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Flying with a toddler is a completely different experience once they can walk. Lou was 16 months old on a recent trip; the first since she fully entered her “I want to move at all times” phase. And, of course, it was a longer-than-normal flight. Our previous flights had been just over an hour, so sitting in our seats wasn’t as much of a battle. This time, we had a three-plus hour flight from New York City to Florida, and I knew it was going to be harder. She’s more aware, less willing to sit still, and very set on doing what she wants in the moment. She also doesn’t nap easily outside of her crib, which is great at home but not ideal when your flight overlaps with naptime. Anytime we try to keep her contained, she’ll loudly protest, and once she’s tipped into overtired territory, nothing really works. We also don’t use screens, so a tablet isn’t an option.
I spent a lot of time researching screen-free travel ideas before the trip, and the one tip that kept coming up was snacks. Not just bringing snacks, but turning them into an activity. Lou has always been very into containers; opening them, taking things out, putting them back in. In short, she really locks into it. That’s what made the GoBe snack spinner stand out. It’s a snack container with separate compartments that you rotate through by pressing a button, making it much more engaging than a standard snack cup. I bought it a few weeks before the trip and hid it so it would feel new, then filled it with a mix of yogurt melts, peanut butter puffs, Once Upon a Farm puffs, cheese cubes, and little peanut butter sandwich bites.
We pulled it out about 30 minutes into the flight after cycling through everything else we brought: lift-the-flap books, reusable stickers, bendy straws, and even plastic cups from the beverage cart. She was immediately interested, partly because it was new and partly because, well, snacks. It kept her occupied for a solid 30 minutes, which doesn’t sound like a lot but ended up being the longest stretch of calm we got. It outperformed every other activity we packed and had the added benefit of keeping her fed when a proper meal wasn’t really in the cards.
It didn’t eliminate meltdowns, but it reduced them enough to make the flight manageable. When she started to lose it again toward the end, and walking the aisles wasn’t cutting it, we brought it back out, and it worked like a charm as a quick reset.
We’ve used it constantly since then: car rides, park outings, and restaurants while waiting for food. It’s not the smallest thing to pack, and it took her a little time to figure out how to press the button herself, but that actually extended how long it held her attention. It’s simple, but it works, and for us, it made a noticeable difference in how the flight (and my stress levels) went.
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