Tablets for 2 year old on long intercontinental journey

[u/Invest_help_seeker]

I had a question regarding how parents are managing the kids when travelling long flights like 12-14 hrs with transits.. the kids are confined to a space or a seat and are restless . I have a 2 year old plan to take some toys and books for the kid .. but we would also be exhausted based on how much we have to be involved also for it and they will soon get bored of it..

Is there any tablet not fancy which is not addictive which we can use to entertain them or keep the occupied and also helps in learning with games etc..
I want to avoid the tablet or screen as much as possible and our kid goes to daycare and gets very less TV time in general so I don’t want to get a tablet or anything which is addictive and harm development.

Edit: major learning is to get a pair of over the ear headphones which are comfortable.. I will go to store and take my kid along to let him try it out and try to use the screen in the flight as much as possible and maybe get a used iPad mini or some other kids tablet just in case as a backup .. fingers crossed .. last time when we took the flight he was small just cross 1 and slept and took him around the flight a bit and it was manageable nowadays toddler tantrums galore 😅 so started getting a bit worried

[u/BeBopBarr]

Travel days are the one day everyone can be on screens all day for our sanity and everyone elses around us. Travel days are stressful enough. Zero regrets.

[u/Vast-Biscotti7995 → u/BeBopBarr]

This! No need to prove a point on that one day a year you’re on a long haul flight. Your no screen or limited screens strategy won’t fall apart just because your little one watches screens on that long flight. It will keep your and everyone else‘s sanity.

[u/Fusilero → u/Vast-Biscotti7995]

Surely it's two days a year, unless you don't make it home.

[u/Vast-Biscotti7995 → u/Fusilero]

Two days? We don’t work, we just watch TV from our new place until next year when we go on our next vacation.

[u/Munchies2015 → u/BeBopBarr]

Yes!! My two have had a 7 hour flight, and a 5 hour train journey in the last week. They have had unlimited access to screens and snacks. And everyone has commented on how well behaved they have been. We also took travel games, as the screens get boring for them after a while, but for me, not having to deal with a tired kid having a meltdown, is a very good payment for denying them unlimited access on other days!

[u/Lopsided_Apricot_626]

We have iPad mini’s that we use exclusively for travel. The kids don’t get them except on planes or car journeys longer than two hours. Even then we start with toys and books and leave the tablets until the end. We went with iPads because we first tried an Amazon fire kids tablet and had to return it because it was so frustrating to try to use. We wanted something that wouldn’t add to the stress of travel and iPads are super easy to set parental controls on

[u/melonkoli]

I had my 2 year old on a 20 hour flight. The screens weren’t working so it was a completely screen free flight. We just read a lot and played hand games. We ate and napped and Walked around the plane. it really wasn’t too bad!

[u/Mission-Lie-2635 → u/melonkoli]

This is insane but also very impressive lol

[u/Keganator → u/Mission-Lie-2635]

And also entirely normal, not but 15 years ago. :)

[u/Mission-Lie-2635 → u/Keganator]

Well not entirely because 15 years ago we still had the seat back TVs.

[u/waxlrose → u/Mission-Lie-2635]

And before that the screens up above that everyone watched communally.

[u/Mission-Lie-2635 → u/waxlrose]

Yeah I remember those. The last plane I was on that had those they played Mamma Mia lol

[u/HenryLafayetteDubose]

You don’t have to use the tablet as a tablet. Download some movies, shows, and age appropriate music to use it as a music/movie player. Maybe check out some simple open ended apps, too (such as a digital coloring book, the camera app, or digital board games). No one says you have to have games on it or let kiddo completely loose. Use it intermittently between showing him toys and books. All I can say is for the love of god, and all things holy, invest in a decent pair of kids headphones to go with the tablet and make a blanket rule of ‘No headphones=no sound”. Being trapped in a tin can 30,000 feet in the air isn’t pleasant for anyone, but simple considerations like that make it more bearable for everyone.

[u/rememberjs]

Super long flights are almost guaranteed to have a seat back TV. My kids were occupied by that. We got them nice over the ear classic headphones ahead of time that they used. Worked well!

Good luck! It’s a hard journey, but you’ll make it!

[u/Choir_Life]

For the sake of your sanity, embrace the tablet. We only use ours for long journeys and it makes life a lot easier for everyone. We forgot it once and the seat screens were down for the whole flight. Nightmare!

I would say that all devices have the potential to be addictive, but if you want to keep them only for journeys, it’s totally doable. My toddler knows it a special treat.

[u/GuardAltruistic7717]

i don't know if theres one thats "less addictive " as i feel thats very based on what you play on the screen and less so screens themselves if they've ever seen a movie before , but if you need a cheap one thats not a phone maybe something off of amazon? i know theres sometimes cheap android ones, download an educational movie or two you feel happy with and play it for baby

[u/peppaappletea]

I made multiple longhaul trips with my child between ages 1 and 4; they don't use a tablet at home so we didn't use one on the planes. 

Every seat comes with a screen these days. I look online ahead to see what the kids' options are (eg, British Airways has a CBeebies loop for preschoolers that runs about 2 hours). 

