Road Trips with Kids: Balancing Screen Time & Connection
I grew up taking a lot of road trips. We always lived away from extended family and so holidays were often paired with a cross country I-80 tour to see loved ones. I honestly have always liked them.
Now, with our own kids, we’ve taken several long journeys. The baby and toddler years were always a little dicey peppered with little rewarding moments discovering (through trial and lots of error) things that worked for our family. I feel like there are a lot of great resources and advice out there about how to travel with little ones, so that’s not what this post is about.
This is a post about traveling with the big kids. The ages where kids have more autonomy so, it’s easier … in general … but because of this, also easy to disconnect. I’m writing from the car on an actual road trip. My kids (8 and 11) are in the back watching a movie because (yes we do that too!) But when you’re trapped in a car together with nowhere else to be, it’s also the perfect time to engage. I hope to encourage you (and myself) to not forget that part. I wanted to share some simple things that have helped with screen breaks on our travels.
TRIVIA
A quick internet search search or ChatGPT for “family trivia” will get you some some options. This kid-friendly trivia from Prodigy is what we used on this trip. Fun Trivia Questions for Kids
THE LICENSE PLATE GAME
We have a car-sick prone kid so games that involve looking out and up instead of down are always a go-to. Sometimes we just make a list, but to up your game I made you a printable to download! Color in the plates you see along the way with some bonus opportunities as well. Even if it’s not an active game for the whole drive, it’s fun in the background. Keep an eye out for campers, U-hauls, semis and rest-stops (aka a goldmine)!
CAR BINGO
My bingo card download works great for road trips too. You can customize it yourself based on where you are headed and what part of the country you are traveling through.
QUESTIONS FOR CONNECTION
Simple questions, however silly, are always a great starting point. As always, it’s not necessarily about the questions or games themselves - but the conversations that happen in-between.
If you could talk to any animal, what animal would you choose and what question would you ask?
If you were a character in a video game, what would your signature move be?
If you could choose one thing that costs money and make it free for everyone, what would you choose?
Choose an object like “a mailbox” or “a flower” and try to explain it to someone who has never seen or heard of that object before.
If you could create a new crayon color, what mix of colors would it be? What would it be called?
If you were designing your own tree house, how would you get up? How would you get down?
What is something you are really good at?
If you won a million dollars what is the first thing you would buy for yourself? What would you buy for someone else?
If you had a day to do whatever you wanted, what are the top 3 things you would do? Now ask everyone in the car this question.
Thanks for reading, I would LOVE to hear how you pass the time on a road trip!
-Lauren