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traveling with kids

Parenting

Mom brings painter's tape on a flight and it just might be the best parenting hack ever

So many simple but brilliant uses for it, both during and after the flight.

A roll of painter's tape can keep kids occupied for hours.

Any parent who has traveled with a baby or toddler knows the joy of keeping them contained in a seat for hours when most of them would prefer to do anything but be contained to said seat. Wee ones are wired to move and explore, and an airplane cabin is not exactly the best place for them to exercise those instincts.

So parents flying with babes bring all manner of toys, books, drawing pads, and other things to (hopefully) occupy them, often with varying levels of success. But one mom has shared a simply brilliant hack for traveling with little ones that might just keep them busy for longer than 30 seconds: painter's tape.

tape, painter's tape, blue tape, roll of tape, parenting hack Painter's tape is made to be only a little sticky.Photo credit: Canva

Painter's tape is like masking tape, but less sticky. It's made to temporarily adhere and be easily removed without leaving chunks of tape or residue behind. What's that got to do with babies, you ask? Have you ever given a baby a piece of tape? Or stuck a sticker to them? Almost universally, they're fascinated.

Mom and photographer Nichola Knox shared various ways she used it with her kiddo on a flight, including counting tape squares, "rescuing" a toy, making letters of the alphabet, building a "troll swing" (genius), making a truck bridge, attaching a napkin bib, and more.

The tape even comes in handy after the flight. Knox showed how they created "roads" in the hotel room for toy cars and trucks. The mom also wrote that she uses the tape to "Label the kid’s cups, a 'Band-Aid' for when your toddler 'really needs one,' taping over locks and drawers you don’t want them getting into. The list goes on. It’s forever the 'weird' thing I bring on trips."

For little kids, tape is magic. It can stick them, to you, to a window, to a seat back—anything. It can stick things to things. It can be written on. It can be wadded up. It's endless fun.

tape, painter's tape, blue tape, roll of tape, parenting hack There are countless ways to use painter's tape when you're traveling with small children.Photo credit: Canva

And, because it comes on a handy-sized roll, you don't even have to sacrifice any luggage space for it (not that it takes up that much space anyway). Just wear it onto the plane like a bracelet or hook it onto a loop of a backpack.

Other moms are loving the tip. As one wrote on a video, "To all the moms who insisted I bring masking tape on my 6 hour flight, you're literally geniuses. This was the only thing that entertained my 1-year-old for more than 5 minutes besides the pamphlets on the back of the seats."

There's a saying, "Why give a kid a toy when they'd prefer to play with the box it came in anyway." It's so true. Kids are often more interested in real-life items than toys, and tape offers the kind of imaginative, open-ended play that parents so often want their kids to engage in. It's definitely better than putting them in front of a screen.

The idea is a hit, according to parents in the comments:

"Ohhh flying in less than a month to California with 5 kids 😯😯 will be bringing 2 rolls of tape!"

"Totally love the idea.. will be using it for my coming road trip."

"Love this idea! It’s so hard to travel with a 1-2 year old since they are so young and don’t understand they need to be quiet, etc. So distraction is key when they aren’t sleeping. Thanks for this!"

"I wanna bring tape with me everywhere now."

Seriously, it's not a bad idea to just keep a roll of tape in your diaper bag. Anything that makes traveling with small children easier is worth keeping on hand.

@theblackmanfamily/TikTok

One little girl gives a brutally honest review of New York

Nobody has as much unabashed tell-it-like-it-is-ness as little kids. They simply haven’t grown into their social filter yet, and speak whatever is on their mind…often to quite amusing results.

Hence why people can’t help but laugh at one little girl’s brutal review of New York, all told in real time, thanks to her mom attaching a small camera onto her sweater as they traipse about the Big Apple.

“Mamaaaaa, I don’t like [it] here in New Yooooork. There’s a lot of rubbish,” whines little Jette Blackman, made even more adorable by her Aussie accent.

“You said it’s pretty,” she laments as they jet around Times Square (which, to be fair, does have a lot of trash, and is even bigger eye sore through the kiddie cam). “Mama, don’t lie to me next time — lying is not fun.”

