Travel season is here- prime time for family road trips. Purchasing five airline tickets isn’t exactly in our family budget. But we love to travel so road trips  happen often in our family. As co-pilot, it is up to me to keep the kids  entertained, happy, and not asking the dreadful, “are we there yet” question 20 times each minute. We’ve driven as far as 16 and 18 hours away to Cleveland, Ohio and New York City. Just three years ago, I would have rather pulled out my eyelashes than sit in a car for even half that time with the kids. But now that my youngest is seven-years-old we’re ready for as many family adventures as our schedules will allow.  To keep us all sane, here’s how we make it work. Adding to the fun, we have limited space. We’re not really a minivan sort of family and we got rid of our extended SUV years ago. So we make it work with the space we have.

Four Fun Ideas for Keeping Kids Entertained During Family Road Trips

1. A Little Screen Time Doesn’t Hurt Anyone. Yeah I know, TV time is such an obvious way to entertain kids on road trips. As we all know, TV eventually gets boring but … if you are watching a new movie, you can extend the  life of TV for some peaceful quiet time. We rent a Redbox DVD in between stops at the gas station. Usually it’s for something the kids have never seen before. Most people don’t realize you can return your Redbox at any other Redbox location. Perfect for road trips. Let me assure you though, mindless TV watching for long road trips gets old fast. So TV is only part of the strategy.

2. Pack a bag full of tricks. When it’s time to start packing for a trip, the kids get pack one book bag each with fun things to do in the car and while away. They all scatter to fill their bags. I do a little quality control to make sure items packed will work in the car.  I  supplement bags with playing cards, new books, coloring pads, and journals. Something stimulating for them to do. I also pack some math flashcards. The perfect remedy for kids that start whining about how bored they are.

3. Pack children’s books perfect for the road trips. One of our family favorite book series is by National Geographic, Try  National Geographic Kids Just Joking: 300 Hilarious Jokes, Tricky Tongue Twisters, and Ridiculous Riddles. Another favorite by National Geographic is National Geographic Kids Ultimate Weird but True: 1,000 Wild & Wacky Facts and Photos. Our kids had a riot over some of the facts like,bats can eat 3,000 insects in one day. From weird animal species to unusual artwork, these are great books to keep children entertained while doing some light reading.

4. Spend a few bucks on games just for travel. If you travel frequently, it’s worth the investment in buying some quality travel games Melisa & Doug makes really great travel games for road trips. We had blast with Melissa & Doug License Plate Game during our 16 hour road trip to Cleveland. The game is great for school age children.  Older kids can review geography while younger ones learn the names of the 50 states. If you want the ultimate road trip pack, try this box of goodies by Melissa & Doug,  Trip Talk Box Of Questions . Looks like hours of fun!

How do you keep kids entertained on long road trips?