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Must-Have Products for Air Travel with Toddlers

The following products are what I recommended for any plane rides with toddlers (1-3 years old). If you are interested to read about how I used them on my long-haul flight with my son, please click this link to read my blog post 🙂

Travel Must-Have #1 Product
Feed your young toddler
Portable Potties
Entertainment
Sleep
Checklist

Travel Must-Have #1 Product

Anyone who travels a lot with their babies know that it is extremely important to bring your baby carrier with you. I highly recommend Ergobaby . Ergobaby is the most comfortable and easy to use. You can put your baby in and out of your carrier all by yourself, and it doesn’t hurt your back. I chose Ergobaby over other brands because it is ergonomic, which means it is easy on mommy’s back and good for baby’s hip development as well. Usually it is not recommended to carry baby forward-facing, because of the awkward position that might hurt baby’s hip. But Ergobaby 360 comes with an adjustable bucket seat that supports baby in an ergonomic natural “M” position even being carried in forward-facing position. Almost all of my mommy friends recommended Ergobaby and I am sure you will love it too.

Pros: Ergonomic, Comfortable, Easy to use, Stylish, Forward-facing position, Durable
Cons: Not very cheap (but considering you can use it for a long time, it is actually worth it)

Feed your young toddler:

Joovy Boob Formula Dispenser

This is a perfect device to bring snacks or formula with you when you travel by air with your young toddler. I didn’t purchase this because I preferred to carry formula and snacks in Ziploc bags. However, I do know a friend using this product and loved it. Also the rating on Amazon is 4.2 stars.

Pros: Convenient, Stylish, Easy to use, Large compartments (good for formula and snacks)
Cons: A little bulky, Some complained the lid doesn’t stay on

Store-Bought Baby Food

These are 4 of my most favorite store-bought baby food products! They are yummy and healthy. My son is a picky eater but he loved to munch on all of them. Plum Organic and Happy Baby Organic are my go-to brands. I usually by dry snacks from Happy Baby selections, but when I need to buy pouches I prefer Plum Organic, mostly because of the flavor (my son only liked Plum Organic pouches). I loved the Mighty 4 selections because there is a little bit of everything in the pouches, especially Greek yogurt and grain, which is not so comment in the organic store-bought baby food category. Also I preferred the Mum-Mum Rice Rusks over the other rice crackers, because it is comparatively mess free.

Pros: Healthy, Convenient, Tasty
Cons: Not very cheap (but definitely affordable)

Portable Potties:

Portable Emergency Urinal

This magical invention saved my life. I think it was designed mainly for boys (for obvious reasons), but there is actually a version designed for girls, which you can try if you are curious. I used it not only on the planes or road trips, but also in the park and when he just started to potty train. A must have if you have a toddler boy! Click here to check it out.

Pros: Convenient, Easy to use, Cheap
Cons: Leaks sometimes (I usually keep it in up-straight position)

Portable Potty for Travel

This potty is useful if you don’t want your toddler to sit directly on the dirty toilet in public bathrooms, or if you need to bring your potty to a friend’s or grandparents’ house. You can easily fold it and put it in your backpack. I prefer this brand over other brands because when I fold the legs I do NOT need to touch the bottom of the legs which can be pretty dirty. A must have as well!!

Pros: Convenient, Easy to use, Comes with storage bag, Don’t need to touch the bottom of the legs when folding
Cons: A little larger than some other brands (but more sturdy)

Entertainment:

Headband Earphones

This headband earphone I found on Amazon was extremely useful. My son hated to wear anything on his head, but he loved this headband earphone. It is cute, comfortable, and it’s even volume limited so that it doesn’t get too loud. There are many other cute designs too, including unicorn, panda, frog, fox, bunny and more, Click this link to check it out.

Pros: Cute, Comfortable, Lightweight, Volume limited, Doesn’t fall off easily, Well-liked by young kids
Cons: A little hard to adjust the position of the speakers

Washable Crayons

This is the most common mess-free drawing tool that parents would bring with them for any plane rides or car rides. First, it is washable. Second, crayons are much better then markers (we all know washable markers aren’t really that washable).

Pros: Colorful, Washable, Well-loved by kids
Cons: Easily roll off the tiny tray table, Still can create a mess (although washable)

Color Wonder Mess Free Markers

These markers won’t color on skin, furniture or fabric and ONLY color on the special Color Wonder paper. So you don’t have to worry about the mess at all. Check them out!

Pros: Absolutely mess-free, Big selection of coloring books, Color appears gradually that can be intriguing to young children
Cons: Colors not as vibrant as regular markers

Melissa & Doug Water Wow Activity Pads

These pads truly make wonders. Your kids can use the refillable water pen to “color” on the pads. And the best part is, after the pages are dry, they can do it again!! Highly recommend!

Pros: Absolutely mess-free, Reusable, Easy to use
Cons: Not very “creative”

Sleep:

Inflatable Travel Pillow/Bed/Footrest

I saw someone using this pillow on the plane while traveling back to the U.S. and it looked pretty neat. The best part is, you can keep it in your backpack and inflate it when needed. According to the product description, you can even use the air vent above your seat to inflate the pillow! This particular product also received pretty positive reviews on Amazon (4.6 starts).

Pros: Compact, Easy to use, Multipurpose
Cons: Need to inflate

JetKids

A friend of mine used it during her long-haul flight with her one year old son and it worked decently. If you want to buy this for your next trip, please keep in mind that it is pretty bulky and not all airlines allow it. Please check with JetKids staff before you make any purchase, just to be safe.

Pros: Comfortable
Cons: Not allowed to use in some airlines, Bulky

Checklist:

I learned from my own experience, and figured out some pretty practical and effective tips to make my traveling experience a little bit easier. In addition to the tips mentioned in my blog post, I have also included more tried-and-true traveling tips, and a printable Carry-On Checklist in my Toddler Survival Guide. Here is a free copy for you to download!

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