10 Travelling Activities to Occupy a Restless Toddler

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On Tuesday, Gavin will be flying to Australia for the third time.  I should also add that blogging over the next couple of weeks might be a bit of a challenge since my parents only have dial-up (gasp!) in Melbourne, so chances are I won’t be online much – if at all.  There are a few post-dated blog posts coming up though – didn’t want my blog to seem completely abandoned for two weeks.

Anyway, I digress…  Gavin will be on a plane again this coming Tuesday.  He’s already been on an aeroplane before so it should be a breeze, right?  Now that he’s older, it’s definitely easier, isn’t it?  Well, maybe.  Then again maybe not.

Toddlers are notoriously restless and I’ve been told by many a Mum that traveling with infants is actually easier than travelling with a toddler.  Even I have to admit that Gavin, who can sit quite well through a meal without needing to get up, is going to find an 8 hour flight a bit of a stretch.  So I’d done a little bit of preparing and this is my arsenal to tackle the 8 hour journey:

1. Thomas and Friends crayons and colouring book – crayons are a life-saver when you need something to occupy a restless toddler.
2. Thomas and Friends Magnetic book – I don’t know about other Mums but this one has always proven to be a hit with Gavin.
3. Thomas and Friends Take-Along trains – I think it goes without saying that we can’t leave home without the trains.
4. Thomas and Friends Sticker Express - this is great for rewarding good behaviour (plus, I usually let Gavin choose his own sticker which usually takes him at least ten minutes while he browses through the collection to decide which one he wants).
5. Thomas and Friends story books – those small books with short stories are also good for killing a bit of time, although it means having to read and re-read the same story until you know the words by heart.
6. Portable DVD player with Signing Time DVD and Thomas and Friends VCD – okay, this probably seems a bit extreme but it seriously works.

And if he gets bored of this list, then there’s always these activities which also work to a certain extent:

1. Singing songs – ABC and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star are his favourites right now.
2. Mummy’s made up Thomas and Friends stories – it’s more like an adaptation of the stories I’ve read to him and what I’ve seen on TV.
3. If all else fails, we can take walks up and down the aisles
4. Or tranquilise him – okay, I’m kidding.  But I’m sure he’ll sleep a bit.  Maybe.  I think.

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Other posts that might interest you:

• Medications to Bring When Travelling
• Gavin and the Mystery of the Broken Glasses
• Review: Time4Learning
• The Wonder of a Box of Crayons
• Why Does My Toddler Act Up?

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