How to Fly with a Toddler

Thank goodness for experienced mothers who are willing to share their expertise with me! Two women whom I work with at school are mothers of a three year old and twin 6 year-olds. They are an endless source of advice, wisdom, and support for me, and they came through yet again when I most needed it. They rallied and helped me gather my supplies to occupy Myrick during a long and potentially disastrous airplane flight to Texas. We just returned today, and when all was said and done, Myrick survived:

• a one hour flight from Manchester to D.C.
• a one hour flight from D.C. to Charlotte
• a three hour flight from Charlotte to Dallas/Ft. Worth
• a three hour flight from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Philly
• and the final leg of our trip, a one hour flight from Philly back to Manchester.

Wow - pretty impressive little traveler, isn't she? So, how did we do it with only minor wrestling and melt-downs to speak of? In the event that anyone reading this is ever about to journey forth on their own long adventure and needs a list of tried-and-recommended ideas to keep an active one on your lap busy, here they are:

• Sticker books! Not only did the stickers end up in the book, but they also found their way onto the seats, the tray table, the window, Myrick's clothes, my clothes, our faces, etc. Get the idea? Very successful trip toy! Dollar stores often have big cartons of foam stickers which are great for little hands that are working on manual dexterity skills.
• Window gels. I don't know what they are really called, but you know those things that are usually seasonal and are gel-like that stick to windows and glass? They also stick to airplane windows and tray tables and don't leave a mess when you peal them off - cool.
• Coloring books and crayons. Not very original, I know, but they still managed to keep her busy and happy for part of the ride.
• Crayola Color Wonder kit. The markers have "clear" tips so they don't show up on anything other than the special coloring book that it comes with. This was key for Myrick who enjoyed drawing on any and everything - no mess!
• Books. Again, not terribly original, but great nonetheless. I found a combination of a few tried and true favorites mixed in with a few new ones worked well. Two series that I recommend: "A First Discovery Book" published by Scholastic and "Magnetic Play and Learn" by Top That.
• Lacing cards. Toy makers Melissa and Doug have great ones, but I'm sure others work just as well.
• Puzzles. I found one interlocking foam puzzle at the dollar store and also borrowed a few four and six-piece cardboard puzzles. Again, Melissa and Doug also offer tons of great puzzles, many of which are also easily packable.
• Foam shapes with a hole through the center. This was a borrowed item so I'm not sure where she got them, but they were a similar concept to the lacing cards. We laced them onto pipe cleaners and made bracelets and necklaces for Myrick to wear. Fabulous!
• An MP3 player. Load it with your little one's favorite music, especially the calm, lullaby type!
• Elmer's Water Wow. Another no-mess "coloring" kit that just uses water and once dry is re-usable. Love it!

I pre-packaged everything into gallon sized ziplocks so that all I had to do was reach into my backpack and pull one out. Now that I am home, I am putting all of these toys away so that come April, when Nate and I are trekking south for a 19 hour drive, I can pull them out and hopefully they will be novel all over again. Myrick was a trooper. She, of course, had a few expected moments of toddler melt-downs, but overall she did a wonderful job of playing in my lap contentedly and occassionally napping soundly. In between flights, we ran up and down the concourse to get some energy out. Pweeff - I am exhausted and glad to be home safely with my daughter napping upstairs as we speak. Perhaps it is time for a nap myself!