“Look at all the stuff on the floor…there’s so many people here…What’s so stinky?” Doesn’t sound like Jette is gonna want to come back anytime soon.

Well, maybe not. She was impressed by the McDonald’s, which was apparently “copied” from Australia. Who’s gonna tell her?

Luckily, Jette’s harsh critique was not shared by her brother Nimo, who couldn’t contain his delight while exclaiming "it's soooooooo fun!"

Watch the video below:

@theblackmanfamily And this is the honest review of Jette about NY 😁 how did I get all of this? I used the @insta360 GO 3 🤭 soooo good!!! #Insta360 #Insta360FamCam @insta360_official ♬ original sound - The Blackman Family

Despite Jette not having a fun time, viewers fell in love with her commentary. Many even agreed with her assessment of the city.

“The most honest review I have ever seen. God Bless that little angel,” one person wrote.

Another added, “As a New Yorker this is valid.”

One person even said “We need her review for all the cities.” Which might actually be possible, since the Blackman family does travel and cruise to all sorts of places together.

Though Jette isn’t fond of New York, she did seem to enjoy Toronto and Vegas a bit more.

But if you’re still in the mood for Jette’s more, ahem, negative, review,s this one from Universal Studios is equally delightful.

Family

Mom shows why painters tape is her 'weird' thing she'll never travel without

For parents with young kids looking to have a little less travel stress this holiday season—this one's for you.

@nicholaknox/Instagram

A mom shows all the ways painters tape can be useful while traveling

Traveling can be stressful for anyone, but it’s particularly challenging for parents with really young kids. The sitting still for long periods of time, the changes in schedule, the abundance of stimuli, the unexpected stomach bugs, the suddenly running out of diaper wipes…all the things that make trips triggering for toddlers and therefore chaotic for mom and dad.

And while there might not be a way to completely avoid every travel-induced aggravation (it’s all part of the journey!) there are definitely tips and tricks and tools to make it a bit smoother of a process.

For one mom, a peaceful trip always begins with a roll of painter’s tape.

“I swear to you. It’s great on the plane but also on vacation,” Nichola Knox, a Canada-based mom wrote on Instagram last month.

“It’s great on the plane but also on vacation,” she continued. “Label the kid’s cups, a bandaid for when your toddler ‘really needs one,’ taping over locks and drawers you don’t want them getting into. The list goes on. It’s forever the ‘weird’ thing I bring on trips.”

In Knox’s video you can see the tape being used in myriad ways—both practical and creative. On the plane, it’s used as a snack holder and extra cup holder, a button block, plus as various ways to keep her kid entertained—window stickers, a “bridge” for his toy car, letters for a little arts and crafts time, etc.

Then at the hotel, she created little crawling roads mapped out on the floor. Nifty.

The video received a ton of positive feedback, with views calling the idea “expert-level parenting.”

Even the official Instagram account for airline WestJet left a comment saying “Inflight entertainment that we never thought of! Very creative. ✈️.”

Meanwhile, one person added, “If I was sitting with you I would totally be participating in all the fun tape-based shenanigans! This is brilliant.”

Knox isn’t the only one on the painter’s tape bandwagon. Another mom called it a “baby proofing workhorse” in a TikTok video saying it’s great for keeping anything dangling above out of reach, as well as covering up and outlets while at hotels.

Meanwhile, another mom shared that when flying, she would board earlier than her husband and son and put a little tape over the latch to the dining tray table, since he was “going through a phase where he liked to open and close everything.”

Honestly, it does make sense that this item could be such a travel friendly tool for parents. The beauty of painter’s tape is that it usually doesn't cause any mess or damage to the surfaces we stick it on. It’s super easy to simply peel off and go, especially when it’s only going to be used for a few hours.

And of course, parents can find plenty of ways to use painters tape at home, too. Mom blogger Kelsey Pomeroy has a few suggestions—makeshift chip clips, light blockers, lint rollers, reminders notes…just to name a few.

Sometimes the biggest parenting win is finding an easy solution that allows for more time to simply enjoy the moment. Seems like this hack is one of those wins. Happy traveling, moms and dads!