New and Exciting Toy for Travel

[Marcy_O]

Ok, so we are taking Brighton on his first plane ride to San Diego and the Doctor suggested that we get him a new toy unlike any he has and something fun. Now, he's 13 months old, and he's becomming mr. independance...we can't keep him in our laps to save our life and unfortunately, when DH booked the flight in early May we didn't have this problem, so we figured he'd be fine in our laps...yes, we're first timers :)

Anyway, any recommendations on fun and exciting toys that aren't noisy, aren't huge, travel well, aren't terribly expensive so if we lose it it won't be a big deal?

Also, he has a favorite stuffed monkey, should I bring that? Perhaps I should go buy another just incase...

[californiagirl]

Bring the monkey. Buy another (you want to do that anyway).

For airplane toys:
mini magna-doodle
stickers
spiral bound index cards (seriously! They're easier to deal with than paper and a perfect size. You can put stickers on some of them if you want, or let him do it.)
forbidden food items -- lollipops, fruit leather, jelly beans are perfect for landing...
toy cellphone (makes noise, but this is better than screaming)
plastic slinky

[brittone2]

You know, I think I'd stock up on random little things as I'll bet you'll hold his attention better with those. How about post it notes, sticker (as the PP said), I swear in the past someone has mentioned band aids as a toy while flying, I think the mini magnadoodle could be fun, a bunch of books (what about something like the book Tails? DS loved that book at that age), if he'll scribble the mini magnadoodle type things or a crayon and paper.

Maybe make a mini photo album with pics of people he knows or places he likes. You could look through that on the plane and talk about what he sees.

If he likes little fingerplays and songs you can just do lots of "wheels on the bus," etc. to keep him busy if you get desperate.

Have a great trip!

[willow33]

How about finger puppets? A few of my friends bought them specifically for plane trips and the kids really loved them. Good luck on your trip :)

[deannanb]

When I flew with DS at 14 mo, he was content to sit on my lap and eat half of the time. The other half he wanted to wander the plane.

At 18 mo, it was much easier to keep him entertained with "stuff."

I found some small plastic zoo/wild life animals in a tube at Ross. ($4.99) DS LOVED them! I bought them for the plane ride. He had fun taking them out and then putting them back in the tube.

I brought WAAAAY more than I needed on the airplane - but I felt better knowing I was a good Mom with a great stash of entertainment for DS than a parent who had nothing for their child.

Stickers were a big hit for us -
At 13 mo I would try out the magnadoodle at home first. It might not be worth it to take it along.

I would also say yes to the monkey - and like pp said, get an extra one! make sure that you trade them out every week or so and wash them equally. kids know when something is "different/new"

Bring tons of food. I found that was the best way to keep DS quiet.
I bought some of the safety pop suckers that DS liked.

playdough was a mess for us at 18 mo.

Good Luck...

Look up the summer travel list... it had a bunch of great ideas!
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=51577&mesg_id=51577&listing_type=search