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Your long-awaited holiday has finally arrived. There is a lot of excitement that you carry along with your baggage on your dream holiday. Your children are behaving at the airport. But are you sure, they will remain the neat prince (or princess) or turn out to be monstrous nerds on a long haul flight? Here are few tips to entertain your kids on an airplane. At the same time mark the stuff that you might not want to send off with check-in baggage:
1. Studying The In-flight Route Map
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I simply love this feature. To be able to gauge the horizons that you are flying over is amazing. The in-flight route maps are usually set in front of your seats on long haul flights, and it can be a great tool for your child to learn about various geographies around the world. Your child will learn the major cities and also few towns that might be marked on the map. Some history attached to the place might also capture his interest.
2. Write A Travel Journal
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Your son must have had some incredibly memorable experiences on his trip, and he might want to jot down his thoughts in his little travel journal. Ask him to record the places he has visited, the people he met, and all the learning and fun he drew from his trip. The journal will not only etch the memories on his mind but also, you never know, it might come in handy for a school assignment! If he is still en route the destination, perhaps he could write about his excitement and what he expects to derive from the trip.
3. Memorizing The Flight Information Leaflet
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The in-flight information leaflet might offer the type of aircraft you are flying and the models that are prevalent in the industry. For instance, are you flying in a Boeing 787? Ask him to look into the information leaflet and memorize the features inherent to each type of aircraft. And then take a little quiz.
4. Sky And Cloud Tales
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The huge fluffy cottony appearance of the clouds seems so beautiful, especially when the sun is out and bright. You child might even spot imaginary faces or shapes out of them. Just weave a story around the cloud fairies to capture his intrigue. He might as well build a story from where you stopped and make it seem more dramatic :p Also allow him to watch the gorgeous purple and scarlet skies during sunrise as you pass through the time zones.
5. Playing Flight Attendant
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Little girls can get all coochie coochie coo with their dolls and stuffed toys that could board along with them. Let them snuggle in together in their window seat. Your little girl might want to playact a flight attendant with her doll. She might want to show her how to fasten the seatbelt, serve her snacks and echo the instructions that she just lapped up while take off
6. Inflight Story Time
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Buy your girl a new book of stories before you fly. Read out the stories together or let her do the reading for you. Sometimes being a good listener is all you need to keep her occupied!
7. Activity Books
Don’t forget the activity books. Puzzles, mazes, quizzes and stickers can be quiet tools to keep children busy on a long-haul flight.
8. Make Landscapes And Portraits
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Coloring books and crayons are quite a part of a long voyage. Ask your child to make portraits of the people you came across during the journey. He might also want to replicate on paper the places he visited or any highlights from the trip.
9. Get The Educational Toys On Board
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Slates, building blocks, and jigsaw puzzles can prove to be quite mind-stimulators. Get your kids to make a marvel out of them. You never know, they could be modeling a new wonder of the world!
10. Take Pictures
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Get a child camera so your kid can play around with it and snap as many pictures as he wants. It’s another thing that clouds look alike in all pictures ;) but just help the photographer in him grow
11. Play A Spying Game
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If your child is carrying his binoculars, he might want to spy on row 15. Just see to it that he doesn’t get too creepy or sinister :D
12. Finger Family
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Amuse your children by drawing freckled children, fancily dressed mom and a touristic dad on your fingers using a marker pen. You can now play a finger-family game.
13. Play A Pilot Game
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Did you manage to get any toy plane souvenir on your way? Or did the cabin crew just gift your toddler a toy plane? Assign a game to it. Let you child play the pilot while you happen to be the ground staff. What is the communication transpiring between you now?
14. Electronic Gadgets
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The tech-savvy kids cannot keep their hands off them. Tablets, mobile phones, and laptops are just the order of the day. Carry your store of entertainment – video, audio or games. They might be hooked on them for long and leave you to get your catnaps.
15. Play With Cotton-balls
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If you can gather the cotton balls or ear plugs handed out by the crew, your little ones might want to make a snowman out of them!
16. Coffee-Stirrer
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So you thought the coffee-stirrer had no job besides stirring your coffee and sugar? Don’t be surprised if your young one makes it a gladiator’s spear or a boat-oar! There could be more surprise crafts in store
17. Inflight Entertainment
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Some world-class airlines offer a number of in-flight entertainment channels in several languages to cater to diverse people. Your child might want to browse and find his favorite show on his in-flight television.
18. Scrabble And Other Table Games
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There are loads of them available on Amazon. Get your scrabble set or other table games on board. It will be pretty thrilling to play mind games on air.
19. Koosh Balls
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Did you bring along the koosh balls? Playing catch with gentle stuff like these will not bother the fellow passengers.
20. Origami Craft
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Not to forget the origami paper! Kids can have their fingers busy making planes, birds, ducks and what not!
21. Eat And Drink Well
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Make sure that your child gets his food and drinks properly. To stay hydrated during a long haul flight is extremely important. As you switch between the time zones, your biological clock may just have started preparing for the change.
22. Mini-Walks
Allow your child to take his mini walks on the aisle. It will help his legs stay away from getting sore. He might also end up making friends along the way!
23. Take A Family Picture
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Selfies or a portrait? Ask the cabin crew to take a portrait picture of you as you land. It will remain memorable for times to come.
And yes, while a lot of people do fall asleep on airplanes, I would not recommend that. To minimize your jetlag, try staying up and active during the flight. Keeping your kids on the move with activities as these might be a great idea.
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