Flying with Small Children

We have flown on two longer trips with our girls now. The first time was a cross-country trip to Florida (with connecting flights) when we had twin 18-month olds sitting on our laps and the second time was last summer at almost 3 years old to Hawaii (connecting flights again).

Let's just start out being honest and say that a long flight with one year olds on your lap is going to be a challenge and you just have to get thru it. I have no idea about traveling with an infant because we didn't do it, but I think that would actually be easier than a young toddler. They are just so busy. Flying with kids over the age of two is much better! On our trip to Hawaii I was able to actually watch a movie AND read a book! It still pays to be prepared though. Here are the things that made the time during the flight easier.

1. Snacks! Pick things that are not messy and take some time to eat. We try to bring some old favorites plus a few new snacks for fun. Our favorites: raisins, dry cereal, kids Z bars or granola bars, fruit snacks, mixed nuts, string cheese, small suckers (for take-off and landing), goldfish or cheddar bunnies, sliced fruit and squeeze applesauce pouches.

2. Clean Art Fun. Sticker books (Amazon has the DK Ultimate Sticker Books in every imaginable character, animal and sport), Mini coloring books with triangle crayons (we stored these in a little zipper pencil pouch) and Wiki Stix.

3. TV and Movies. Depending on the airline and flight, most have tv screens in the headrests to watch for free or for a small fee. The fee is worth it! When we flew to Hawaii we paid for the Alaska Air DigiPlayer that they rent on the flight and the girls watched the cartoons and kid movies that were available. Now we have a tablet so would probably bring that instead. You will needto bring headphones. We love these ones from Kidz Gear. They are still going strong after countless road trips out of town to visit family.

4. Trinket Toys. Pack a small zipper bag with little trinket toys - the birthday party goodie bag/ fast food kids meal/ dollar store variety. I actually have a bag of this stuff in a cabinet that I save just for travel. Toddlers will spend a long time entertaining themselves taking all the little toys out of the bag and piling them in their lap (or lining up on the tray table), playing little games with them and then putting them all back in. The best part is that you don't care if you lose a few along the way.

A&Z loved carrying their snacks, water bottle, a few small books and toys mentioned above in their little backpacks and it was nice to keep it all organized.

Toddler Toys

As I'm purging through the girls toys (after bedtime, shhhhh!), I am constantly thinking about what toys make the cut. What toys do they actually play with regularly? What toys drive me crazy? I love it when my friends give me recommendations on toys so hopefully this will be helpful to others buying toys for young toddlers. A&Z are 27 months now, but started playing with most of these toys several months ago so these would be good for kiddos 18 months and on. If you have babies, check out our baby toy faves.

1. Play Kitchen
 

2. Kitchen pans and play food


3. Ladybug Tent (big enough for two toddlers!)

4. Wood puzzles (knob puzzles for under 2 and 24 piece for over 2 (especially the ones that show the picture underneath on the front side)




5. Shopping carts


6. Cozy coupes

7. Water table


8. Dr. Kit (the girls LOVE to play doctor! The stethoscope is the hottest item)


9. Consumable art supplies (crayons, paint, coloring books, construction paper, foam stickers)

10. Books, books, books (gifted, bought at library used books sales and kids resales)

A few favorite stuffed animals are played with in conjunction with everything above. The animals are served play food from the play kitchen, read books in the tent, pushed around in the shopping carts and cozy coupes and receive very regular doctor checkups!

We have LOTS of toys, much more than what I have listed above. The ones I listed above are the "keepers". Toys that have been played with for a year or more in some cases and are played with daily. I purge the toys and books regularly and donate or sell. Otherwise, it gets waayyy out of control!

Toys: 0 - 12months

In this post, I shared my list of essential baby gear and necessities, basically a registry guide. Now that my babies are rapidly approaching the end of the first year (sob), I'm going to share our favorite toys for the first year. We have a lot of toys, but many of them do not hold their attention for very long and/or have very little repeat play value.

1. Sophie the Giraffe - yes, this is a trendy, spendy toy, but it is so worth it. The girls loved chewing on it more than anything else and still play with it.

2. Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes - on the annoying music scale, this is pretty low and its really easy for little hands to grip.

3. Green Toys Stacker - we have other stackers, but this is the favorite. The girls don't really stack it yet, but they love to chase the rolling pieces and chew on them.

4. Tiny Love Playgym - This thing saved our sanity from 2-6 months. The girls spent a lot of tummy and back time playing with all the toys (and letting us get other things done). It really helped them start to reach for and grab toys. They still play with the big mirror.

5. FP Rainforest Jumperoo - This jumper is a standalone version with lots of toys and keeps the girls very entertained for as long as I will allow them to stay in it.

6. FP Learning Home - In the last few months, the girls have really started playing with this a lot. They open the door and crawl through all the time, ring the doorbell, open the windows, stand up and play with the parts on top. This toy is entertaining for hours and months on end. I would say that this is a great toy (if you have the space) for the 9 - 18 months age.

7. LeapFrog Table - We just recently purchased this (used) and the girls love to stand up on it and play with all the music toys all day long. The legs come off so younger babies can use it too.

8. SoftPlay mini crinkle fabric books - These were/are a huge favorite. They are the perfect size for little hands, make a great crinkling noise and have rings in them so you can attach them to the car seat or stroller seat.