It's challenging to travel long -- or even short -- distances with kids in tow. (Clipart.com)

Favourite family getaways Top 10 family beach resorts

It happened once and I swore I wouldn't let it again. A one-hour flight with my young son was delayed by six hours, most of it on the runway. Oh horrors ... I hadn't packed a single thing for him to play with!

It's challenging enough to travel long -- or even short -- distances with kids in tow. But with increasing security delays and current restrictions on carry-ons at airports, it's hard to know what to pack to keep kids entertained. My excruciating lesson sent me straight to the Internet for suggestions. Here's what I came up with.

Frequent family flyers worldwide suggest toting a bag of treasures -- a selection of dollar-store items produced one-by-one throughout the flight to capture, then recapture a child's attention. Keep the items small and easily identifiable for security agents, but don't reveal them all at once to the kids. Think of these items as time-released attention grabbers.

Folding paper and a few crayons into your purse or pocket provides simple distraction that is easily passed through security. Paper paves the way for time-tested games, including tic-tac-toe, battleship and hangman -- games today's children don't often play thanks to Nintendo DS.

Here's one simple game that never fails to catch my kids' attention: Tear paper into small squares and write the name of a household item or room on each piece -- "laundry room," "couch," "refrigerator." One child selects a square, silently reads the word, then offers clues to help remaining family members guess the item. Sound too easy? Remember you're dealing with child-size clues, here. It once took my husband and me 30 minutes to identify "guest room!"

At airports and on planes, you can also play word games. Find words beginning with the letter A on signs around you, then B, C, etc., and have players take turns. Alternate the person who starts each new game, so everyone gets saddled with the challenging letters.

Packing coloured paper clips provides another cheap and cheerful time waster. Kids absorb themselves in endless possibilities, including arranging them by colour, crafting necklaces and bracelets, making rainbows, and tracing them on that aforementioned paper.

If all else fails, and once your bag of tricks diminishes, ask a flight attendant for a cup of crushed ice. It's not exactly a brain twister, but chewing ice can keep a kid busy at for a short while. Added bonus: Ice helps ease dreaded ear pain on take-offs and landings.

Finally, with carry-on restrictions changing frequently, particularly on U.S.-bound flights, parents may be reluctant to haul bulky car seats for kids.

While the FAA continues to recommend young children fly with the kind of safety a car seat provides, one solution may be a lightweight CARES seat harness. Short for Child Aviation Restraint System, the AmSafe harness weighs less than half a kilo and is easy to tote. It's also FAA certified as providing a level of safety during flight equivalent to a car seat. See kidsflysafe.com.

Still, probably the most important item a parent can pack for travelling with kids is patience -- loads, and loads of patience.

LORIKNOWLES.COM