Traveling With a One Year Old: The Best Travel Tips and Toys | WanderWisdom
Sunglasses: Find a pair of small children's sunglasses. One year olds love trying to put them on their face, and will play with these for quite some time. Don't spend a lot of money on the sunglasses, however, because the hinges will likely be ruined by the end of the trip!
Post-it notes: It might sound strange, but an office supply store is a wonderful travel toy shopping spot for one year olds! A large pad of post-it notes will entertain a one year old for quite some time. The adhesive is just sticky enough to adhere to the plane window and car seat sides, but won't leave any residue behind. One year olds love pulling each sheet off the post-it pad: it satisfies a need to pull-apart and tear! For an 18 month old, stickers can be added to make pretty patterns on the post it note sheets. This activity will require a lot of monitoring by the parent, to be sure the child doesn't put the papers into his or her mouth, and to clean up the post-it notes when the play is complete.
Books: "Activity" books such as touch-and-feel books, lift-the flap books, and soft, cloth travel books may entertain a one year old for a certain period of time. Be aware, however, that the tabs of most lift-the-flap books will simply be torn off by one year old children. Find sturdy, board book style books and enjoy the flight!
Finger puppets: Finger puppets are a great travel toy for one year olds. Parents can put on a little puppet show, sing songs, and tell stories with the finger puppets. One year olds also like putting them on their fingers. K's kids school buss.
DVD player: Nothing beats a DVD player for entertaining a one year old. Whether you are playing videos on a laptop, smart phone, or portable DVD player, this is probably the easiest, most entertaining option for one year olds. Pick a child's favorite movie and take it along: one year olds like repetition, and will watch an old favorite with more interest than a new, unproven movie.
Toy cell phone: Pushing buttons and seeing things light up is a great activity for most one year olds. Add a toy cell phone to your travel toy menagerie: they are small and have a good play value for the plane or car ride. Be sure the toy phone is not too loud or obnoxious, though: you don't want complaints from other passengers!
Snacks: While snacks are not exactly "travel toys," they can be entertaining and will keep any one year old happy for a period of time. Animal crackers in a box are a wonderful travel snack: the animal crackers are fun to eat, and the box doubles as a play item when the snack is finished. Small snacks that can be slowly parceled out over time are better than a large snack item: consider bringing dried blueberries, Gerber puffs, and cheerios in the travel bag.
Soft nesting toys: One year olds will love stuffing little toys into a bigger toy: these toys are wonderful in a car or on a plane. Melissa and Doug manufactures a wonderful Three Little Pigs soft baby toy: the pigs can be pushed through the chimney, stuffed into the house, and the three houses can be pulled apart and stuffed back together.
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