5 Games to play with your child on an airplane

Mar 16, 2010 1:56 PM by Molly Cerreta Smith

Posted in Living / Travel / Road Trips & Air Travel

Up, Up & Play

Even the most experienced air travelers are a bit wary of traveling with children. Since you never quite know how your child may behave on an airplane, you should be prepared with lots of entertainment to ward off boredom and tantrums. Here are five easy games to play with your child on an airplane to help pass the time.

Child on plane

1. Story time

Instead of packing a ton of heavy books in your carry on, pack a felt board. Make your own pre-flight by pasting a piece of felt to a square of cardboard, then cutting out various shapes, figures, animals, etc. from colored felt. Tell stories with your child, taking inspiration from the felt figures to make your own storyboards. Encourage your child to come up with his own story.

2. Book of fun

The Cranium Big Book of Outrageous Fun activity book is filled with more than 40 write on/wipe off activity pages including pull-out board games and a sign-in book to record fun facts about friends and family. If you are familiar with the Cranium board games, you'll love this book they inspired.

3. 20 questions

This old classic is great because you don't have to worry about packing anything besides your own creativity. Think of some airplane- or travel-themed items as the "answer" to the 20 questions -- for example, pilot, cockpit, wings, clouds, sky, vacation, etc.

4. Travel games

For the artsy child, pack a travel Magna Doodle or travel Etch-a-Sketch. When your child tires of making pictures, play a game such as tic-tac-toe, hangman or a fill-in-the-blank rhyme game. (For example, write "The man kicked a _ _ _," then challenge your child to fill in the blank with a word that rhymes with "man.") For younger kids, practice making shapes or drawing letters to sneak in a little learning as you play. Magnetic travel games are ideal for airplane travel, too, and are suited for various ages. This kit offers six magnetic games in one, such as chess and checkers. Bonus: You won't have to worry about losing pieces.

5. Cards/flashcards

A deck of cards can entertain older kids for hours. Depending on your child's age and attention span, you can play Go Fish, Slap Jack, Concentration or Crazy 8s or King's Corners. Use this as a chance to make learning fun for younger kids by playing a memory game, or helping them learn the alphabet or numbers with fun flash cards, such as these ABC: Sesame Street Slide and Learn Flash Cards.