Traveling with a Toddler: Part 2

Yesterday I talked about artsy activities to keep your toddler occupied while in the air, but for a six hour flight followed by a fourteen hour flight, that's only going to work for so long. Of course hopefully she'll sleep for some of that time, but it's always best to be over prepared in my opinion! When all else fails, technology to the rescue. Here are a few things we'll be taking on the plane to keep her entertained, along with some toddler-specific gear:

1. We each have an iPhone, so we'll be bringing those for sure. We loaded them up with her favorite apps, as well as a new never-before-seen ones to keep her excited. A few of her favorites are:

• The Monster at the End of This Book & Another Monster at the End of This Book - Violet loves these interactive books. There's the classic original with just Grover and the second version which includes both Grover and Elmo. She gets to knock down Grover's brick wall, wipe off his glue, and untie the knots of his ropes - good times people, good times.
• SoundTouch - this one keeps her entertained for a really long time. There's a lite version, but I definitely recommend getting the full version. There are pages and pages of different illustrations that she can choose - household items, animals, musical instruments, etc. When she taps on one it shows a real photograph of that item/thing and a realistic sound to accompany it.
• Animal Puzzle for Toddlers by Eiswuxe - These puzzles are very cute and there is a lot of variety to them. She just drags the puzzle pieces to the correct spots and when she finishes a puzzle she gets to pop a bunch of balloons - win win!
• Nighty Night! This app is just adorable and perfect for bedtime. She loves to touch each lighted window of the farmhouse to find a different animal who is ready to go to sleep. She turns out the light and each one settles down for bed. The narrator has a nice soothing voice and the illustrations are very cute.
• DoodleBuddy - She'll have a Magna Doodle and Color Wonder markers on the plane, but drawing on the iPhone is still fun too! I love that this app has different backgrounds to choose from (including a tic tac toe board for older kids), you can alter the line thickness and color, and use a ton of fun stamps.
• Peekaboo Barn - Violet loves to try to guess what animal is making noise behind the barn doors before she touches them to reveal the animal. The animal's names are narrated in a cute child's voice but are still very clear. At the end she loves to watch the animals go to sleep.
• Make it Pop - Like the name says, with this app you can make different things pop - balloons, popcorn, bubbles, and fireworks. An added bonus is that each one is educational in a different way. The balloons help with letter identification, the popcorn with numbers, the rockets with colors, and the bubbles with shapes. 

2. We decided to save the iPad for movies. The plane will have some kid-specific movies, but we wanted to make sure we had the right ones for Violet. She loves Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Shrek 2, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and we also bought her a few new ones - Follow that Bird, Winnie the Pooh and Annie.

3. To make sure that she can hear her movies and apps without bothering neighboring passengers, we bought these Kidz Gear headphones for her a few months ago. We've used them periodically with her to get her used to them. Of course a plane adapter is a must (silly two-pronged plane outlets!)

4. The iPad and iPhone batteries are pretty decent, but not when you're talking a fourteen hour flight. So after a lot of research the Mister found this portable recharger - I'll be sure to let you know how it worked, fingers crossed!

5. This one isn't for entertainment, but safety. We've opted not to bring Violet's car seat as we have one waiting for us to use over in Oz, so we purchased the FAA approved CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System). It just slips over the back of the seat to provide a safe harness for your little one during takeoff, landing, and any potential turbulence.

So that's it! I'm still looking for some new fun apps for Violet - if you have any recommendations for a two-year-old I'm all ears.

xoxo, Lauren

P.S. Tomorrow I'm going to share a few of the books that we've been using to prepare her for flying on a plane!