A mum has been praised as a ‘genius’ after sharing the main activity she packed to keep her baby occupied during their three-hour flight from Germany to Spain – and it’s not what you might expect
If you’re going on a family holiday anytime soon, you’ll probably know parents or guardians often face the added challenge that come with travelling with babies. This will become extra nerve-wracking if it’s their first flight so you don’t know how they’ll react.
While parents are often armed with a selection of toys and activities to entertain their kids in the cabin, it’s a whole different experience when it comes to keeping babies entertained. While popular tips usually include packing their favourite things to play with or timing flights to coincide with nap time for keeping infants happy mid-flight, sometimes it pays to have an extra trick up your sleeve.
One creative mum known as Lala, took to TikTok, where she has over 6.1 million followers, to share her unique life hack for keeping her seven-month-old daughter amused on their recent three-hour flight from Germany to Spain.
“If you don’t pack a head of lettuce for your next flight with your baby, what are you even doing?” Lala said in her video while packing a head of sweet gem lettuce into a zip lock bag.
The video then cut to Lala and her partner getting onto the plane with their sleeping baby snuggled up in her arms. She went on to explain the little one slept through take-off, only to wake later on as they soared high above the ground, which is when they introduced the lettuce.
“Whenever we want to eat in peace at home, we always give her a piece of lettuce, and it always keeps her occupied for so long. And I thought, if it works at home, why would it not work on a plane?” Lala said as she showed their baby the lettuce before letting her tear off a leaf.
Lala added: “She loves tearing things, like anything really. Like, bread, paper, tissue, anything. But bread is way too messy, like there are crumbs everywhere. And with paper or tissue, we always have to keep an eye on her that she doesn’t eat it. But lettuce, lettuce is genius.”
Continuing, she expressed how the lettuce provided a fun and unique texture for the infant to explore, as well as being a healthy, hydrating snack if wanted to taste it.
“This kept her occupied almost the entire flight,” Lala revealed. “She had so much fun, and the best part when it’s time to clean up, you can just eat it. This way, I’m not only entertaining my baby but I’m also getting my greens in.”
Lala then shared: “We were so nervous about her first flight at first, but this was such an amazing experience for us. She did so well, she was just having fun the entire flight and we’re so proud of her.”
The comment section of the video soon filled with comments from viewers sharing their take on the clever hack for in-flight entertainment.
One person joked: “I have a 14 hour flight with my baby next month. I’ll just bring a whole field,” while another added: “Plus points cause it helps her develop her fine motor skills.”
A fellow mum wrote: “You Lala have just unlocked a whole new toy for all of us mums out there thank you.”
“That’s effing genius! I’m trying this on the next flight!” another viewer wrote.