about 14 months and once she learned the finger dexterity it would occupy her for 30 minutes. Of course they can't be too small you'd have to take them off the paper for her.

And I agree with previous posters about SNACKS!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Great suggestions above! And I'd add something to suck on to relieve any pressure on his/her ears during take-off and landing. My DS didn't fly until 18 months, so I think we found safety lollipops and took those, but a sippy cup with a valve works too, or one of these:

(They come up on Amazon as "Fresh Food Feeder" and you can put ice in them. - A friend of mine used them that way for teething.)

 

[Princess Stitch]

If you have an old wallet, fill it with points cards etc. My kids would spend a good half hour at that age pulling out all the cards and putting them back in.

Also, be careful with the walking of the aisle. The flight attendants will need to get back and forth with the cart. There might be turbulence. They may not want to sit back down. We always set the expectation that on the plane we stay seated with our seatbelts on.

 

[Lilylogan]

Can you bring a big lollipop? lol

When we took my 16 month old she just wanted to breastfeed the entire flight- I don't know if it was a comfort thing or what but hey it kept her quiet.

 

[monorailsilver]

My oldest was the youngest of my 3 to fly at 15 months.

The best thing was that she was buckled in the seat belt and only came out for a diaper change and then happily went back in.

We (OK me since DH enjoyed the flight!!!) gave her the baby gummy fruit, I would make one fruit snack into about 4-6 pieces. Lollipops galore. I don't think any toys interested her. We had a connection-free flight and me thinking she would nap...nope! Didn't nap til we hit the bus to Disney. We also looked at a lot of magazines-ispy something red, etc... she was smart for her age and fairly verbal (now she is 16 and crabby but that is another story). What about color wonder?

 

[momandmousefan]

Have you seen the magic pen books that have big chunky "clear" markers that magically make colors appear in books? (They're about $3 at target) The pens are easy for little hands to handle and they make no mess, and the kids need very little fine motor skills to make them work. We found a felt board book at Target too. Some other things that have worked were stickers, silly putty, a mini magna doodle board, fabric busy books, stuffed animals, lots of mini board books, and well...plenty of food! lol. lots and lots of snacks!

 

[Sleepeeyoyo]

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. She will not likely be coloring yet but the buckling, sorting, stacking cups all sound like things that work. At restaurants she's been captivated ketchup packets to I hope we can things small and simple. Defintely taking some notes for now and later...thanks all!

 

[SuperPreparo]

We flew non-stop from Atlanta to Hawaii with my son and his family this past spring, and we all took turns entertaining my one year old granddaughter (fortunately the Disney movies on the seatback screens did a lot of that for us ). I had prepared a little "trip bag" for her ahead of time with some new little toys and snacks. One thing I would say is that at that age I knew that a lot of things hit the floor. Not only was I worried about germs but also it was a real pain trying to pick them up again in those close quarters. I had picked up a set of those plastic links and bought toys that could attach to that.