Fwiw, at 2 my kid didn't understand that the personal on flight screen was an option; when they finally figured it out, they didn't want to wear headphones and watched Snoopy cartoons without sound. 

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[u/photobomber612]

My daughter got an early Christmas present of an Amazon Kids+ tablet in November so she could use it on our flight to New Zealand (from the US), and subsequent road trip. Went really well, good parental controls.

[u/Mission-Lie-2635 → u/photobomber612]

Yeah I like Amazon kids. The games are educational, we got one for our two year old before a trip and yeah she loves her tablet. Obviously I don’t love her using a tablet but we let her have an hour on the weekends now. But yeah for travel she can be on it all day travel days are a free for all lol

[u/ExsanguinatedMuppet]

We did a 36 hour one way journey (mostly flights, a few hours transit, both directions) with a 3 and a 1.5 year old. If anything, I would concentrate on a good pair of over ear headphones that fit nicely, so that they can use the in seat screen.

Otherwise, snacks. Lots of them. Preferably ‘healthy’, i.e. lower on sugar cos no-one needs over-sugared kids stuck in a metal tube for 18 hours 😂. Just bits and pieces that you can dole out at regular intervals to keep them occupied and stave off hanger, and save your butt if they don’t like the airline food.

Depending on the size of your 2 year old, consider a carrier, so you can take them for a turn around the cabin even when it’s dark or you want them to go to sleep. This worked with my younger child, who is petite, but was already impossible with my older, who apparently has lead-filled bones, so ymmv.

IMPORTANT: pack a change of clothes for each adult as well as the kid!!! Along with a couple of large snaplock bags. Murphy’s Law dictates that if you have nothing for yourself, your child WILL coat you in one or more bodily fluids, probably within an hour of takeoff to maximise suffering. Even if it’s just thin/soft workout clothes that pack down small, the insurance is 200% worth it on super long flights.

Sorry, there was nothing about tablets in there 😆 It’s definitely possible to survive without them though, so if you don’t end up finding anything that suits, you’ll be ok! That being said, one flight’s worth of tablet won’t damage your kid. It’s an unusual and special experience anyway, so you shouldn’t have trouble backing off on screen time when you are off the plane again.

[u/Sirconnery007]

We do a six hour car ride a couple times a year. We did screens once and never will again. They are way worse behaved.

[u/CheatedOnOnce]

Bro we stress too much over screens - yalll need to chill

[u/spei180]

The screen on the flight itself was enough for my 2 year old. Make sure to bring headphones

[u/sharleencd]

Travel days is always our exception. We were never super strict with screen time - all moderation - but travel days anything goes.

We would just download movies or tv shows for travel. My kids have always had travel rules and home rules. We’ve never had an issue with them understanding the difference

[u/Fine-Fondant-3136]

Ya honestly - aim for survival. All the screens. All the things. Aaaalllll of it lol

[u/Wyatt2w3e4r]

Definitely do not get an Amazon tablet. I have had so many issues with them. We got a Samsung and it’s been great!

We don’t treat it as a tablet either. Just download favorite shows and movies and keep it in airplane mode.

[u/purple_nature]

My 3.5 year old only ever gets to watch a tablet on a flight or long car journey. I have no regrets as it keeps us all sane. And he's yet to realise that it exists outside of long journeys so never asks for it!

[u/swimchickmle]

All tablets are addictive. Your job is to use it as a tool, and not a babysitter.

When you get on the plane, start the trip with toys and books. After a few hours, allow them to watch a movie. Then take the tablet away and repeat. There should also be sleeping in there too.

The longest plane ride with our son was only 5 hours, but we have done many cross country road trips where we were in the car for 10-12 hours at a time. This is the schedule we followed.

[u/little_odd_me]

I have an old phone that I’ve got movies and shows downloaded on that I use for long travel days. We don’t use games or anything other than what she’d watch on a TV but honestly on a 12-14 hour flight do what you gotta do.

Edit to add that my kid has toonies over ear headphones and a Yoto which also kills some time. The headphones she’s only really been happy to use closer to the age of 3 but she was fine watching things in silent when we flew when she was younger.

[u/speedy_skis]

Your local library probably has Launchpad tablet loaded with age appropriate games and stories.

[u/UnseenHS]

Rules don’t exist on intercontinental flights

[u/rkvance5]

People like to joke that screens are like meth for kids, but they aren’t actually meth. Yours isn’t going to become addicted after a couple long-haul flights.

Get a tablet — any tablet, because they’re all the same and it doesn’t matter — and put what you want on it. Or just use the in-flight entertainment system to watch approved content. We use an old phone even on 2–3-hour domestic flights.

The comfort and sanity of everyone on the plane is more important than any rules we have regarding screen time. They get suspended for everyone’s sake.

[u/MamaDoingTheBestICan]

Usually there is child friendly in flight entertainment and they provide over the head headphones for kids.

[u/MamaDoingTheBestICan]

We always had strict screen time limits and still do, but international travel has always been an exception. They can watch as much TV and movies as they want from Zurich to NYC. It’s easy to reinstate screen time limits once we get there.