• Published by Jennifer Khumarga, M.S., BCBA from Enreach Behavioral Services 

As holiday season is approaching, families are starting to plan family vacations. Most parents say it’s a challenge to take their kids to the mall or the restaurant, let alone travel with them to a different city or country. Flying or being in a car for a long period of time with a toddler can be difficult because they have lots of energy and they like to be entertained.

Before going into what activities you can do with your toddlers, here are a few things to consider when choosing a travel activity:

• Can be used independently
  • Find something that your child can use independently so you don’t have to constantly be interacting or operating the toy. Find a toy that allows you to have a few minutes to rest.  
• Quiet
  • Toys that are quiet can be helpful especially when there are other passengers, such as on the plane.
• Compact
  • Due to cabin bags allowances or limited space in the car, find a toy which can be easily stowed or folded away.
• Lightweight
  • Find a toy that is lightweight because it’s the parents who end up carrying it!
• Mess free
  • When traveling, you don’t want extra work cleaning or tidying up the toys. Toys like play- doh or sand are difficult to clean.
• Does not rely on batteries or charger
  • iPads are good, but also pack some toys that don’t rely on batteries or cables just in case the battery runs out and there are no power outlets.
• Multi use
  • Multi use toys are excellent because it can save space and luggage weight.

Activity ideas:

• Reusable sticker books
  • Besides practical and being the perfect size for traveling, reusable stickers encourage creative play and help with fine motor skills. Reusable stickers are also not as sticky as other stickers, making it easier to peel off if it ended up on floors, walls, furniture, or clothing.
• Busy book
  • Busy books help with physical development, social and emotional development, and cognitive development. Busy books help with gross motor and fine motor skills. In addition, busy books help develop persistence and patience. Busy books help improve cognitive skills when children are solving, sorting, matching, and organizing the activities.
• I Spy
  • I Spy help with building working memory and enhance visual discrimination. In addition, the simple text game element of the book can help early readers to build positive association with reading.
• Fidget toys
  • Fidget toys improve learning by allowing the brain to filter out extra sensory information through toy manipulation. This helps the child to focus on a task better.

Holiday, vacation, in-flight activities, toys, road trips

Toddler 18 Months - 24 Months / 18 Bulan - 24 Bulan (Batita) / Parenting / Pola Asuh / Family / Keluarga / Activities for Kids during Flights and Road Trips

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