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Summertime has hit the midwest! For us, that means that roadtrip season is upon us. We have gone on roadtrips every year since our youngest was only six weeks old. Before we get started, it is essential to note that we always bring lots of snacks for each child. A well fed child is a much happier child. We also strongly believe in stopping every two hours to stretch and make a bathroom break. For our longer trips we often try to pack a picnic lunch and stop at a park to get some extra wiggles out. We strongly believe in moderation, so we do also allow the kids to watch some shows on the iPad, but we find that usually only lasts for an hour before they are bored. Each year we are searching for more screen free activities to help keep them entertained and to keep the time passing quickly. We like to find options that can be rotated between multiple ages to maximize our benefit for the items we are bringing.  Many of these options the kids like to use while listening to an audio book or yoto card over the car speakers as well!

Preschool to Early Elementary 

For our six year old, we have the following items packed:

  • Interactive Books - This age group loves the look and find books - this Big Book of Things combines multiple of their 1001 Things to Find series into one book! PaperPie has also released a "Let's Go Shopping" series that is interactive as they gather a specific shopping list of items throughout the book. PaperPie has also introduced a series of four interactive books with movement levers, lift a flaps and other actions throughout the book. 
  • Magnetic Boards - We originally found the wooden magnetic activity boards with a magnet pen at our local library. There are many options available based upon your kids and preferences. We have several - a PawPatrol maze theme, and an open ended color circle grid for free form design. This trip we let our oldest pick one.  
  • Bluey Magnetic Stickers - These exist for multiple themes based upon your child's preferences. Over the years we have had construction and dinosaur options as well. This year we picked Bluey as it will be able to rotate between the kids. We love that it is self contained! 
  • Chuckle and Roar Look and Find Bear - This takes the same look and find concept but makes it three dimensional. The child can work through the set of cards attached to the bear and look for the items shown or listed on the cards.
  • Lite-Brite Touch- This takes the classic lite brite that we all know and love, but takes away the choking hazard of the small pieces and the need to be plugged into a wall. This hand held toy has multiple settings that can be played through from free play to different games.
  • Melissa & Doug's Sticker Wow - This is a reduced mess compromise toy my kids love. The stickers are loaded into a "dotter" pen. And there is an activity book with spots for the stickers included. We love to bring the big book in the car, along with the extra "refill" pack for them to play with on the return trip!
  • Melissa & Doug's Water Wow Deluxe - This is the toddler toy but BIGGER! These remind us of a modern take on Where's Waldo, but the Water Wow technology allows it to be played over and over again. 
  • Crayola Color & Erase - Crayola's Mess Free Markers are wonderful - especially in the car. These spiral bound book sets also allow you to wipe them clean for endless fun! This is especially helpful for the return trip home. They have multiple different characters and themes available to fit your kid's interests. 
  • Crayola Mess Free Fingerprint Activity Book - My kids love painting, but this set makes it possible on the go! While this can be challenging in the car at times juggling the "paint" pad and the workbook, it also makes for a great entertainment option once we reach our final destination. 
  • Wiki Stix - These bendable sticks have endless room for imagination. They make great stocking stuffers or smaller gifts. They also are great to bring into restaurants! 

 

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Toddlers to Preschool

When our kids have hit this age, we find that our kids usually start to leave their car nap behind. For our kids that means we usually only get about 45 minutes of sleeping time to entertain them. For our two year old, we have the following items packed: 

  • Interactive Books - PaperPie has released a "Let's Go Shopping" series that is interactive as they gather a specific shopping list of items throughout the book. PaperPie has also introduced a series of four interactive books with movement levers, lift a flaps and other actions throughout the book. The goal of these books is for the kids to be able to swap their books for the return trip home. In addition to these, our toddler loves the sound books by PaperPie. We will be bringing two of them with for the car. These also can function as bedtime stories during our trip as well. 
  • Melissa & Doug's Sticker Wow - This is a reduced mess compromise toy my kids love. The stickers are loaded into a "dotter" pen. And there is an activity book with spots for the stickers included. We love to bring the big book in the car, along with the extra "refill" pack for them to play with on the return trip!
  • Melissa & Doug's Water Wow - There is a large variety of themes and topics available in the WaterWow series. We love these for the car, waiting at a restaurant or even entertainment during a sibling's soccer game. These are a great low mess option that have endless uses in them! We find our kids able to start using them around the 18 month mark.  
  • Crayola Color & Erase Pad - Crayola's Mess Free Markers are wonderful - especially in the car. These spiral bound book sets also allow you to wipe them clean for endless fun! This is especially helpful for the return trip home. They have multiple different characters and themes available to fit your kid's interests. 
  • Crayola Mess Free Fingerpaints - My kids love painting, but this set makes it possible on the go! While this can be challenging in the car at times juggling the "paint" pad and the workbook, it also makes for a great entertainment option once we reach our final destination. 
  • Pink Busy Book -  This book is an Amazon find! It works on fine motor skills and has everything from matching to puzzles to dress up! It can give hours of entertainment! 
  • Wiki Stix - These bendable sticks have endless room for imagination. They make great stocking stuffers or smaller gifts. They also are great to bring into restaurants! 

 

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Babies (Under 15 months)

Depending upon age, sleep can help occupy a large amount of your drive time. After the six month mark, we find that starts to change quickly. While our third child get lots of entertainment from watching siblings, we find that a few toys to rotate through can help break up the drive and serve as a distraction between stops.  Here is what we have packed for our seven month old:

  • Lovevery Busy Book - This has been a favorite for many of our kids. There are multiple clear plastic view pages that you can print family pictures to fit, or utilize the high contrast and mirror pages provided. There are also a variety of other pages that have different sized strings, crinkle paper and other features that are a hit both in the carset or for tummy time once you reach your destination. 
  • Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Toy - This toy has a velcro attachment that might fit your carseat. When pulled down, it vibrates. 
  • Melissa & Doug Taco Toy - The taco toppings have different sensory elements to them to provide maximum entertainment. Our older kids also like to engage the baby with this toy by playing pretend with it.
  • Melissa & Doug Soft Book - This is a sensory entertainment book. Its great to give to them and also guide them through page by page to maximize your time value of the toy! 
  • Hape Butterfly - We received this toy as a gift but it combines crinkle paper with a rattle functionality. Its unique shape also makes it easier to find in a car seat with a blind arm!
  • Leapfrog Remote - Babies and remotes - is there another more popular duo! This one is electronic and the sounds can test all of our patience after awhile, but it sure can come in handy for that last half an hour of driving!
  • Teethers - We love the P's and Q's teethers. We've seen these recommended by Occupational Therapists before and both of our youngest have loved them. We also love the Cutie Clinks and round Rattle Teether from Ryan & Rose. If they hit a throwing toys phase we can easily attach a pacifier clip to either option!