5 Fun Things for Kids to Do While Travelling

Travelling with kids can be tough.  Long car rides, hikes, and all that waiting, waiting, waiting is hard on them.  Yes, travelling with adults can sometimes be easier, but travelling with kids doesn’t have to be bad.  Our family has been travelling together for the past 7 years.  I can’t imagine not taking Morgan along on a trip. Here are a few things that we have found work for our family.  We hope this can help yours too.

Job Title

Kids like to feel important and useful.  Try giving them a job such as journalist, photographer, or trash collector when you travel.  (A trash collector dumps the car trash at each gas station stop.)

We recently discovered that Morgan travels better when she is busy.  If she has a job to do, she is quieter because she is focusing on her job, and she isn’t complaining as much about the long drives or hikes.  We dug out an old kids’ camera that belonged to our nephews, and now she helps with the photography on our trips.  She is getting surprisingly good too.

Travelling with Kids: Scavenger Hunts

Piggy backing on the job title we have scavenger hunts.  A scavenger hunt is like a job for the kids.  They have a sense of purpose when they are doing a scavenger hunt.  There is a great kid-friendly scavenger hunt printable from Hip and Simple.

Car Games for Travel

Because kids and adults can get bored on long car rides trying out games such as I-Spy, counting license plates, and car colors are great ones that require no prep and can be played on the spot. 

I-Spy is the typical game of spying something inside the car and the other people guesses what it is.  Finding objects outside of the car is more challenging and can be passed by. 

Counting License plates is fun because you can keep track of which states the cars you pass come from.  Papertraildesign.com has a FREE printable that you can use too. 

Car colors is a family favorite for us.  The rules are simple: each person chooses a color and each time you pass that color vehicle you get a point.  The person with the most points wins.  For example, Morgan chooses red.  Every time we pass a red car she shouts out “red car” or “red truck”.  Each time she says it she gets a point. 

Small Suckers

Another thing we use to pacify her time on long trips is Dum Dum suckers.  No, I’m not promoting poor dental hygiene, but I also don’t think a small sucker every now and then will immediately rot out her teeth either.  Small suckers are a good size for fitting in your purse or bag.  They aren’t noisy so they pretty much don’t bother others around you like when waiting in long ride lines at theme parks. 

Something as small as a sucker can help kids take their minds off the waiting and keep their hands busy while opening and holding on to the sucker.  Its’ amazing how a small sucker given at the right time can save a parent’s sanity. 

Books for Travelling with Kids

Like most kids, Morgan loves different kinds of books. Her favorites to travel with include sticker books and mess free coloring books.  Both can be purchased at your favorite dollar store or at the Target Dollar Spot.  Because these books are not big and bulky, they can easily be slipped inside the back of a car seat, backpack, or travel bag. 

Another thing that is easily accessible are eBooks.  Before leaving on a trip download some kid friendly eBooks on your phone and they will always be available when you need them.  Books are a great way to spend time waiting at airports or at restaurants.  Just be careful you don’t get carsick while reading like we do!

Final Thoughts

Let’s face it travelling with kids is different.  However, it doesn’t have to be hard with a little preparation and knowledge.  The number one thing to remember when traveling with kids is that this is their trip too.  Taking a step back to breathe and help them have fun in the moment is one of the most important things you can do as a family.  Having a few tricks up your sleeve like the 5 things we have suggested above can also help. 

We hope that you can take some of our suggestions to help your next family trip be less stressful and more enjoyable.  Let us know what works for your kids in the comments below.  For more fun ideas to do with kids check out our other blog posts. And remember… Life’s Short… Take the trip!