Boredom-Busting Activities to Keep Kids Busy on Road Trips and Flights

We know that traveling with toddlers and big kids takes a lot of planning (and patience), so in addition to packing your plant-based PlaneAire hygiene products, we’ve got some suggestions for keeping your children entertained so they won’t ask every hour, “Are we there yet?”

Of course you can set up an iPad filled with movies and games for your little one, but screen time can cause over stimulation and tantrums when the digital device is taken away (digital devices also prevent naps which are a parent’s best friend during long haul trips).

Instead give them magnetic drawing boards, magnetic picture playsets, reusable gel window stickers or a sensory busy book for motor skills development. Magnetic playsets are great because they don’t fall to the ground as easily, avoiding parents from either digging for small playset pieces in the (not so clean) airplane floor or in the car while driving. Wax sticks and colorful pipe cleaners or chenille stems are another great crafting game that develop fine motor skills.

Kids love having their own briefcase-like set up while sitting on a plane or in a car that can house activities and supplies, so purchase a Kids Travel Tray. Aside from the typical coloring books and crayons, get puzzle games like the Never Get Bored On the Go Puzzle Cards deck from Usborne which comes with a dry erase pen and 50 wipe-clean brain-teaser cards.

Usborne has multiple boredom-busting decks like this and they keep kids busy for hours! If your kids like to draw, try the Melissa & Doug Dry Erase Activity Pad, which features 20 pages of activities that help them learn to draw animals, decorate cookies and cakes, and use their imagination to create their very own garden.

Those long car rides or airport layovers can feel endless, but why not make the most of it by learning more about one another? TableTopics makes a Family set with 135 age-appropriate questions to ask, such as “What’s your favorite thing to do at recess?” or “If you had three wishes, what would they be?” Trivia apps offer a great variety of “Did you know?” and “Fact or Fiction?” questions for kids and adults to answer and they keep score!

Families can work together or play one at a time to test their trivia skills. Play the Alphabet game by finding things around you that start with every letter or pick a specific category and go in order from A to Z. If you need a brain break, let each member take turns being the DJ and pick songs in the car using your smartphone’s music app.