If you are considering taking your kids on a road trip, you should be well-prepared and familiar with ways to keep them occupied and happy while driving. You need a variety of toys, games, and activities to keep kids entertained on the journey because they become bored easily. In many situations, good music also helps and is calming for children and adults, including the driver, without diverting their focus from the road. Here are some clever suggestions for how to make travel enjoyable for kids; let us look at what matters while traveling with kids.
What is important for a safe trip with kids?
Since safety should always come first, you must ensure that your children are using the appropriate booster seats or car seats for their age. Ensure you have enough supplies for the entire journey if you are taking a baby on a trip. You must consider feeding, resting, and changing diapers. Be sure to bring everything you need, but do not overpack. Be realistic; kids do not require as many things as we would imagine.
The real route must be planned carefully as well. Avoid too congested roads if at all feasible to enjoy the journey. It is preferable to keep the distance between A and B short. You may set off on a road trip with a few stops along the way or reserve a few motels as you go to your destination. Enjoy the journey itself by taking your time.
If you are not driving, you must consider the mode of transportation. For instance, taking a bus is not a smart idea for infants and small children. There will not be as many stops, which increases the likelihood that your child may become bored or uncomfortable. Long-distance travel with a child is best accomplished by plane. Consider investing a little more money if necessary to ensure your children’s comfort while still making the vacation fun for everyone.
Last but not least, double-check that you have brought all the required paperwork, particularly if you are traveling abroad. Verify the validity of your passports and/or visas (if any are required), confirm that your children have had all required immunizations, and bring along more than one credit or debit card.
Keep your children occupied with some activities, and feed them often, if you want them to enjoy themselves while you’re driving. Here are some suggestions to help you accomplish your main objective and have fun on your travels.
Prepare a Snack Survival Box
Food is essential for a trip, especially for kids. All children, whatever age, enjoy snacking and, if they are hungry, tend to get rather agitated and grumpy. When traveling with a baby, you must bring formula or other baby food and keep track of the child’s eating schedule.
When traveling with older children, you may build a survival food pack that will keep them nourished and make them happy. Depending on your children’s tastes, you may put various sorts of food in a container with many compartments. It is a good idea to include snacks that are easy to consume on the road, something salty, something sweet, fruits, and veggies. An extra benefit is if the meal does not crumble or discolor excessively. For each child, you might need to provide the same kind of food to prevent chaos or offense.
Keep in mind that the snack survival box cannot substitute for a healthy meal, so if your travel is too lengthy, you may need to stop for lunch or dinner en route.
Pack a busy bag for each kid
A toy pack is another crucial component of a pleasant travel kit for children. To keep your children occupied when traveling, you can pack a backpack with a variety of toys and games. Include many of the toys your kids like playing with in the busy bag.
As an example, the package may contain crayons or pencils and a coloring book, stickers, little toys, easy art supplies, travel-friendly toys, or board games. It would be a good idea to take the same kind of toys and activities for each child if you are traveling with more than one child. We advise selecting less expensive, replaceable toys that you won’t regret losing or breaking while traveling.
You have two options to use the busy bag
- At the start of the journey, distribute the set to each child and let them look through it and select what to play with.
- Keep the travel set of toys on hand and provide a new activity every 40–50 minutes or at a frequency you think appropriate.
Each approach can work, depending on your children’s ages and personalities. You may also make a busy box to distribute and keep a few extra toys and activities on hand that you can provide later as a backup plan. For instance, a soft toy, which kids like and which can help regulate tension and relax the child in an unfamiliar scenario like the journey, is a nice addition to your travel collection.
Take their favorite toy or game
The majority of kids have a favorite toy or game that they like playing. When traveling, do not forget to bring that thing with you. Pack additional items if, for instance, a blanket or a sippy cup is a favorite of your children. Children need these toys since they will keep them occupied and peaceful during the trip. Make sure to have some extra games or entertainment options.
Make a movie screen for the car
One of the simplest methods to keep kids entertained is to let them watch movies, which they love to do. Making a movie screen for the automobile allows you to amuse your kid while driving. Put your iPad or tablet in a zipped bag and attach it to the back of your seat as one of the hacks you may utilize. As a result, you may let your child watch the movie without worrying about them playing with the tablet and possibly disturbing things. The older children won’t benefit from this hack since they will rather play with the iPad, but toddlers and smaller children would love it.
Allow them more screen time
We are seeking alternatives to keep our kids occupied because we all agree that screen time is bad for them. However, while traveling, a mobile device might be your best buddy. If you have smaller children, you may convert it into a movie screen as mentioned above, or you can just let your children use the smartphone or tablet to play games or watch videos. But before giving them the gadget, make sure they do not have access to any unrestricted websites.
If you are traveling by air, it is a wise decision to purchase inflight Wi-Fi and let your child play games and watch movies. You will find it to be a lot simpler as well, and the investment will pay off.
Take a magnet board game with you
The whole family can have a lot of fun playing board games. Playing checkers or another game might keep you entertained for hours. There are now magnet board games designed specifically for travel. They make it possible for you to play safely even while moving and help the figurines stay securely fastened to the board. Your kids may have a fantastic time playing different games along the way because there is such a wide selection of them, like hangman. The advantage is that, in contrast to their traditional counterparts, these board games are often relatively small and won’t take up much room when you pack them. They are therefore ideal for all types of travel, even flying when your luggage is limited.
Get your kids wireless headphones
One of the greatest travel accessories for kids is a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones. They will provide kids the freedom to play games, view their preferred cartoons, or listen to music without bothering the other travelers. Not only are headphones useful for bus or airplane travel but also for driving. They can help the child forget that they are traveling and allow them to fully immerse themselves in the game or movie, making it simpler for them to pass the time.
Let Them Read Books
A pleasant approach to pass the time during travel is to read a book. Depending on their age, choose a book that your children enjoy and permit them to read a specific amount of chapters or pages. If you are traveling with more than one child, you may make reading into a competition by seeing who can read for 20 minutes longer, for instance. The reading should be done by you if you are traveling with a baby or toddler, but the kids will still have a blast.
Write or draw a story for your travel
You might ask your children to keep a trip journal. You may have them write or draw a tale about their vacation, including everything they saw, enjoyed, or even did not like about it, depending on their age. You may ask them for suggestions on how things could be improved in the future. As a result, they will feel like they are a part of everything and look forward to the next adventure.
Film a movie
Making a video about your journey is another option besides writing about it. You can ask your children to film a movie detailing your trip using their tablets or cellphones (or yours if they do not have any).
It should be noted that this should not be a simple video and that they should come up with a scenario and roles to make it more difficult for them. Adding criteria based on their age is an option. This will undoubtedly keep kids occupied while traveling, and you will enjoy the movie afterward.
Play a game
Playing a game together while traveling is a fantastic additional enjoyable alternative. There are several games you may play, including “I see something that starts with…”, “Name all words starting with a given letter,” “Name all yellow objects,” and “Who will see a bird or other object first.” In such a setting, there is no limit to your ingenuity, and you may encourage your children to offer games as well.
If you prepare correctly, taking children on a trip may be enjoyable. Before you leave off on the trip, make a list of everything you need to bring with you and make sure it is all packed in your luggage. Remember that toys may be used for educational purposes in addition to being a lot of fun on vacation. For suggestions on what to pack in your travel kit to keep your kids occupied while traveling, go through our section on toys.