Travel days are no reason to suspend nurturing play. From sensory development to interactive play, these toys will nurture your little one’s curiosity while keeping them entertained.

These toys were selected to elevate your airplane toy game.

1. Expert Tips on Finding the Perfect Airplane Toy
2. 0 – 6 Months
3. 6 – 12 Months
4. Creative Toys to Bring on the Airplane
5. Screen Time
6. Conclusion

Expert Tips on Finding the Perfect Airplane Toy

The perfect airplane toy does exist – these are the guidelines I use to find it.

• Interesting and Developmentally Appropriate
  • Don’t bring toys with you if your child doesn’t like them at home. They’ll just take up valuable space in your carry-on. Toys that aren’t developmentally appropriate will only frustrate your child and you. Leave those at home to avoid angry baby screams on the plane!
  • Watch your child’s development and interests in the days leading up to your trip. Each child is unique. My son, for example, ignored all balls until he was 8 months old. Then, he loved them!
• Quiet
  • Toys that make loud or repetitive sounds may interest your child, but I personally don’t believe they should be brought into public spaces. We do bring a small lullaby fox with us on planes, as it quietly plays a song.
• Soft
  • If flying with a lap infant, you won’t have much space. Hard toys that don’t suction onto the tray table or window will somehow smack you in the face!
• Compact and light-weight
  • Space is limited in your carry-on, and babies have a lot of supplies you have to take with you. Save space by leaving the giant stuffed animals at home. The same applies to heavy toys – you don’t want to be schlepping those around the airport.

• Mess-Free
  • Leave the paints, crayons, or edible play-dough at home! Don’t bring snacks or games that inherently make a mess into an enclosed, public space.

0 – 6 Months

Honestly, this is the stage where babies are both the easiest to fly with and need the fewest toys. Your baby should sleep most of the trip, they aren’t mobile and don’t cry loudly (although it won’t seem that way when they’re screaming!)

Still, a couple of toys won’t hurt!

These rattle socks and bracelets are perfect for keeping baby occupied in their seat. Playing with these adorable socks encourages hand, foot, and eye coordination, strengthens your baby’s cognitive development, and encourages them to use their ears while interacting with the surrounding world. And the absolute best part – these toys can’t be thrown to the ground, aisle, or across the airport. Your little one will happily wiggle and giggle their way through the whole flight.

This Smiling Mia Infant Teether was designed with your tiny infant in mind. It stays on the baby’s wrist to minimize dropping and helps develop their motor skills and hand/mouth coordination. As an added bonus, it will help your baby equalize their ears in case they aren’t hungry during take-off or landing.

This contrasting foldable book is excellent to look at, easy to store, and yummy to chew! Use travel days to encourage your little one’s love of literature with this adorable soft book. Filled with crinkle paper and secret baby-safe mirrors, this book will keep babies busy and in their seats.

This Oball Easy Grasp toy encourages your little one’s motor skill development. The 32-finger holes give your little one ample room to practice their grabbing, letting go, and chucking skills. Make sure to attach a pacifier line to this ball before taking it on the plane with you. Otherwise, you might find it in the cockpit!

Foster your child’s love for literature with these two BPA-free chew-safe fabric books. The strong stitching can survive even the most voracious little teether. They are interesting, filled with 20 different sensory textures for your baby to explore, developing their tactile sensitivity. Their lightweight and easy-to-clean features make them ideal for in air playtime. The velcro straps allow you to attach them to carseats, airplane seats, or any other handle, ensuring your baby can easily reach & interact with the books without them falling down!

This Euyecety Baby Spiral Plush Toy wraps around car seats, strollers, or airplane armrests, providing your child with visual stimulation. Adorable hanging rattle toys cultivate your baby’s color perception and encourage them to touch and explore their world.

6 – 12 Months

At 6 months, your little angel has started interacting and exploring the world around them. You’ll need to pack more entertaining toys for the flight – they may no longer sleep the whole way. Most babies will begin crawling, some may even begin walking before the year is up!

Use your airport time wisely – allow your child to crawl, climb, and run around as much as possible before getting on the plane. If flying at night, change into pyjamas after boarding the plane and eating the onboard meal.

This Sassy Wonder Wheel encourages baby to reach, tug, grab, and bat – strengthening their hand/eye coordination. The colorful beads trapped withing the spinning center provides a high-level visual tracking exercise. The suction cup bottom attaches to flat surfaces, like an airplane window or tray table, preventing your little baby from chucking the spinner across the plane.

Made of high-quality food-grade silicone, these hilarious teethers will help your baby alleviate their teething discomfort while helping them equalize their ears. They can even push down the button, fascinating their tactile development.

Is it a spaceship? No, it’s the Covtoy Montessori Teether – the perfect travel accessory for teething babies. This multi-sensory food-grade silicone toy has a unique design, which stimulates babies motorskill development and sensory perception. They can push down the buttons, pull the silicone ropes, and chew away to their hearts content. This will keep them in their seat and occupied, as well as helping them equalize their ears during takeoff and landing.

This Zicoto Tissue Box toy keeps the good times rolling. Babies love to pull out and put in tissues, and the crinkly paper stimulates their auditory development. This toy provides your baby with quiet and soft sensory exploration, fine motor skill development, and giggles.

Creative Toys to Bring on the Airplane

I love taking multifunctional toys and tools with us when we travel. Here are my favorite “toy hacks” for airplane days.

Rainbow Painters Tape transforms any surface into a fun and educational toy. My little guy loves pulling the tape off furniture, seatback tables, and Mommy’s face. We use it in the airport to encourage movement before the flight and at our seats to work on his pincher grip.

Honestly, my favorite baby toy/accessory is this Thai Sarong. It is multifunctional – use it as a blanket, swaddle, top for Mama in case of a spit-up volcano, play peekaboo, hide toys underneath it, nursing cover, and stroller cover. I bought two when Baby was born and haven’t left the house without one of them since.

Screen Time

There is one very specific “toy” I haven’t mentioned – screen time. We normally don’t have screen time for Nici on the ground (with the exception of video calls). We don’t even live in a house with a TV!

When traveling, I believe most rules are moot. Travel days, especially long-haul flights, are exceptional days. We drink beer (or wine) at 10 am and Coca-cola at 10 pm. Papi and Mami watch a movie together instead of sleeping at night, and we utilize the screens we have to keep baby entertained. We download episodes of Ms. Rachel on our phones. He only watches for about five minutes at a time, but these minutes calm him down and give his parents a short break from entertaining him.

Conclusion

These are my all-time favorite airplane toys when traveling with a baby. As my baby grows and develops, I’m sure I’ll find new toys and games for us to play. Follow along for more entertaining ideas, anecdotes, and information on traveling with a baby.