When you are planning a long road trip, one important consideration is keeping the children entertained for hours on end while you travel to your destination. There is nothing more boring for children than featureless hours stuck in the back of a car or campervan – and little more boring for adults than endless grumbling and questions of, ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ Once you have filled up with fuel, packed your summer clothes and made sure your campervan has appropriate insurance (check out this campervan conversion insurance comparison website to make sure you get the best deal), then you can turn your mind to keeping the children happy and amused during your road trip. Here are seven fantastic travel toys for long car rides with the kids.
Bubbles
Bubbles are not necessarily for when you are driving along, but they are a wonderful amusement when you stop for a break, whether it is for a few minutes to use the facilities or longer stops to enjoy a meal and stretch your legs. Bubbles are a delightful entertainment for the whole family and are sure not to annoy or distract others in the area – even adults cannot help but smile when they see a stream of iridescent bubbles flying off into the sky.
Fidget Toys
Older children might enjoy tactile toys and puzzle games. From fidget spinners and poppers to puzzle balls and Rubik cubes, these fidget toy gadgets are all blissfully quiet, and will give your energetic child something to do with their hands, without distracting the driver or anyone else.
Lacing Boards
These sensory toys are great for little children, from toddlers up. They help to build fine motor skills and are just as much fun on the road as they are at home. Often they have a range of activities for your little one to learn and practice: buttons to do up and undo, zips to try out, shoelaces to tie and untie, as well as range of textures and surfaces that your toddler can touch and move, much like the above tactile toys, but aimed at younger children.
Colouring Books and Crayons
This is a staple childhood favourite, and by opting for no-roll triangular crayons that will stay on the table or tray, you can give your children colouring books, or sketch pads to colour in or draw what they see as you zip through the countryside.
Road Trip Bingo
A homemade option now, why not make up bingo cards of things you know you will be passing and offer a small prize to the child who fills their bingo card first? It might be an ideal to trial the game to see how long it takes so you can come up with two or three different sets of cards, depending on where you will be at the time. This is an excellent method for stealth education too, as you can depict landmarks that you will be passing so your children learn a little about the countries or regions you are driving through.
Beach Ball
Inflatable toys have one huge advantage: they can be deflated when not in use to take up very little space. Beach balls and similar toys tend to be too light to do any damage (unless the children really work at it!) and can quickly be inflated for a quick, reviving game of catch or pig-in-the-middle at a rest stop.
Travel Board Games
Finally, a firm favourite that has stood the test of time. Travel board games are miniature magnetised versions of your family favourites: chess, scrabble, draughts, snakes and ladders, and many more. If you have two children, they can while away the time playing the best of three to see who is the Road Trip Champion!
