What to do with kids on an airplane?

well, if it's possible, I would try to invest in another battery for the dvd player, as they are a lifesaver on a flight. If not, bring along alot of extra treats, that they are not usually allowed to have, (have her save them for the last flight though, that way when they crash from the sugar high, they don't still have another 2 hours to stay relatively still) have her go to the dollar store, and buy some toys, hide them in her carryon luggage, and when the kids get ancy, bring them out one by one. Crayons and coloring books are great, or that color wonder paper and markers, they'll have a tray to color on. You could also bring a portable cd player for your three year old, she may be interested enough inthe music to listen for awhile. During the layover, they can grab some food at a resturaunt, and stretch thier legs as much as possible. IT's difficult flying with children, especially when they are young, but hopefully everything works out for her. (:

Any chance on buying a 2nd battery for the dvd player? Do your kids have a leapster? This is a great game system that is well worth the $$. When we drove to Florida from Ny, my 4 yr old spent most of the trip on this game. It was great. They have games for all different ages and as the kids get older you can get more age approp games. I would also make sure to have crayons & coloring books. When you have your layover, don't make your kids sit....walk around. Let them run a bit and blow off some steam. In some airports they even have little playlands for kids. Check on the net to see if the airport your lay over is in has one so the kids can at least run a bit. Have a safe trip.

Man, I hope her trip is better than the one I took with my 2 year old, well she was 1 1/2...IT WAS A NIGHTMARE!!! I know everyone on that plane wanted to kill me! And she ended up falling asleep about 5 mnutes before the darn thing landed! I would suggest making them EXTREMELY tired before getting on the first plane! And then for the second one, feed them!! lol I took every toy under the sun, and she didn't want anything to do with them....she was just ughh ....a brat! Along with what everyone else suggested... Suckers are good, but make sure they are sugar free! Good Luck!

Well your children are at the difficult ages of being kept entertained. I would also suggest another battery but other things in addition. First I would go to the local dollar store. You can pick up things there very cheap to entertain. I would place all the new items in a separate bag and pull them out 1 at a time as they get bored with the previous activity. This especially true for the 2 year old. I would also purchase some fun snacks and juices. Even things that you normally wouldn't purchase for something different. I remember many years back having to travel with my then 2 year old son who also by many was called a "fireball" I too thought this was an understatement. I went out and got a child's headset with a built in tape recorder and a Barney tape. (at the time that was his favorite. It worked for about 30 minutes of the trip. A little to young for a 2 year old, but may be perfect for the 3 and a half year old. My kids always loved to have me read to them and this can pass the time away quite quickly. Especially with books that allow interaction from the children. As in pointing things out or lifting flaps, etc... You may even want to get the 3 year old a color book and a box of the 8 crayons. Not to many as you don't want to have to be picking them up repeatedly. Even just some plain paper or even construction paper which you can get at most dollar stores. Hope that some of these ideas help. :)

Buy little inexpensive toys, like a mini magna doodle, fake cell phones, and don't let your kids play with them until they get on the flight. Bring their favorite snacks, the airline food is notoriously disguisting lol, my son had no interest in a questionable cheeseburger. I think the hardest part for me was before the flight, when we were waiting. My son wanted to run everywhere and you can just do that in airports, I had him in a sling and once I had to take him out so he can get his shoes off, it was war. They had a playground, but it was in an area right before you go through the scanners, etc. so it was a little help for a bit, kinda wore him out. After playing with some toys, he thankfully fell asleep and so did all of the other toddlers nearby on the flight (there were just tons of 1-5 year olds, scary!).

I highly recommend you get an entire new DVD player since the last one is "crappy". I think it might be a little bit expensive but it is worth it for a trip with 2 young children. Also the toys is another good idea. The best would be to put both of them to sleep while listening to a lullaby. However i do not know how the lullaby would work.

All i can say is GOD BLESS and HAPPY EASTER!

She is brave! A 2 year old and a 3 year old? She needs to turn into Wonder Woman for that day! LOL! I could never do it without my husband. I sure hope everything goes smooth for her during this trip. I would get another battery or something for this DVD player you are talking about and maybe some headphones, but doesn't airlines have movies you could watch during your flight? I would check into that because most airlines do play movies at your request and they even give you your own headphones. Look into it. Also, maybe get a gameboy for the older boy or get them both a gameboy. Stuff like that seems to keep kids calm during a time like this. And then snacks, books, and coloring books can also be another activity they could do. Hopefully this will help some.

Lots of airlines these days have activities that the kids can do. My son went interstate a few years ago and had a stop over also. He was quite tired by that time and took the opportunity for a snozee. Goodluck.

I don´t have any experience on planes, but when I was little, my family was on the road for days at a time while my dad was doing sales work. My mom would go to a dollar store ahead of time and secretly buy a whole bunch of little trinkets. You can find things like mini Etch-a-Sketches, maze and activity books (tiny ones that fit in a pocket), fancy pens and pencils, and all kinds of little toys and such. They are easy enough to store in a carryon bag and when the kids get bored with books, your wife can just bring one toy out for them to play with (it helps to keep them in separate pockets so the kids don´t realize that there are a bunch of new things! A couple of new things every fifteen minutes or so ought to make things easier for her.

First of all, try to calm your wife down, at last she's not the only mom who had to overcome this! I'm only preparing to fly with my little son, but I've already found and read a number of articles giving pieces of advice of how to entertain kids during a long flight. DVD player is a good idea, but not for a long time. Let your wife take some toys (known but a little bit forgotten, so that they will be more interested in playing with them). It will be good if she'll manage to take the first row seats, so that there will be a space in front of the seats - she'll lay a coverlet on the floor and they will be playing on it. So... good luck!

We are planning to have a Hong Kong tour in the middle of this year but we are also a little worried about our kids who are 5 and 2. I asked my cousin who have traveled with her daughter and she said she gave her a teaspoon of cough syrup to put her to sleep. She said all through the 2 hour flight she was asleep. Well, I don't know if it has side effects on kids to take cough syrup even if they don't have cough. I would consider some other ideas rather than giving her cough syrup. I'll probably busy them with lots of foods they enjoy munching and small toys to play with.