Need ideas to keep an almost 4 yo dd busy on a 15-hour flight, please.

[Laura in VA]

We're moving to Okinawa, Japan, in July and I would love to hear the hive's advice for keeping little ones content on a long flight. Thank you so much!

[Tracey in TX]

Have you considered a DS or Leap Frog?
books, crayons, blankie, etc...
First few long trips my DCs went on, I brought gifts (cheap travel games, crayons, gum, etc) and handed them out as needed.

[E_Edgerton]

Crayons,pencils, markers, a sketchbook (just to keep all the paper together, a binder would work too) travel games, books, if you think your child would like it, an audio book would be fun, finger puppets, Etch-a-Sketch...a nap...that is a LONG flight. Good luck on your move!:)

[Mom2GirlsTX]

A portable dvd player is a lifesaver, coloring books, colored pencils, cheerios to be strung onto a string to make you a nice necklace, or uncooked pasta to string onto a necklace of yarn. Benadryl;)

[Stacey in MA]

I had a speech therapist offer me this suggestion.... We used to regularly travel x-c when DS9 and DD6 were little. DD9 had melt-down problems when he was 4 and under, and we needed to handle our hours of time in public in a calculated fashion to try and stave off the trouble.

You go and buy a bunch of small trinkets, toy kind of things....plastic animals, doodle pads w/ markers, maybe some special lollipops or candy treats, books, etc. They don't have to be expensive - Dollar Store can work!, just small so you can travel w/ them. Then you WRAP them like birthday presents. Make them look beautiful, exciting, desireable. Now you have ammo! You get on the plane, and you tell the child, "if you will read these books for 20 minutes and be quiet and still, you will earn an AIRPLANE prize for your hard work in 20 minutes!" (yes, some call it bribery, but we others call it MOVTIVATORS!) You can even show the kid the pretty wrapped package that he is working on earning. He will be so excited to have a prize, to open it, and to play with it a bit, that he will likely attempt to "earn" it.

And one other thing - portable DVD player w/ extra battery and earphones! hee hee! This will buy a couple of hours at a time!

Good luck and have a nice trip!
- Stacey in MA

[Mom2GirlsTX]

has this article
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/traveltips/06/06/flying.with.babies/index.html

[Jen3boys]

Looks like a lot of good ideas so far! My ds3 likes silly putty too.

[Laura in VA]

We're planning on bringing the following items:
Leapfrog
Husband has a DS that she likes to scribble on (I'm talking about the Nintendo DS, not a ds- even though she'd probably love to do that too! :D)
Crayons, colored pencils
Stickers
Portable DVD player with some dvds
Wiki Stix
And ???

She'll probably be a real trooper on the plane. I, on the other hand, am hoping to make it without being too much of a pansy (I do not like to fly).