How To Keep Kids Entertained on Road Trips

How do you entertain children while travelling? Long car rides can be exhausting for adults, let alone those little busy-bodies, but a cross-country road trip can quickly become an exciting adventure with thorough planning.

Why Do I Need to Entertain My Kids on a Road Trip?

When asking yourself how do you entertain children while travelling, you first need to ask why it’s important. There are three main reasons why you need to plan to keep your kids entertained on road trips:

• Boredom

What should kids do on a road trip when bored? Without anything to keep them busy, your kids will lose their minds on a long car ride.

• Safety

If your kids are occupied in the backseat, the likelihood of distracted driving decreases significantly, ensuring safe travels.

• Emergencies

Let’s say the car breaks down. You’ll have a lot to worry about. Don’t let your kids’ short attention span add to your stress levels!

How Do I Keep My Kids Busy on a Road Trip?

Now that we’ve established that your kids need to be entertained on road trips, you must be wondering: but how? Don’t worry. We’ve got your back!

Here’s a list of ways to keep your kids entertained on road trips.

1. Stories

Stories play a vital role in children’s growth and development. By preparing books, audiobooks and movies to entertain your kids on a long road trip, you’re fighting boredom and engaging their growing minds.

Reading Books

The books children read and the characters they get to know can become like good friends, offering kids a sense of companionship. Children should also understand that books are a valuable source of information and that good reading skills are essential for their future lives. Reading helps children with their confidence levels and teaches them to cope with feelings while aiding language and learning.

Audiobooks

An Audible subscription may be a helpful alternative to the newest nursery rhyme compilation, especially if you’re not prepared to listen to “Old MacDonald” on repeat for hours on end. Audiobooks are great for story-lovers prone to car sickness and can be a fun way for the whole family to bond on a road trip. 

Movies

With today’s technology, it’s never been easier to entertain your kids on a long car ride. Simply download a couple of movies or kids’ shows on your phone or tablet, or play it old school by taking your laptop and a few DVDs along for the ride.

2. Fun Car for Kids Activities

Nothing screams road trips like car activities for toddlers and car activities for kids! Here are some ideas.

Activity and Sticker Books

These days, there are various activity books for children, and on the long road, you just can’t beat a sticker book to keep your kids entertained. Most activity and sticker books follow fun themes, so if your kids are into dinosaurs, get them dino-themed sticker books for the road. We guarantee that they’ll be enchanted for hours! Also, if you’re going to the beach, why not grab a few ocean-themed books to get your children excited for the holiday ahead?

The Baking Tray Hack

How do you keep a 2-year-old entertained on a long road trip? Pack a baking tray. Isn’t it crazy to take a baking tray along on a road trip? Well, not if you have children! 

A baking tray acts as a portable play surface, while the slight lip around the sides is perfect for keeping toys etc., from rolling over the edge. The added advantage of its magnetic properties makes a baking tray the ideal road trip companion, especially for toddlers. By adding pictures to the tray, your kids can make up their own play scenes, keeping them well entertained for the duration of the trip.

Arts and Crafts

Since you’ve packed a baking tray for each child, you can bring along any arts and crafts necessities to keep them busy and get their creative juices flowing. Think clay, pencils, paper, glue, stickers — you name it!

3. Car Ride Games

An easy way to amp up the fun in the car is by playing various roadtrip games for kids, such as “I Spy with My Little Eye” or counting vehicles of a particular colour all throughout the trip. Don’t be afraid to get creative! The more personalised the road trip games for kids are to your family, the more everyone will enjoy it.

Don’t Forget the Toys

There can be nothing worse than the wail of a toddler who forgot their favourite teddy bear at home. Leave nothing up to chance and make sure you pack all the favourites.

Don’t Shy Away from Conversation

Sometimes, the best game you can play with your children is no game at all. How about getting to know each other better by asking specific questions? You’ll never regret knowing more about your kids, from favourite colours to least favourite foods. 

4. Snacks

Snacks are an essential part of any road trip, and there are ways to make eating fun for your kids. For example, buy a small tackle box and put different snacks in each section. This will give your kids a measure of freedom to decide what they eat and when, while you control what goes inside the box. 

5. Rest

Encourage your kids to get some shut-eye on a long car ride, giving you some peace and quiet and making sure that they are well-rested at your destination. 

Plan Stops in Advance

Road trips can quickly become pretty expensive with fuel costs and food costs. Pack your food and plan things out ahead of time to reduce these costs and give your kids something to look forward to every couple of hours. By mapping out rest areas with room to run or have a picnic at a park, you can turn an average road trip into an unforgettable adventure.

In Case of Emergency

What happens if your car breaks down on a road trip? Should you phone for roadside assistance? Who can help?
Once again, Dean’s Autoglass has your back! Contact us for all your roadside assistance and car window safety needs.