As the title really – 3.5 yrs old. I don’t want to be laden with rubbish but want to make sure they have plenty to occupy them – I have an iPad, laptop etc that I can take (probably taking the laptop anyway in case I need to work whilst I am away) but has anyone got any good tips for ways to entertain them?

Ta

😉

Them or me?

Probably both. A sort of sedative based, double-bagger 😀

Colouring books, (washable) markers and iPads with toca boca and duck duck moose apps plus a variety of downloaded BBC iplayer programs kept us sweet. We had headphone for the iPads which the kids enjoyed using immensely.

If you’re on a BA 747 flight, ensure your children are in any row from 40 to 53, while you are in anything in rows 60-64

HTH.

😉

However, on a more valid line of question – who are you flying with? IFE and the like can vary a lot between airlines! And, where to? East or West Coast? Quite a difference….

2 x films, 2 x meals, 1 x little sleep and a little bit of playing on iPad, comic, reading book. Job done.

Not had a flight that long in a while, but last time I did Jnr was 6. He was happy with Spiderman and Pirates of the Caribbean (whichever number) and didn’t seem to need entertaining apart from that.

get them an outside seat 😀

However, on a more valid line of question – who are you flying with? IFE

Flying with Virgin Atlantic, direct from LHR to LAX.

Added complication that we are travelling with their cousins too – so there will be 5 children ranging from 3 to 7 causing untold chaos for the entire flight.

I might just get pissed as soon as I get on and hide in the toilets….

Flying with Virgin Atlantic, direct from LHR to LAX.

You poor thing! 😉

I did LHR-LAX-LAS as a return schlep the other day (On BA/American and at the comfy end) and it’s a fair old haul of a day time flight across there.

That said, Virgin are meant to be very good with kids, which should help. IFE is meant to be good on board their 74s as well. Not been on one, personally, as I’m rather hooked in to BA.

As another note, on the return trip, LAX is not a very good airport at all. Even the Flounge is teeny tiny! 😉 That said, there’s a great place for a burger upstairs at the Tom Bradley Terminal just before you go through security. Daily Grill I think it was called.

Headphones that fit little ones head properly and a connector that fits the entertainment system socket on the armrest. Invaluable for the 24hrs flying time to NZ we did with our 3yr old. A decent sized pillow too for sleep time.

Cheers CF – some helpful advice there.

red – we have bought a headphone spitter for the iPad/Air and will be getting kiddie headphones too. Just trying to avoid walking onto the plane with a passport for me and several tonnes of paraphernalia for them…

I used a mixture of Diazipam/ Tamazipam. It was great, 8 hours of silence, woke up in the Caribbean.

Mrs Kryton was a bit frazzled though, and apparently jnr likes clouds.

I was going to suggest the duct tape/zip tie solution, but chemistry works. 😀

mam/dad wingwalking

We used to wrap a few colouring books, simple toys, card games up as presents and would pull them out at various points. Nothing more than a couple of quid each Sort of thing but the game kept them entertained.

Oh, and audio books. A couple of those can eat up 8 hrs easily once they get into them

CHF earlier 🙂

kids get strangely intoxicated by strangers doing chores . . .

maybe slip the hostess a fiver to keep milling about in your area..?

I’m sure I speak for pretty much everyone who has ever flown, or been on any form of public transport for that matter.
I don’t give a monkey’s what you do with the child as long as it is very quiet and very still.
Not pointing the finger at yours in particular but parents in general seem incapable of noticing when their small child is pi$$ing off everyone else there. I would suggest taking nothing noisy and preferably something which will send it to sleep as quickly as possible. Also, the amount of paraphenalia (sp?) people take for children is enormous, please don’t spread out across most of the cabin. Stuff will be everywhere and you spend ages rummaging for the favourite toy when everyone else is trying to sleep.
.
That may have come across as ruder than intended, but you get the jist. Please think of the rest of us too.

I’m sure I speak for pretty much everyone who has ever flown, or been on any form of public transport for that matter.
I don’t give a monkey’s what you do with the child as long as it is very quiet and very still.
Not pointing the finger at yours in particular but parents in general seem incapable of noticing when their small child is pi$$ing off everyone else there. I would suggest taking nothing noisy and preferably something which will send it to sleep as quickly as possible. Also, the amount of paraphenalia (sp?) people take for children is enormous, please don’t spread out across most of the cabin. Stuff will be everywhere and you spend ages rummaging for the favourite toy when everyone else is trying to sleep.
.
That may have come across as ruder than intended, but you get the jist. Please think of the rest of us too and I’ve bought some noise cancelling headphones and I’ll just go to sleep instead.

FTFY

We’ve done LHR-ORD a few times. Depends on what your kids like but obviously small self contained items. I wouldn’t go for colouring – crayons and pens will end up all over the floor and rolling under people’s seats.

We usually buy new stuff specially for the journey – the novelty keeps them interested for a while. Our eldest (3) is well trained in watching films so we pack a load of her favourites onto a PSP.

Don’t bring anything for yourselves to do – you are a full time children’s entertainer for the duration. If you go with that attitude it helps 🙂

We had to take daytime flights both directions to make this easier, but now our eldest is a little older she is more inclined to sleep, the overnight flight we took last time went ok.

I’ve seen a smiley on another thread that would be very apt for andrewh

I’ll see if I can find it again

and I’ve bought some noise cancelling headphones and I’ll just go to sleep instead

with the small child kicking the back of my seat and the parents constantly in the overhead bin above my head looking for whatever sugar-based snack they think will make it stop screaming? Not condusive to a good sleep!
.
.
Have I wandered into a nest of parents on this thread? All I’m saying is you know how annoying everyone else’s children are, remember that to everyone else yours are too, please limit this as much as possible.

On LHR-LAX you’ll get middle class parents with well behaved kids. Chav scum can’t afford those fares, you’ll be fine.

(seriously though – never had a single problem with other people’s kids on LHR-ORD)

With Andrewh here though the last kids and planes thread had anyone who dares suggest a kid free zone be in the same category as jimmy saville. Sleep and quiet toys please unless you want to get the whole plane noise cancelling headphones.

I think you should make up a horror story about a maniac called Andrew. Start talking about him at the breakfast table (but not directly to the kids) and they’ll soon be acquainted to this horrible beast.

Discuss how you were told by so & so (a sister,aunt or friend that the kids know of) that keeping very quiet keeps Andrew away.. and that if Andrew finds mummy and daddy on the plane he could easily take them away.

Virgin give out the headphones for their in flight entertainment free of charge. They should also give the kids a free bag with some colouring stuff in.
Take plenty of lollipops, helps with the take off- ear popping and also keeps them quite for a nice long time.

Chav scum can’t afford those fares,

Yes I can.

Seriously, thanks for all the advice. Just 4 weeks to go. Better start doing something.

Ahh already am doing something – pissing off to Brugge on a lads’s weekend next week 🙂