how to travel screen-free with a toddler

We recently flew across the country to Virginia to spend time with my family before I got too pregnant to travel comfortably (blog post on that to come). Every time I’ve flown with Gwendolyn, she’s a little older, and I worry about making the flight go smoothly. After all, she is only 2.5.

However, I get frustrated when so much of the advice for traveling with kids is to just give them a screen the entire time (even if they don’t normally do that). If that works for you, that works for you. But if my kid sat with a screen for 8 hours while traveling, I know for an absolute fact that it’d turn her into a monster; and I am not going there—not when flying cross-country is stressful enough.

Luckily I have some smart mamas in my life, and I asked them for advice on how to keep my toddler content in such a small space for several hours. Here were some of their great suggestions:

• don’t bring a car seat; then they can stand on the seat, or go from floor-to-seat if they need to wiggle
• avoid showing them the seat buckle until they need to wear it. It’ll entertain them for a while, so don’t demonstrate it before they’re bored
• give them their travel toys one at a time, once they get tired of each one

I also like to wear a ring sling (because you can take baby in and out easily; walk faster, if need-be; and wear through security if you’ve got nylon rings) in the airport. This trip, Todd and I packed together in our big suitcase, and we packed all of Gwendolyn’s things in a rolling carry-on. It was pretty simple: just diapers, and with a capsule wardrobe, I just packed all her clothes! Plus, Gwendolyn loved hanging off the suitcase—that’s how she spent most of our time getting through the airport!

For this trip, I brought all new ‘surprises’ for her, as well as a couple of toys from home. So, what was in our bag?

Coloring book and twistable crayons –– last flight we had regular colored pencils, but I didn’t want to have to bring a sharpener. These were perfect, and she colored a few times.

Sticker book –– this was a little old for her, as it was a proper activity book, but it still had tons of stickers she enjoyed putting all over her arms.

I Spy book –– sadly, this wasn’t her favourite, though she and Todd did spend some time with it. I think it’ll be a bigger hit when she’s older.

My Little Pony activity book –– this was the biggest hit for her! Not only does it have loads of mini-figs (including ones she doesn’t have with her big set at home), but it also has a large pull out with 4 different scenes from the show that she can play with her ponies on (though it’s much too big to use on the plane), and a short story.

Schleich animal figurines –– these are toys from her shelf. We bring these everywhere, as they’re super easy to tote around, and she can alway shave fun with them in new environments

Airplane and car toys –– same idea as the animal toys. Unfortunately, we lost the car this trip, and will have to replace it.

Since we’ve gotten home, I’ve put away her new travel toys so that they can be exciting next time we have a long trip (though she has asked after them). That way I don’t have to buy more! I think, in the future, this could make traveling exciting for her, as she looks forward to using those toys (though I’m not sure I can keep the mini ponies away).

Overall, I’m really pleased with how well she was able to keep happy and entertained this trip. But I must know, if you also do screen-free travel with kids, what does that look like? I’m always excited to hear more ideas! And if you’re hoping to go screen-free: it’s not as hard as it might sound. Between the marvel of flying itself, the airplane, toys, and napping…we were totally set.

Good luck!