Does entertaining kids when travelling fill you with dread? If you’re struggling with good ideas for how to keep your little ones entertained when travelling as a family, you are not alone and these top tips are bound to help.
These quick and simple tips are lots of fun and will help you all relax so you can enjoy getting out and about with your tots.
Remember, the secret to travelling with little ones is PLANNING! Little ones often get restless when they experience long delays to their journey, so being prepared is half the battle. Pack a goody bag filled with activities to keep them occupied and busy and include things like play dough, a few blocks, some small board books, a little car or your toddler’s favourite teddy and the usual ‘must-haves’ of healthy snacks, water, books, colouring and a selection of toys.
Make sure you exhaust the more active activities before offering the more passive (and addictive!) iPhone/iPad with nursery rhymes or videos.
Tips for keeping children entertained on public transport
1 of 11Wrapped 'presents'
Children like to unwrap things. It keeps their fingers and minds busy and engaged. So, wrap up some small toys or old toys that your child hasn’t seen for a while and watch them become enthralled trying to unwrap the parcel.
2 of 11What Am I?
Toddler loves a guessing game so choose a subject, such as fruit, then describe one, fact by fact, until your toddler guesses. For example: ‘I am round, I am green, I am crunchy.’ They’ll be ecstatic when they get it right and he’ll love describing some to you too.
3 of 11Stickers
Buy some colourful stickers and use them as an alternate to the classic I spy: Take a sheet of stickers and every time your child spots something e.g. a blue car, post box, red lorry or whatever you start looking for, they get a sticker.
4 of 11Drawing board
A reusable drawing board are perfect for airplanes and trains with a tray table.
5 of 11I spy
‘Play I spy’ using colours instead of letters and sounds for young ones – you’ll have fun and they will be practicing and learning their colours.
6 of 11Children's magazine
Bring a children’s magazine as it is always a big hit with little ones, as it has stories, activities, free toy, colouring, etc - but remember to bring your own pens!
7 of 11Hand puppets
Take a couple of hand puppets (as they don’t take up much room) and play games such as peekaboo with them.
8 of 11Lacing board
Lacing boards are great for letter recognition, vocabulary, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination to keep little hands and minds busy on a boat, plane, bus or train.
9 of 11Look out
Simply look out of the window and chat about what you see.
10 of 11Be super
Let your little one know they’re a superhero today and that you’re their sidekick! Decide on cool superhero names and turn everything you need to do into hero missions and training. So, Magnificent Max, our challenge is to get to the boarding gate as fast as we can! Next up, we need to go in disguise as statues in the waiting area and keep our eyes peeled
for anyone needing help. Later, Max will need to hold on tight to Mummy’s hand to help her onto the plane, and will need all his super-strength to get his colouring books out of her bag.
11 of 11Mix up mannerisms
If your little one needs to stay in their seat for a while, choose a voice to imitate – you could try Daddy’s voice or Granny’s, or perhaps you could be a monster or TV character. Say normal sentences using your funny impersonation while they try to guess who you are, and throw in a few catchphrases if they need a little help – then swap, and see how they think you sound.
Looking for some more tips? Check out these genius car hacks and tips for travelling with a newborn right through to travelling with older children. We've also got toddler travel accessories that will make any journey easier.