Rollaboard Travel - Tips on Traveling Light

By: Alexine

Traveling with toddlers can be very tricky as they are in the “terrible 2” or “terrible 3” stage. Pretty much once your child starts running around and taking fewer naps traveling becomes a challenge. Making sure they don’t get bored and scream on the flight will save you a headache for sure. To help keep your toddler entertained en route I have come up with ten fun activities to do together or independently.

Drawing

While a pencil and paper are not the best choices for an active toddler there are plenty of options available. Using one of those magic pens on the black paper that only show the colors when the pen is used are great. There is no mess and they can draw you lots of pretty pictures.

Coloring

Crayons and coloring books are lots of fun to use together or let your toddler do alone. There are many different stages of coloring books available and one for beginners is preferable. This way you can talk about what they are coloring and work on staying in the lines. It’s good practice and takes up time.

Painting

I would never suggest taking an actual paint set on the plane however those paint with water books are wonderful. All you need is a paintbrush and cup of water to use the book. The great thing about these is the colors appear when the water is put on them so you can talk about the colors of the shapes for fun.

Flash Cards

Working on getting ready for school and expanding your toddler’s vocabulary can be lots of fun. Flash cards are a great activity for traveling as you can do many activities with one set of cards. First you can name them. Then you can sort them in different ways. It is a learning activity and fun all in one.

Reading

Bringing along a few of your toddler’s favorite books is great to keep them preoccupied. Sometimes you may have to read the same book over and over but that is a lot easier on the ears than a frustrated tot. Once you have read the book you can also go back trough and talk about the pictures on the pages.

Movies

If you have a portable movie player then this would be the perfect opportunity to put it to good use. I have seen many toddlers sitting on airplanes silent and happy while watching their favorite movies or shows on DVD. If you don’t own one then you can use your laptop or rent one at the airport.

Puzzles

Educational toys are some of my favorites because they work on the mind and keep your child entertained. Puzzles are a great solution for long flights as they can be an activity you do together. Make sure you bring age appropriate puzzles to keep your toddler’s attention.

Treats

Special treats like lollypops and sweets are great for traveling because they help calm down you little one when they are getting out of hand. There is sure to be a moment or two where you just need something to get them to sit down or quiet down. This is when you try a lollypop or some fruit snacks.

Picture Album

This activity is great because it keeps your toddler entertained and gets them thinking about fun memories. Picture albums of personal photos or filled with pictures out of magazines are great. You can put animals, people, objects and other photos in there to keep them talking to you instead of whining.

Cozy Blanket

Most likely at some point throughout the day of traveling your toddler will finally get burned out. This is the perfect time to bring out a cozy blanket from home and maybe a stuffed animal or two. Familiar cozy items are wonderful sleeping aids when getting your little one to take a nap.

While it may be a lot to take all of these things along with you while traveling, pick and choose according to your toddler’s interests. Make sure you bring several activities along to keep them busy because their attention spans are normally pretty short during this phase. If you really wanted you could probably fit all the items above in a small roll on bag. Then you surely wouldn’t run out of activities.