A smooth car ride with toddlers, kids and teens requires preparation of its own. To avoid the dreaded “are we there yet” from the backseat, check out some of our road trip-saving entertainment and travel activities for kids.
Books
Provided your kids don’t get car sick, picking up some interesting books is a great way to keep them entertained and do something good for their brains. Books can be expensive, so to avoid added costs incurred for holiday, pick up a few from the library. E-books and Kindles are another reading alternative allowing you to carry an almost unlimited number of books in a tiny, space-saving and light-weight device. To help the car sick kiddies (and adults), here are our tips for stopping car sickness.
If your kids do get car sick, they can still dive into a good story! Play an audiobook for the whole family to enjoy (or pop it on a device with headphones). Again, your library card often gives you access to thousands of audiobooks from your phone with apps like Libby.
Pass the Aux
If you trust your little ones to play DJ, it can help them feel like they have an important job for the trip. If they’re too small or you can only take so much of Old McDonald Had a Farm, queue a playlist with everyone’s favourite songs. You can even encourage a family sing-along! Don’t know where to start? Check out our list of best road trip songs.
Can’t agree on what playlist or station to listen to? Dramatised radio plays like those performed by the BBC are engaging plots for the whole family that require an amount of quiet to enjoy. Alternatively, podcasts are great audio entertainment, particularly those made with kids in mind. Read our blog post on great podcasts for road trips!
Fidget Toys
Sitting still for hours at a time is trying for anyone, and especially so for little ones whose instincts are to explore and run around. With limited range of movement, fidget toys are a small but effective way to help burn that fidget-y energy. Different versions include push pop toys (like the one in the photo below), fidget spinners, and other sensory toys. When selecting a toy that would be most engaging for your child, like with normal toys, be sure that the pieces are not too small if your child is very young, as they may be a choking hazard. For more travel toy suggestions, check out our list of best toys for toddlers.
Car Games
Classic car games like eye spy and the number plate game are excellent to help pass the time. Step the car-spotting games up a knotch by preparing a road trip bingo board. Include common sights like “service station” or “license plate starting with the letter Y”. Up the stakes with a treat for the winner so they remain engaged. Take a look at our list of favourite car games to keep your drive fun!
Travel versions of beloved board games are the same amount of fun in a smaller size! These family favourite games are more compact and often altered with magnetic pieces to prevent losing small pieces. You don’t want to have to pull over the car to search for a plastic battleship under the driver’s seat! Games like magnetic connect four, guess who, and travel ludo are a great place to start. For lower-stakes fun (code for peace and quiet), check out small magnetic puzzles.
Some games are modified into notepad versions, like the small notepad version of battleship. It allows for the same fun without any of the fuss. Other great game pads include tic tac toe, hangman and categories. Travel books like Mad Libs are great to engage the whole car by supplying whacky adjectives, nouns, and verbs to create a silly story. It will keep you laughing long after you’ve filled in the final blank, and isn’t laughter the best way to start a holiday?
Curiosity and Creativity
Picking up colouring books helps divert attention and engage creativity. Just be sure to pack pencils and crayons, leaving the felt tip markers and pens at home. If they’re too young or don’t enjoy colouring as much, sticker books help smaller kids to express themselves. Just keep an eye out that they’re not “expressing themselves” on car doors, windows or backs of seats!
A magnetic drawing board or “writing tablet” helps eliminate the possibility of creativity off the page and on the car, the stylus only working on the board itself. You can erase the art and start anew meaning it’s a limitless resource. The fun doesn’t stop when the paper runs out!
Screen Time
Of course we can’t ignore the entertainment power of electronic devices. With a tablet you can download a number of movies and shows to keep kids entertained. If your kids or toddlers are wanting a more interactive element, downloadable games are had their fingertips on the same device. If travel versions of boardgames doesn’t appeal, you can download digital versions of these same games so you don’t have to worry about losing pieces. Often these games are multiplayer so the kids can play games together. Some available favourites include Candy Crush, Candy Land, Monopoly, Uno, Cluedo, the Game of Life, Chess, Scrabble and more. There are even adapted versions of handheld console games like Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Zoombinis and Stardew Valley.
If you’re worried about in-app purchases and would prefer the kids to use a separate console, handhelds like the Nintendo Switch (particularly the lite as it is, as the name suggests, lightweight and easier to transport) are a good, albeit pricier, alternative. For some retro fun, there are throwback vintage-stylised video game consoles. They come with pre-installed games on micro SD cards, like the tiktok-viral Anbernic RG35XX game console. With a similar interface to a gameboy, it holds hundreds of different games for hours of fun.
For even more of throwback and a more affordable option, Tamagotchis are a fun virtual pet. The console is pocket-sized and egg shaped lasting for hours with a watch battery. Kids can feed, walk, and play with their tamagotchi pet (with mini games to earn coins), teaching them about pet ownership responsibilities, too.
Plan Pit Stops
Plan breaks along the way every few hours to take away from the monotony of sitting in the car. It gives the littles ones an opportunity to stretch their legs. If you stop at a suitable location like a park, bring a bike, scooter, frisbee or football to run around with and burn some energy. Alternatively, pick a food establishment with a play area for kids. Planning these stops ahead of time helps you know how much more time you need to build in for your journey and it gives you a more manageable answer to the detested question: are we there yet?
Start the Holiday Off Right
Road trips with the kids will be more enjoyable by planning activities for them to help them pass the time. By engaging them with games, music, books, and more, the driver can focus solely on the road and safety.
With our larger rental vehicles, you have more room to pack your luggage as well as any and all entertainment. To learn more about our range of cars, contact us.