Traveling with a lap child on a long-duration flight is daunting for new parents. Keeping your 6 to 12 months old baby busy on a flight gets more challenging. Having everything prepared for the baby with age-appropriate travel-friendly toys that are not too bulky to carry on a plane is essential. Besides packing your carry-on essentials for a flight, don’t forget to fly with entertaining baby travel toys.
If you are going on a long-haul flight with an active toddler who realistically cannot only be sleeping the whole time, you need to think about how to keep your baby busy while he is awake and thriving.
Choose the best travel toys for babies and toddlers that are not too noisy because you don’t want to piss off your fellow passengers or get a headache from listening to baby toy music while on the plane or during a car ride.
Traveling with a toddler and lap child? Here is what you need to know.
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Travel toys for babies and toddlers – flying as a lap child
Suction Spinner toy for Babies
To keep your baby busy in a lap or if they are sitting right next to you, the suction feature helps this small, easy-to-carry spinner stick on a plane pull-out tray so you don’t have to worry about dropping it. Let your child have some fun with this sensory learning toy.
Check out these cute suction spinners for plane rides.
Quiet book ideal for traveling
Fabric books are ideal for long-duration flights to keep toddlers or babies busy with crinkle sounds. They are soft and easy to carry for air travel and can be easily placed in a hand-carry bag without worrying about adding extra weight. Keep your child busy with quiet books so you and other passengers are not disturbed.
Magnetic Wooden blocks
This cute little pouch comes with magnetic wooden blocks that do not fall apart. Great engaging sensory activity toy to take on a plane for 6 to 12 months old babies.
Travel-size wooden magnetic toy for babies
String Pulling toy
This string-pulling toy strengthens babies’ hands and arm muscles. It’s a great toy with no small parts your child could drop. This toy can be engaging for quite a while, and a mom can at least get a few minutes of free time.
Get a pull activity sensory toy
Shapes toy that comes in a small bag
This shape sorting toy is very light and comes with a bag to take on a plane ride. It can potentially keep babies busy on a flight while strengthening their motor skills.
Get a Shapes sorter in a bag for air travel with babies.
Shapes sorter
Although it is not a very good idea to put a toy with tons of small pieces on a plane; the parent might have to move back and forth, up and down, to pick up small parts, especially small cars and that’s pretty frustrating, this shape sorter is still a good option to carry on a plane ride because this activity toy can keep your baby engaged for quite a long time.
If a mom is flying with a lap child, this toy is great to use on a plane with mom’s or dad’s assistance. You must ensure the toys are not too heavy to carry in a carry-on bag.
Black and white Contrast Fabric book
Babies do not start seeing colors as adults do until 3 to 4 months of age. This black and white fabric book is great for entertaining small babies on a plane. And the good thing is that it is easy to hold without letting it fall on a plane.
Black and white crinkle books.
Teether toy to play multi-ways
This baby teething rattle toy helps the baby get through the teething stages as easily as possible. If your baby is at a teething stage while you are traveling, make sure you keep a teething toy.
Stacking rings and teether
You don’t have to take this whole thing on a plane; just a few rings to carry is a great way to entertain your teething baby on a flight.
Buy these color-neutral stacking rings and teether
A lovey
Some babies may have an innate love for stuffed toys. The fluffiness soothes them, and they like to hold one. So if your baby is interested in playing with plush toys, this cute heart print bear is just a perfect size to take on a plane.
Get this soothing teddy with calm vibrations for your little one.
Entertaining socks
Depending on the weather you are traveling in, these entertaining play socks are too cute to keep babies engaged, who now can sit up or play with their feet up.
Musical Toy
Let’s just face it; sometimes, carrying a small musical toy on a flight is important to deal with unannounced crying spells with a baby. This little toy can calm a crying baby on a plane with a distracting sound.
Check out this musical toy here.
Multi texture Plushy
Babies enhance their learning through touch and feel; multi-texture toys are great for sensory learning and development. You can take your baby’s favorite stuffed toy or get this cute multi-texture elephant plushy on the plane.
The good thing is you can wash them once you get home to eliminate all that germs.
Check out Elephant plushy here.
Spinning toy
Babies love to spin, and this cute high chair spinner is great for babies’ sensory development. Mom or dad can easily use the suction to stick on a pull-out tray on a plane for the baby to have fun playing with this spinner.
Check out this amazing sticky spinner.
Here are some of the tips when you are traveling with a baby.
Check out more color-neutral baby toys.
How to set up baby play activities at home.
Development activities are for babies 6 to 9 months old.