Perhaps you are already dreading being stuck on an airplane for hours with a 1 year old. I’m going to be completely honest, I found this to be one of the most challenging ages to fly with. That being said, being prepared and having some travel toys for 1 year olds will go a long way.
The thing is, young toddlers who are around 12 to 18 months old are mobile and want to explore EVERYTHING! Not exactly conducive to being confined to a seat on an airplane. I don’t say this to scare you, but rather to prepare you for flying with toddlers.
I’ve always said that some practical tips and setting expectations will make the flight much easier. Plan to be entertaining your toddler the entire time. Plan to be skipping from activity to activity. And most importantly, be prepared with a multitude of activities and ways to entertain your 1 year old on the plane.
This includes packing some of my recommended airplane travel toys, having plenty of snacks and even having a few age appropriate iPad games to play.
At this age, your toddler may struggle to pick up very small objects, but larger blocks, switches, knobs and buttons will be very interesting. Also scribbling and painting is a good way to occupy your toddler for small amounts of time.
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It can be very intimidating flying with a one year old. I have plenty of experience with this and have shared all my best tips for flying with a toddler.
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Do I Need Travel Toys for my 1 Year Old?
If your toddler isn’t the best behaved on your family flight, don’t let yourself get too stressed about other passengers. Toddlers are not developmentally capable of sitting in silence or engaging in activities like coloring, drawing or reading for very long durations. They are wired to want to explore and touch everything, which is why we recommend choosing a few favorite travel toys for one year olds.
You can expect your toddler to be more interested in the things around them like plastic cups, bottles, airplane seat belts and tray tables – and only for really short periods too.
After all that playing, hopefully your toddler will settle into a comfy toddler airplane bed for a rest and you’ll get some downtime too!
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If your family trip involves a long flight, I highly recommend getting a toddler airplane bed. They are one of my all-time favorite toddler travel essentials. I’ve tried many models and have shared my recommended toddler airplane beds.
When it is time to play, the best travel toys for one year olds are mess-free, lightweight, and easily-packable into your backpack diaper bag or your toddlers travel backpack.
My Recommended Travel Toys for 1 year olds
In this post, I’ll go over some of the best toys for travel with 1 year olds. Based on my real-life experiences flying with a toddler, these are toys which will enable you to keep your child busy during a long flight or car ride. I’ll conclude with some of my favorite books for 1 year olds that are perfect for on-the-go reading.
Buckle Toys
The Buckle Toys Buster Square One of the all-time best travel toys for a one-year old! This soft, colorful plush toy features six different buckles and a zipper pocket. It helps develops fine motor skill development and problem-solving while keeping your child entertained during your flight.
Silicone Pull String Toys for Toddlers
The hahaland Silicone Pull String Toy is a perfect travel toy for 1 year olds. It's a multi-sensory activity toy featuring many brightly colored cords with varying textures and resistance levels.
Water Wow! Reusable Activity Pads
Another of my all-time favorite, mess-free travel toys for toddlers! Melissa & Doug Water Wow! reusable activity pads allow toddlers to color pictures, revealing vibrant colors using only water.
Window Gel Clings
These toddler travel toys are perfect for entertaining little ones on a flight. Simply sit your child next to the window and let them stick these reusable, flexible gel clings to the window, then pull them off again!
Finger Puppets
Create endless entertainment for your child with these cute animal finger puppets. This interactive play will not only entertain your toddler during your flight, but it also fosters creativity and fine motor skills.
Spike the Hedgehog Fidget Friend
Your little one will love playing with this cute little hedgehog. With 6 different gadgets to spin, twist and more, your toddler will love working on her fine motor skills!
Munchkin Snack Catcher
Wait! Don't scroll over this, just because it's not a toddler travel toy!
Feeding a toddler a snack which requires fine motor skills (Cheerios, etc.) is one of the best & easiest ways to entertain toddlers on airplanes! Plus, a well-fed toddler is more likely to be a happy toddler.
Fat Brain Toys - Dimpl
This sensory toddler travel toy is made from 100% food-grade silicone and is great for little ones to engage with their senses. It is durable, strong, and perfect for them to hold and pop the bubbles for fun!
Melissa & Doug's Shape Sorter Toy
I love Melissa & Doug toys! This engaging activity center features two activity sides and nine textured shape blocks in various colors. Your toddler will love lifting crinkly flaps to identify pictures, match shapes, and drop the blocks through the sorter.
Stacking Cups
I love versatile toddler travel toys which pack down nice and small. Toddlers can choose to stack the brightly colored cups, turn them over and hide things underneath them or find their own creative way to play with them.
Fat Brain Toys Whirly Squigz
The Fat Brain Toys Whirly Squigz set includes three vibrant silicone spinners that securely attach to airplane tray tables or windows, providing toddlers with captivating visual and tactile stimulation during flights.
Soft Alphabet Cards
These Soft Alphabet Cards feature letters in both uppercase and lowercase, with a related image. Made from soft, non-toxic materials with vibrant colors, these alphabet cards are ideal for keeping toddlers entertained while fostering early learning skills.
Lego DUPLO Sets
As a fun & versatile travel toy, we never traveled without DUPLO sets for our small kids. Getting a new set for each trip became a fun family tradition. This fun Duplo set features a train and will help teach numbers.
Toddler Books for Travel
Most parents want something to help toddlers feel relaxed, safe, and comforted during long flights and while on vacation, nothing beats a book for this! A familiar book can help maintain your toddlers naptime and bedtime routines even in challenging places like airplanes, (because let's face it, getting toddlers to sleep on a plane is no joke)!
Just get your toddler into pj's, grab a good book and you'll be ready to start mastering the technique of coaxing your toddler to sleep no matter where you are. Reading to toddlers also helps them develop better vocabulary, listening skills and communication skills among many other benefits, so there is no reason not to continue this on your travels!
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Reading is an important strategy for bedtime on a plane. Don't miss the rest of my tips for getting toddlers to sleep on a plane.
Listed below are some fun books for 1 year olds to help get your toddler book library going and make excellent companions to your airplane travel toys for your 1 year old.
First 100 Words Padded Board Book
The First 100 Words book was a huge hit in our house! I can't overstate the role it had in our kids learning their first words.
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What Should I Wear Activity Book
Kids love helping Dolly choose her outfits for different occasions with this fun activity book from Melissa and Doug. It also doubles as a toddler travel toy because the doll can be removed from the book and played with on its own too.
Indestructibles: Baby, See the Colors!
The Indestructibles book series are lightweight, chew-proof, and rip-proof books - perfect for young readers!
Manhattan Toy Soft Activity Book
This soft, fabric activity book features vibrant, tactile pages depicting various scenes. Toddlers love the attached bumblebee, which can "buzz" through open holes in the pages, adding an interactive element that captivates young minds.
Travel Toys for other age Groups
As there is often overlap between age groups, I encourage you to take a read through my posts on the best baby travel toys and best travel toys for 2 year olds, as you might find some of these are also well suited to your toddler. You also will find some of our screen-free toddler travel toys make perfect travel toys for one year olds.
Finally, if you want some suggestions for apps for young toddlers, we've shared our favorites in our airplane activities for toddlers and don't forget to practice using toddler headphones before the flight!
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This post was written & edited by:
Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.