Back off Boredom! Great ways to keep the kids entertained while travelling

Much-loved TV & Movies

When everyone in the car needs some downtime, putting on some in-car entertainment can be the perfect way to achieve harmony.

Make sure the kids pack their iPads, tablets or portable DVD players. And don’t forget to download all of their favourites prior to setting off – Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube (other streaming apps are available) all allow you to download videos and watch them without an internet connection. Ready to go fully-juiced gadgets will also ensure no fighting over the charging stations.

Note: Don’t forget to bring headphones (times the number of children), rechargeable battery packs and a USB cable.

Family favourite music

As it turns out, kids don’t enjoy radio traffic updates and news segments in-between the music as much as the adults do!

So, to keep everyone singing off the same music sheet (literally), we suggest downloading the family’s favourite music or bringing everyone’s most beloved CD’s along for the ride.

After hours of singing together on the road, you’ll be ready to sign-up to next year's “X Factor”. All you need now is a group name…

Never miss a beat

From good tunes to fun games!

To take part in this game all you need is the car stereo and some rhythm (don’t worry about the quality of the vocals). Put on a tune the whole family enjoys and roughly 30-45 seconds in, turn the volume down to zero… here is where the fun begins. Everyone needs to sing along without any music playing, and the person/s who are still in beat when the music returns is the winner!

Can you keep to the beat?

I spy

A classic game for long car journeys. The rules are simple; one person chooses an object that is visible to everyone inside the car, which they then have to guess what the object is with only the object’s first letter as a clue. Whoever guesses correctly is the winner and then it becomes their turn to I Spy.

Be warned, the longer you play, the more obscure the I Spy’s become…

Hold your breath (through a tunnel)

Who’s the best at holding their breath in your car? The aim of the game is to hold your breath when driving through a tunnel for its entire duration. Whoever can hold their breath for the entire or longest time is crowned the winner.

To make sure the game is fair, all participants should hold their fingers over their nose to avoid any cheating (excluding drivers).

Would you rather?

This is the perfect game to find out a little more about each other.

In “Would you rather?” there are no winners or losers, but just interesting questions and answers. To play, simply pose a question with two options and see what everyone would rather do.

Example questions:

• Would you rather be an astronaut or an author?
• Would you rather eat burgers or pizza for the next 5 years?
• Would you rather be an elephant or giraffe?

Train Game

A short and simple game that is packed with excitement!

When stopped at a train crossing everyone in the car guesses what direction the train will be heading in (left or right) and how many carriages the train will have attached to it (2, 4, 6? etc.) - the winner is whoever’s guess is closest to the trains actual direction and number of carriages.

This game brings an unexpected delight to train crossings.

Animal, fruit or vegetable

A guessing game that tests your knowledge of the natural world. Someone picks either an animal, fruit or vegetable and everyone else in the car takes it in turns to ask questions (that can only be answered with yes or no) to try and decipher what it could be. The person who guesses correctly is the winner and they then select their own animal, fruit or vegetable.

And if someone chooses a tomato, all I can say is… good luck!

Car colour game

You’ll want to prepare for this game, so you can start playing from the moment you leave the drive. Start by choosing up to three colours (the less common the better) and then attach a value to different types of vehicles, for example, car 1 point, motorcycle 2 points and lorry 3 points. And the first person to spot a vehicle making one of your selected colours receives a point. (Take a pad and paper to record the scores.)

Example: If someone spots a red car they’ll get 1 point and if someone sees a yellow motorcycle then that’s 2 points.

Scavenger Hunt

The winner of this game will be the player with the sharpest eye.

Create a list of items (roughly 10) for everyone to try and spot along throughout the car journey. The person to check everything off first is the winner!

Example list:

• Cow
• Taxi
• Bus
• Church
• Bridge
• Lake or Pond
• Petrol station
• Stop sign
• Famous landmark
• Someone wearing a hat