Transferred from my old blog.com account. Original post written on December 5, 2012.
Bugs and I are traveling to Seattle next week to see my parents (yippee!).
We have made this trip 4 times before, each time traveling just the two of us. This time will be the same. The difference now is that Bugs is older and although still small, she has huge amounts of energy, making our upcoming 20 hour, 3 flight (with a redeye leg), 2 layover, 4 passport (2 for each of us from each country), international adventure seem daunting.
However, there is no better way to overcome intimidation that preparation!
Here is how we are getting ready to travel...
(if you are also traveling with toddlers this holiday season you may find these tips useful)
Preparation #1 - Games for the iPhone
Yes, I am one of "THOSE" moms who lets my child play games on her iPhone. And do you know what? It is a LIFESAVER! Especially when it comes to long plane rides. Here are a few aps I downloaded that Kesha really seems to enjoy:
1. Kids Song Machine (by Genera Interactive)
- Photo curtesy of http://www.apps4kids.net/
We love this ap because it has favorite kids songs like "Old McDonald", "If You're Happy and You Know It", "I'm a Little Teapot", and many more and its interactive. Kids can tap the screen and interact with the moving characters. The interactions on this game are a bit simpler than Kids Song Machine 2 (which I will talk about below), but it is nice to throw in to the mix. Cost $1.99
2. Kids Song Machine 2 (by Genera Interactive)
- Photo curtesy of https://play.google.com/
Our family loves this ap not only because it is musical and interactive like the original Kids Song Machine, but it is internationally focused! The songs are not well known like in the first ap, but they are much more interactive and Miss B has loved discovering the intricacies of the interactions in each international world presented by this ap. Cost: $1.99
3. The Wheels on the Bus (by Kids Games Club)
- Screenshot from my iPhone
This game could last kids a lifetime with all of the different activities it has to do. Game options include: Song, Happy Math, Racing Track, Car Puzzles, Horn Piano, Memory Cards, Bus Ride, Tap the Car, Tiny Train, and Coloring Book. All interactive and fairly basic concepts. Although B is only 2 she can play the Horn Piano, do the puzzles, memory cards, likes to listen to the Tiny Train game, and loves the coloring book (by far her favorite game in this ap). The initial version is free, however, I upgraded to the full version for $1.99.
4. Dr. Panda Teach Me (by TribePlay)
- Screenshot from my iPhone
This game is a bit more complex but has a lot of fun activities like matching, which animal is larger/smaller than the rest, counting, locating colors, and much more. It is slightly out of my daughter's reach, but she still really enjoys interacting with Dr. Panda and the games. Cost: $1.99
Preparation #2 - Presents and Onboard Surprises
When I first realized that the upcoming trip with Miss B was making me slightly anxious I did what most people would do, seek out advice via social media and read online articles. I got some wonderful wonderful advice! Once such piece of advice is this second preparation piece, presents and onboard surprises.
Someone recommended that I let B unwrap one present per hour of flying. Well that is not going to happen with a 20 hour trip! However, I have decided that 3 presents per flight for the two non-redeye flights is just the right quantity of gift giving for my child. So here's what I have planned...
Flight 1: Guayaquil-Miami
She gets nothing but a pillow, a blanket, books, and lots of love. No surprises and presents to keep her up for this one. It's a redeye flight and I would like for her to sleep as much as possible!
Flight 2: Miami-Chicago
When she wakes up in the morning we will be in Miami and have to go through immigration and customs (she will deserve something amazing after just doing that). When we board our next flight I will wait until she shows signs of boredom and fidgetiness before I pull out granola cookies or some other sort of food-related "treat" (you can interpret treat however you would like to). The next time she gets bored I will pull out a toy gift. I am going with a new small tea set for the first gift with hopes that it will keep her occupied offering me "tea mommy?" for the rest of the flight! If she is still struggling I will pull out the big guns and give her a "premio" (what she calls candy) later on in the flight as my final bribe.
Flight 3: Chicago-Seattle
We will both be totally fed up with traveling at this point and I am going to keep my fingers crossed that she will be the trooper she typically is when she travels. However, I will keep a similar trend up my sleeve for this last leg of the journey as I did for the Miami-Chicago leg. First a healthy-ish treat , then a toy, then candy.
All of these gifts will be "wrapped" in some way so it feels like she is getting something very special that is only related with the fact that she is traveling.
Preparation #3 - PINTAR!!!!!
Those of you who know Kesha know that one of her favorite things to do in the entire world is color, paint, smear, daub, rub, and sketch... She will do it when and where she can and loves every minute of it. So, when she travels she can pick out (at the airport!) a new set of markers and a new coloring book or blank tablet (I let her pick, that way she truly takes ownership of the items... or at least I'd like to think so). The last time we flew I did this exact thing and she painted the entire trip to Seattle. As you can tell from preparation #2 I do not expect the same results this trip, however, I do think it will be an excellent activity that will use up a good portion of her waking hours during our flights.
- Pintar? Yeah, pintar!
Preparation #4 - The backpack
Kesha was given a backpack for her birthday, and boy does she love that backpack. However, I have hidden her backpack. And I am hiding all of the toys that she has been in to for the past couple of weeks in the backpack. So far I have stashed away books, a coloring pad, and a handful of toys. I will give her her backpack as we board the bus from Cuenca to Guayaquil and make it her responsibility. Her suitcase. I think it will help keep her occupied for about 15 minutes haha.
- THE backpack and the Bugster
Preparation #5 - Goodie bags for my seat mates
I love this idea and hope I get around to doing it. The thought is that you hand out goodie bags to the people sitting closest to you to butter them up before your toddler starts acting up. A website recommended attaching a note saying please remember how it was when you were little and you were so excited to fly and please enjoy this token of our gratitude for your patience. It can be hard to travel alone with children (Have you ever thought about how you use the bathroom on the plan? Yeah, other people I've talked to hadn't either) and it can be hard for other passengers, especially those without children, to travel with them as well. A bit of thanks can go a long way and I'm hoping it will for us as well.
- Photo curtesy of http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
Here is a website that talks about such gifts - http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/traveling-with-baby-airplane-f-151033
Do YOU have any great tips for traveling with a toddler?
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