We travel a lot with my eleven month old daughter. Although she’s a real champ on road trips, probably because she’s been traveling since she was three weeks old, long car rides aren’t her favorite activity. As she creeps closer to toddlerhood, it’s becoming more important to keep her happy and entertained while we’re on the road. What happened to the “sleeping six solid hours” thing?? (Not so) suddenly, my tiny baby has become a rambunctious toddler. When we first started traveling, we could get away with packing a bottle and a few toys. Now? Not so much. My new best friend is the busy bag. It’s probably your new best friend too.
To pack a busy bag for road trips, first you need a good bag. I suggest a high quality tote or backpack. You’re going to want a lot of space if you’re taking a long trip, and you’ll need less space if you’re only going for a short jaunt.
1. Snacks. What road trip is complete without snacks and a drink? Keep yourself from having to stop at that sketchy gas station in the wrong part of town because your kid has “never” been hungrier by packing some snacks and drinks. Bananas, toddler puffs, cracker sandwiches, apple slices, and juice boxes were made for times like these.
2. Toys. We like to buy Critter a new toy before each road trip. We don’t give it to her at the start of the trip– we wait until we’ve hit traffic, red lights, or construction. Then, when things seem dire, we pull out the new toy and buy a few more minutes of calm, happy baby. For an especially long road trip, I suggest buying a pack of toys like the Playgro Play and Explore Gift Pack . We received this for Critter to review, and she recognized that it was for her immediately. Five toys instead of one means that we can buy a little extra time when we get stuck behind a multi-car pile-up in Atlanta. These brightly colored toys include a soft ball, a key ring, a stuffed elephant, a stuffed dog with a spinning belly, and a rattler. They’re brightly colored to keep baby’s attention, and they have a variety of textures for tactile stimulation. These are becoming a fixture in our busy bag!
3. Tablet. I’m not going to lie, all of our screen time rules go out the window on a long road trip. Having a tablet or a few downloaded episodes of your child’s favorite cartoon on your phone can be the difference between an hour of calm or an hour of screaming. We like to keep a playlist of kid and family friendly songs downloaded and ready to go for those times when nothing is on the radio.
4. Books. The great thing about books is that they can grow with your child. These days, we pack a touch and feel book for Critter, but as she’s older, we can add in activity books, coloring books, and even chapter books for her. If your kid gets carsick easily, consider downloading an audiobook or borrowing one on CD from your local library. We also pack her TinyMe Amazing Alphabet Book . Not only is her name featured throughout the story, we downloaded the free app, hover it over the page we are reading and the book comes to life right before her eyes. She’s captivated by hearing her name throughout the story. It’s like a high tech version of the alphabet books we used to have as kids.
5. Something to burn off steam. Traveling with kids means more stops that traveling as adults. When you make a stop, you want to make the most of it! We like to bring something that lets Critter get some energy out. A ball is a great idea for kids, or consider a play tent from Pacific Play Tents. We received an Peek A Boo I See You 6ft Play Tunnel for Critter, and it’s going on trips with us from now on. It easily folds flat, so it doesn’t take up much space. Better yet, it gives her something to do when the rest area doesn’t have a play area. No playground? No problem? We’re bringing our own! This play tunnel wipes clean with a damp cloth, so no worries about setting it on the grass. It takes just a few seconds to set up and to pack back up.
Having a busy bag can mean the difference between an easy trip and a trip you’ll never want to repeat. How do you keep your kids entertained on road trips?
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I don’t know how you fit that tube in a bag! lol Would be great to have along for the ride though.
This is a great idea. We go on road trips regularly and it’s so important to have something to keep the kids busy during long drives.
I so remember those days with my kiddies! These are great tips!
Our screen time restrictions go out the window on long trips too. The kids get lulled to sleep though, even the big ones, if we’re driving, so a lot of the time they just spend sleeping. 🙂
Snacks and books have always worked wonders with my children. I’m so thankful they’re readers.
I LOVE road trips so much! Although I’ve never traveled with kids, a lot if these items are what I use to get busy during road trips. Tablets, books and snacks are a MUST!
Road trios use to be so clumsy with tiny tods. So to keep them busy have to carry lots of stuff. these tips are really good
my family loves to travel!! this is a very helpful post since summer is approaching!! a lot of travel is coming on our way! lol
I am lucky but I miss the days of tiny kids but traveling a long way can be challenging. All I remember now is that my son suddenly became the greatest eater when we had to stop to buy food and snacks. Love the personalized ABC book.
These are some good tips. I do see differences between the little ones and us adults. The little ones get hungry way more frequently and get bored much more quickly than adults!
Gotta keep the kiddos busy! This is a great idea and a better time on the road for the child.
These are great tips for the DIY road trip busy bag. It is so important when traveling with little ones to keep them occupied while on the road. Books used to me our favorite thing to bring along with coloring books with a few crayons too. Thanks for sharing the tips.
When we were little we used to take a ton of road trips to visit my grandmother out of state. I have a very vivid memory of writing on Magna-Doodles and holding the signs out the window we stopped so my siblings in the next car could see what we said. Things certainly have changed!
I am done with this phase of road trips with young children. Guess what? We survived! Haha. Anyway, these tips are good ones, especially for new parents. Now, whenever we take road trips, it is with the grandchildren and the cycle begins again – food, toys, and their blankie.
I remember the days when our kids were little. Anytime we went somewhere I always packed food an toys! Once they’re occupied .. everything else is a million times better!
I know that if you can keep a young child occupied on a long road trip, then that trip will be much better. Thanks for the tips!
It’s really important to have loads of entertainment when you’re going on a long drive. I’ve experienced not having enough and it was a disaster.
I’ve never traveled very far with kids before but these busy bags look awesome!! Great idea!!
Busy bags are fantastic. Traveling with a toddler/preschooler and yes, a baby can be a nightmare if you don’t go fast enough for them!
I will have to share your post with my daughter. She has a 14 month old, 3 and 5 year old. They are being transferred to Alaska and will be driving the whole way. She will need some busy bags for the kids.
Ha! We have a whole set of different rules for long trips. Movies are allowed! hahaha! Great job momma!
Smart parent pack a good busy bag for road trips and keep them close by in the car. I just love that fold up tunnel idea for burning energy!
Busy bags are a must and you have some great ideas! I used to pack ours so carefully when my girls were younger.
I remember being on long trips as a kid and it was rough! My own kids are pretty good at entertaining themselves…they always were. We did have a DVD player and they brought coloring stuff and toys. IDK why we didn’t do that when we were little. We didn’t have a/c one year going from Ohio to VA Beach and oh my gosh, we were in a 2 hour traffic jam….i’m surprised my parents didn’t have a nervous breakdown lol.
These are great ideas. My friend is travelling to Florida with her toddler next month. I am going to pass this along.
When my kids were toddlers, I kept two things on hand at all times on our road trips or day trips – food and toys. If your baby is occupied and stuffed with food, you’re golden.
Awesome ideas. These days, my kids’ busy bags are a tablet, but when they were little, I made sure they had PLENTY to occupy them while we were on trips.
We always make a bag for each of the boys when we go on road trips. It’s full of Mad Libs, Rubics Cubes, Snacks and books.
I laughed out loud about screen time rules going out the window on a long road trip. I totally agree! These are all great ways to keep a young child entertained on a road trip. She’s adorable!!
Same here. On long rides, anything to keep them occupied and busy!