Top 10 toys to take on a plane

If you struggle to keep the kids occupied on a flight, British Airways has come up with the Top 10 toys to take on a plane.

The national carrier teamed up with scientist and TV personality Robert Winston to conduct a social experiment: 30 youngsters were put on a flight for two hours with a selection of toys. The children, aged two to 10, were given 90 minutes of play time under the watchful eye of Winston and a team of educational psychologists.

The experiment found it was the cheapest toys that kept the children occupied for the longest. Play-Doh and toy-of-the-moment Loom Bands topped the list with 80 per cent of children and 70 per cent of parents saying they would take these on a flight in the future.

Both toys, costing just 74 pence and £1.99 respectively, kept more than half of the children occupied for longer than 40 minutes.

The most popular toy among two- to five-year-olds was Play-Doh, while Loom Bands were a firm favourite with the five- to 10-year-olds.

Timeless classics such as Lego and Top Trump cards also scored highly with this age group, keeping them entertained for an average of 37 and 33 minutes respectively.

Professor Winston, said: “Although the temptation is for parents to play a film in the hope that their child falls asleep, activity based toys, such as Lego, sticker books and travel games are also a great way to keep them engaged. Bringing out a different toy at regular intervals is guaranteed to keep them quiet for longer than 90 minutes.”

In an associated poll of 2,000 people a quarter of those surveyed said they worried about their children disturbing other passengers, while more than half were nervous about disrupting their youngster’s sleeping pattern.

Dr Vivian Hill, educational psychologist from the Institute of Education, said: “Toys that spark the imagination and encourage creativity, rather than static toys like soft toys and dolls, are proven to keep children occupied for sustained periods.”

The top 10 toys to take on a plane are:

Loom Bands
Play-Doh
Lego
Top Trumps
Uno
Usborne Activity Cards
Magnetic travel game
Aquadoodle!
Finger puppets
Sticker book

Dr Vivian Hill’s top tips for a stress-free flight with children are:

Have drinks to hand they can sip on for take off and landing so they don’t concentrate on the air pressure; which can affect children more than adults,

• Buy new toys and games for the flight as newer toys entertain them for longer,
• Bring out different toys at regular intervals. Wrapping them and giving them as presents works really well,
• Concentrate on packing activities as opposed to static objects such as dolls and cuddly toys,
• Think of games with extended play. Finger puppets and activity cards are both toys that can be drawn out to last a lot longer,
• Think about games that you don’t need to carry. Verbal games like I Spy and Twenty Questions are good ways to pass the flight time,
• If it’s an evening or night flight take pyjamas. Getting children ready for bed will help avoid disrupting their sleep pattern.

See a video of the experiment here: