Planning a 10-hour drive with my 4yo, 8yo, and 12yo next month. Last time we did this kind of distance was a disaster. Screens help but I don't want them glued to iPads the whole way. What do you guys actually do? Audiobooks? Car games? We'll stop a bunch obviously but need ideas for the stretches between.
The iPad thing: we do a hybrid approach. Screens for like hours 3-5 when everyone's tired and cranky. But book games, audiobooks, and actual conversation for the rest. Saves the tablet backup for real emergency meltdown situations.
We tried the no-screen-at-all approach on a long drive once. Never again lol. Some screens is fine. Your goal is to get there safely and not completely lose your mind. If an hour of iPad makes that happen, that's a win.
Percy Jackson audiobooks. I cannot stress this enough. All three age ranges can get into them, and they're LONG so they'll carry you hard. We did the first one on a 10-hour drive and our kids forgot they were in a car.
The iPad thing - honestly for a 10-hour drive, if screens keep the peace, they keep the peace. You're not a bad parent for using technology strategically on long drives. That's just good logistics.
New small toys revealed every couple hours is underrated. Dollar store stuff they've never seen before is way more engaging than screens sometimes. Keeps the novelty factor going.
Honestly? We do a mix: audiobooks, podcast for kids (Brains On is solid), a couple movies on tablets for emergency meltdown moments, and old-school car games like license plate counting. Stretch the activities across the whole drive instead of frontloading the good stuff.
What was the disaster last time? Might help to know what to avoid. Like if it was boredom, audiobooks. If it was hyperactivity, tablets. If it was fighting, need to separate them.
Audiobooks are legitimately a game changer. We did Percy Jackson series and our kids were so into the story they forgot they were in a car. That's like 10+ hours of entertainment right there.
What's your usual stopping strategy? Like are you doing the big planned stops or just stopping whenever someone loses it? We found that scheduling stops actually made things better because the kids knew 'okay we stop in 90 minutes' instead of just complaining the whole way.
Magnatiles or magnetic toys are apparently amazing for car rides because they stick to metal stuff and keep kids occupied without screens. Haven't tried it but saw multiple parents swear by it.
The last disaster - was that screens making it worse or just general car restlessness? Because honestly some kids do better with a tablet than without. Might not be something to "should" yourself on.
Honestly the "stop a bunch" part is key that people underestimate. We do one longer stop (1-2 hours) midway at a park or something where they can actually RUN. That reset is worth the time lost.
Okay so here's what worked for us on a 10-hour drive: audiobook for the whole thing, snacks that aren't just sugar, one surprise toy every 2 hours (dollar store stuff), and honestly just accepting that hour 7-9 is gonna be rough no matter what. Plan for one stop where they can actually run around for 15 mins.
Honestly? Snacks > entertainment. Good snacks (not just gummy bears) kept ours way more content than any game did. Like fruit, cheese sticks, pretzels. Something to chew on for 30 mins.
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Don't sleep on car games. Like the license plate game, I-Spy, ABC game where you find letters on signs. Keeps them engaged without screens. My 8yo actually liked that better than tablets.