I have done this activity on longer road trips before. I knew it would translate perfectly to the plane. The idea is to give the kids a tickets for every 30 minutes of travel. Our flight was 2 1/2 hours, so I gave five tickets. I taped them up to the seat in front of us. I set the timer on my phone for every thirty minutes. The idea is to help kids avoid asking, “How much longer?” It also helps develop their sense of time. Breaking it into chunks helps the time go faster. I also use it as a bribe. If they have behaved well during those 30 minutes, they get a small prize. OK – I admit it. I do a “don’t do” in parenting. Actually, I probably do a number of them. I did reward with candy. Sorry, everyone. They were excited to taste Pop Rocks for the first time. My oldest had her ring pop last the entire plane. Part of the deal, however, is if they keep asking “How much time?” or ask about the ticket and when they get the prize, then they don’t get to trade the ticket for their reward. As the man behind me asked about the tickets, the woman across the way said, “You should do a blog.” She liked this idea as well as the chocolate she had received as her own bribe.
This is a great idea! Except my only problem is that our flights are usually 17 hours! But I might take this idea and just adjust it for our flights! Thank you!