How to Keep Your Kids Occupied While Traveling

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Kids are notorious for bad behavior when it comes to travel. On a long road trip they will whine, cry,
fight, and basically bounce off the walls. And when it comes to getting through an airport, more than
one parent has turned around to put items through the security scanner only to turn back and find their
tyke has wandered off. Then of course there are the chair-kicking and constant questions that will have
other airline passengers giving you dirty looks throughout the flight. But what can you do? Children are
little balls of energy! Short of running them around the terminal a few times before a plane takes off or
asking the pediatrician if ADHD meds might help, you’re just going to have to find ways to deal with your
little angels during a trip. Here are a few that just might do the trick.

1. Frequent stops. There’s no better way to break up the monotony of a long road trip than by
taking frequent rest stops (at least every couple of hours) to stretch, grab a bite to eat, and take
a gander at area attractions. You can look at a map to find stops along the way and then search
area attractions ahead of time, but if you have a smart phone and decent reception, you can use
apps like Foursquare or Roadside America to find local entertainment and roadside attractions
(respectively) that may divert your kids during the trip.

2. Books. Older kids should be able to while away a good chunk of time with an age-appropriate
novel, especially if they are avid readers to begin with. But even if your kids aren’t particularly
interested in reading (or they’re still a bit too young to remain focused for very long on the
task), think about getting some audio books, many of which can now be downloaded as MP3
files to put on individual iPods or other listening devices.

3. Games. If your kids aren’t fans of Angry Birds, it may be time to introduce them to this addictive
time-waster. Or if you’re not too keen to get them hooked on this kind of game, consider
throwing a few oldies (but goodies) in their backpacks. Battleship is classic for long car trips and
Mad Libs will no doubt have everyone laughing.

4. Movies. There’s really no better way to keep kids of all ages from asking if you’re there yet than
by bringing along some of their favorite movies (and maybe a few new ones). With any luck
they’ll sack out until you arrive at your destination.

5. Fun facts. If you have the time (and forethought), look up some of the areas you’ll be traveling
through (or to) so that you can tell your kids about fun historical facts pertaining to a particular
region or even oddities that pique their interest (physical land formations, colorful personalities,
famously haunted buildings, etc.).

6. Tablets. If you really want to keep your kids from going bonkers on a long trip (car, plane,
or otherwise), then you’d better whip out your best travel credit cards to score a tablet for
each child. This will give you all of the entertainment you need for any long trip without the
attendant fighting over the tech for turns. Each kid can have his or her own books, music,
movies, games, and more loaded on an individual tablet for hours of entertainment that means
smooth sailing for all. And with the Kindle Fire coming in at $199 (far less than others) you may
even be able to afford one per kid.