You might be thinking: What kind of question is this? Of course kids need headphones on an airplane.

But hear me out.

I’m talking specifically about that funny in-between stage - roughly ages 1 to 3 - when your child may have started using an iPad on flights, but isn’t necessarily invested in following the plot of a movie or hearing every word of Paw Patrol.

Before that, they probably aren’t doing much with an iPad anyway. And once they’re a little older? They will absolutely notice when their movie has no sound.

But somewhere in the middle, you may be able to get away without headphones at all.

We discovered this completely by accident

When our son first started becoming somewhat interested in the iPad on flights around age 2, we always brought his headphones along.

Then, on one trip, we left the aux cord behind on a previous flight. On the next flight, we had headphones...that were essentially useless.

We figured this might be a problem.

It wasn’t!

To our surprise, he didn’t really seem to care that there was no sound. At that age, so much of his interest seemed to come from simply watching what was happening on the screen. The moving pictures were enough to hold his attention, even if he wasn’t hearing the dialogue or following the story.

And as we’ve mentioned elsewhere, movies and TV shows aren’t the only ways to use an iPad on a flight. There are plenty of games and activities that can keep younger kids entertained without sound, too.

One less thing to carry

Normally, headphones aren’t exactly a huge packing decision. But when you’re traveling with a young child, you become surprisingly aware of every single thing taking up space in your bags - especially when there’s a good chance you’ll eventually be the one carrying it.

And kids’ over-the-ear headphones can be a little clunky.

So if your child is just starting to use an iPad and isn’t yet captivated by actually watching a particular show or movie, headphones may not need to make the packing list just yet.

You can even do a test run: bring the headphones, but don’t offer them. See how your child does without them. If they happily watch or play without sound, you may have just found one more thing you can leave at home next time.

Enjoy that little packing victory while it lasts.

Because now that our son is 4? I’m pretty sure a silent movie would not fly.

And yes, we pack an extra aux cord now!