Top 10 ways to entertain kids in the car

Family road trip dread will be a thing of the past when you use our handy kids’ car entertainment guide.

I use these tricks all the time and have undertaken many road trips with my family (including some huge ones) over the last nine years as a mum of two, family car journalist and founder of BabyDrive.com.au.

Here are ten ways to entertain your kids in the car and kick car journey stress to the kerb.

Let’s kick straight off with the controversial choice. Love it or hate it, an iPad or similar device loaded with your kids’ favourite movies or cartoons will definitely get you through a long car journey with minimal “I’m bored, when do we get there?” moaning from the back seats.

An iPad pre-loaded with Peppa Pig once got our toddler through a lengthy period spent un-bogging our car while off-roading out of mobile reception range. I can vouch for the iPad in situations like that.

You may cop the fallout at the other end when their eyes are square from staring at the screen and they’re grumpy but you gotta choose your battles, right?

I love these drawing tablets! They are like the modern-day Etch-a-Sketch. Drawing tablets come with either a single colour background or rainbow background, and kids can write on them and draw on them. If you have more than one child in the back and, depending on their ages, these are great for hangman and noughts and crosses too, so the kids can use them to play together or independently. The tablets are super light and portable too.

Always a good distraction from a car journey, the new toy offers kids endless fascinating possibilities as they explore it, work it all out and make a whole world of imagination with it. Be careful not to peak too soon and hand it over early; wait until they’re buckled into their car seat so you get maximum distance out of it. Or if it’s a really long journey, try and delay and say you’ve got a surprise once you’re out on the highway.

I love kids’ pre-packaged activity sets. Often they come with multiple activities in them like colouring, stickers, puzzles, mazes and word searches. Everything is neatly packaged in a little folder. You can get generic ones or versions featuring your child’s favourite cartoon character; either way they can keep kids entertained for hours. Again, don’t hand them over to the children until you are in the car and on the way, so you get maximum ‘distracted time’ out of them. If, like me, you don’t like stickers on your car, then make sure you either remove them beforehand or set that ground rule from the start.

A bit like the iPad, you either love playdough or hate it. I find a small tub of playdough is great for long car journeys, airports, restaurants… anywhere I need to entertain my kids for a long time (and clearing away the mess is the lesser of two evils). I think the sensory motion of using their hands calms them and soothes any anxiety they may be feeling. To help imaginations run wild, ask the children to make different animals and creations with the playdough so everyone can guess what they are.

A bit like a new toy, a new book or magazine (especially Bluey books) will help my toddler through a long car journey. If your kids are young, make sure the book is full of engaging images so they can imagine the story. Magazines are great for all ages and often come with a toy on the front so you get a double whammy, buying you even more time. You could let them choose their own magazine from the first stop you make, which gives them something to anticipate.

A bucket of toys that your child can easily access from the back seat is a great distraction for them. If you have siblings onboard, position the bucket between them so both can reach. You can add their favourite toys from home or visit an op-shop beforehand in order to fill a bucket with cheap toys. This method saves you from constantly passing things from the front seat while driving.

This is not everyone’s cup of tea, but car karaoke can be a lot of fun. Some cars, like BYDs, even have this feature in the media system. For other cars, simply make a playlist of family favourites beforehand, and once you hit the road…. Take it away. It’s fun family bonding.

Kids love playing games, and there are so many good ones you can play in the car. We play them not only on long road trips, but even during everyday school and kindy drop-offs. Games can also be handy on aeroplanes, and we even play some word games at the dinner table. A favourite of ours is High, Low, Buffalo. Each player says a high – something you like – a low – something you don’t like – and buffalo – something interesting. It can be a great way to start fun chatter in the car.

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