9+ Activities that Kept My 1.5-Year-Old Toddler Busy on the Airplane | Flying Alone with a Lap Baby

Keeping a Toddler Occupied During Solo Air Travel

Brittany of Wayfaring Humans shares what kept her 20-month-old son occupied during a full day of solo travel with two flights and a layover. Her main advice is to pack more activities than you think you’ll need: some may not work, but having options can help prevent boredom and tantrums.

Food and Snacks

• Pack plenty of snacks and milk for the whole travel day rather than relying on airport or airline food. Brittany brought purée pouches, pretzels, fish-shaped crackers, and snacks in small containers.
• Pill boxes doubled as a snack-picking game, and spill-resistant snack cups, such as Munchkin snack catchers, let her son serve himself.
• He also enjoyed snacks and drinks offered by flight attendants.

Screens and Creative Activities

• Try the in-flight entertainment. Brittany’s son was more interested in plugging headphones into the seat-back screen than using his tablet.
• At 20 months, he only focused on the tablet briefly, but enjoyed a game about feeding little monsters and downloaded episodes of Peppa Pig and Blippi.
• Water-reveal books, including Water Wow books, and coloring books were hits. Coloring became more interesting to him at around 18 months.
• Stickers kept him busy on the armrest and other surfaces, though as he got older, he needed more of an activity than simply handling them.

Toys and the Plane Itself

• Small toys can encourage imaginative play. Plastic animals from a dollar store worked well for Brittany’s son. She planned to try hiding them in Play-Doh on the return flight, but hadn’t tested the idea yet.
• The plane itself offered distractions: he played with the window shade and safety card, interacted with friendly passengers, and took walks up and down the aisle and trips to the bathroom.
• Brittany also packed backup activities for the return flight, including masking tape, toy cars, and other small dollar-store items. Rubik’s Cube-style toys didn’t interest her son on this trip, possibly because he was tired.

Practical Considerations

• Expect diaper changes to be challenging. Brittany’s son wouldn’t lie down, so she managed a standing diaper change in the airplane bathroom. It was possible, but difficult.
• Check the liquid rules for your specific trip. Brittany notes that travelers in North America can bring extra liquids for babies and toddlers, but they may be subject to additional screening.

Brittany also mentions buying a chalkboard-style drawing item at a dollar store in Vancouver.