10 Ways to Keep Your Children Occupied on Long Trips

You have a six hour flight ahead of you and two young kids whose natural attention spans won't make it through take-off. What to do? My mom was an expert at keeping my sister and I entertained in a time before the portable DVD player. With my mom at the helm my sister and I rarely attracted scathing glances from other passengers. I will undoubtedly borrow her tactics when it comes time for me to take a toddler cross-country by plane.

Here are some tricks to keep your kids + plane trip (or car ride) from becoming a nightmare:

Gifts: Early plane flights meant waking us up at the wee-hours of the morning. To fend off sleep deprived grumpiness my mom woke us up with a present. Throughout the trip, at the airport and at various times on the plane (probably when she thought we were getting antsy), my mother pulled gift-wrapped goodies out of her Mary Poppins like bag and presented them to us. These goodies were often coloring books, a picture book, puzzles, juice box, stickers/sticker books. It wasn't really the gifts that my sister and I enjoyed although obviously they were meant to keep us happy, but the anticipation that if we kept still we'd get something to unwrap.

Wikki Sticks: for slightly older kids, Wikki Sticks are a great occupier. They are bascially a package of long wax sticks that you can twist into shapes and stick to surfaces - perfect for sticking to airplane trays or if you're lucky enough to be in the first row behind first class - they stick perfectly to airplane walls. The product says "ideal for ages 3 and up". The link in this paragraph leads to the Wikki Sticks amazon page.

Barf Bag Puppets: Barf-Bag puppets were a big hit with my sister and me. My mom always had a supply of crayons and stickers around to help us decorate the puppets. If the plane doesn't have a barf bag, bring your own basic brown lunch bag from home and let your kids and their imaginations go wild.

Car seat: The car seat indexes to kids all the rules of riding in the car. It encourages kids to stay in their seats and restricts squirming.

Backpacks: Give each child a small backpack to fill with his or her special items such as a coloring book, a snack, a stuffed animal, an emergency change of clothes, etc. This backpack will serve as the child's own entertainment center and give him/her a sense of responsibility. It also lets the child put something through security and teaches him/her airport routines.

Books: My sister and I were great fans of sticker books, which can double as coloring books. Other time consuming books are those like "I Spy" where the reader must find a list of objects hidden on the page (much like Where's Waldo, but you're looking for more than one guy). You can improve this type of game if you don't have I Spy or Where's Waldo by going through the airplane magazine (or any magazine you have) and pick out items for your kids to find on each page. Give your kids a list and a pen and off to the races they go! (for younger kids you can have them point out where each item is and go along with them).

Audio-Book: This requires an ipod or portable CD or tape player. Audio books are less likely to cause air sickness and last for hours.

Improv Games: It sounds simple, but it works. Look out the plane windows and make up stories about the shapes you see. Ask your kids what they see in the clouds. A popular game my dad used on car trips was a variation of the Punch Buggy game. He designated certain types of cars worth points. At the end of the trip the one with the most points won (or got money depending on how old we were). Example: Red bugs 2 points, regular bugs 1 point, cars towing boats 3 points, fire trucks erases your opponent's points, ambulance switches your points with someone else etc.

A popular word game (that we often played in car rides and even on ski lifts) was Ghost. This is a link I found to a pretty good explanation of how to play. It may seem complicated, but in practice it's very simple and fun for a group as small as 3 or as big as you've got.

Origami: Along with other paper projects, Origami is a fun activity if you're prepared. Bring along some origami paper and a beginners Origami book. After you make a swan or a box together the kids can also play with the finished products.

Blankets and Pillows: Airplanes are uncomfortable. We all know that. But we don't want that to stop the kids from much needed nap-time. Bring a favorite blanket, stuffed animal, or mini-pillow to help make the seat a more comfortable environment. You can often raise the armrest and let your child sleep across your lap for more comfort (although small children have little problem curling up in the seats).

I hope some of this was new or helpful.
Best of luck to you.