car trip for 7 year old

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35 hacks for road trips with kids.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer .

In today’s post: 35 hacks for road trips with kids! How to prepare, how to stay organized, and how to keep kids occupied, plus the best snack ideas and ways to encourage good behavior in the car.

Best Road Trip Ideas for Kids

Once again, it’s road trip season. Honestly, I used to think people who packed up a bunch of kids and drove for fifteen hours to a faraway destination were completely, certifiably insane. There are times when fifteen minutes in the car with kids who won’t stop bugging each other is almost more than I can handle. However, I’ve realized that with the right preparation, family road trips can be rather less miserable than expected – maybe even fun.

All sorts of smart people have posted their favorite tips for road trips with kids online, and I’ve sorted through to find the best ones (and thrown in a few of my own). From preparing the car and organizing your supplies to packing snacks and prepping activities, this post has you covered. You’ll find links to plenty of ideas to make your road trip with kids a little less horrible and a lot more fun.

Road trip with kids: Prep + Get Organized

Road trip with kids: How to keep kids occupied

This is the most important part, right? I’m totally ok with kids using electronics on road trips, but mine do tend to turn into monsters if they stay plugged in for 20 hours straight, so I try to make sure they take breaks from video games and movies. Here are some great non-electronic activities for road trips with kids:

Road Trip Kit Ideas

Road Trip Printables

Best Activity Toys for Road Trips

Road Trip Snack ideas

Ways to promote good behavior

If there’s anything out there that will convince my kids not to poke each other while we’re on a road trip, I’m willing to give it a try!

Meet Autumn

Hello there! I’m a busy mom of five who loves to make things. Crafts, recipes, sewing, holiday projects: I’ve tried them all, and you can too! I love EASY projects anyone can make.

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Reader Interactions

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Have a question? Submit your question or comment below.

Marcie says

Posted on 7/7/23 at 8:50 pm

Your kids can use homage carbucks to buy extra goodie bags and some sweets as well.❤️❤️❤️thank you

Heather says

Posted on 1/5/24 at 8:45 pm

I’m impressed with this thorough list of things to do in the car. We do a lot of traveling also. Thanks!!

Victoria says

Posted on 6/8/23 at 8:00 pm

These are awesome tips thank you !

Margot says

Posted on 5/25/22 at 12:29 pm

We always did the license game map – but without the names. My young adult kids recently discussed how easy geography was for them and how amazed they were that their classmates didn’t know where some places were. We also always packed a cooler, a picnic basket and a frisbee and/or balls and stopped at rest stops allowing the kids about 1/2 hour of time to expend energy. My kids grew up loving road trips!

Tracey Jones says

Posted on 4/2/19 at 5:31 am

Great blog! I was searching some good stuff regarding road trip with my naughty toddlers and to handle them. Wondering what things should get in the bags while having a road trip. Well Thanks much for sharing this amazing at least for me <3

Leilani Gamboa says

Posted on 12/2/18 at 4:16 am

Thanks for these ideas! I love all and planning to do it too

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15 Must-Have Items for a Family Road Trip With Kids

Keep kids of all ages happy and entertained while on the road with these gadgets, games and more.

Related To:

Heading out on an adventure with kids is exciting and a test of patience (for both the old and the young!). Watch those long hours speed by with our favorite items for keeping everyone, from preschoolers to tweens, happy and entertained as you hit the open road.

Trunk Organizer

This trunk carryall keeps you organized when running everyday errands and toting kids around to extra-curricular activities. And it takes all that accessible storage with you on the road. To corral all those last-minute additions that kids are throwing at you — beach balls, flippers, frisbees — or to hold all your picnic and quick-stop needs, this tote makes life just a little bit easier.

YETI Hopper Flip 8 Soft Cooler

Food is an absolute necessity when traveling with kids. Fend off those hangry moments with a fully stocked cooler that can be easily stowed between seats. Cheese sticks, squeezable yogurts and fruit are healthier, but also delicious options, to throw in along with dry snacks, like pretzels, crackers and nuts.

Stasher Reusable Silicone Sandwich Bag

Storage bags for all those snacks are a must. For those of us trying to be more mindful about our plastic consumption, invest in a few of these reusable silicone food bags. Available in snack, sandwich and half-gallon sizes, as well as a variety of fun colors and patterns, these bags are a smart addition to your cooler and can be used over and over again on your trip.

Car Trash Can

Instead of stuffing napkins and straw wrappers in doors and cup holders, contain all your trash in this portable garbage bag. Simple to empty when you stop at a rest area or gas station, it'll keep your car neat and tidy as you ride down the highway.

You really can never have enough wipes when traveling with kids. Whether cleaning up spills, washing hands and faces or wiping down picnic tables, you'll never regret having an extra stash or two of them in the car.

Ginger Chews

If anyone gets car sick, having these ginger chews handy is a lifesaver. Not only does ginger help curb nausea, but it also settles an upset stomach if roadside food doesn't agree with your kiddo's tummy.

Go! A Kids' Interactive Travel Diary and Journal

Encourage your kids to remember every moment of the trip with this smartly designed travel journal, which is full of fun graphics, clever prompts to get them writing and playful stickers and badges. They can even share their journeys with friends and grandparents by mailing back the included postcards.

Toddler Backpack

Road trips often include a one-night stay at a hotel on the way to your end destination. Make your life simpler by having each kid pack a small backpack with overnight essentials. When you stop, everyone grabs his or her bag and you (thankfully!) don't have to unload the entire car.

Amazon Fire 7 Kids' Tablet

Let's be honest, very few of us are going to tackle a road trip without a single screen. The Fire Kids Edition Tablet has a kid-proof case and a two-year worry-free guarantee. Let them listen to audiobooks and music and watch their favorite shows to give everyone some peace and quiet during this very enclosed family time moment.

Riwbox Bluetooth Kids' Headphones

When everyone needs a little break from each other and are ready to settle in with their tablets, grab these Bluetooth headphones so that your car is not bombarded with a combination of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse , a Harry Potter audiobook and BTS all at the same time. And you can enjoy a moment of silence … until they're ready for their next snack.

Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils

Make sure your kids have plenty of art supplies to get creative on the open road. We love these twistable colored pencils. No tiny shreds of crayon paper all over your car and no sharpening required. They are truly a parent's dream.

Melissa & Doug Mini-Sketch Pad

These mini sketchpads are easy for even your younger kids to hold in their laps and give everyone space to play and create, including games of tic-tac-toe or hangman, drawings of the sights they see and a place to create their own comic book.

Crayola Color Wonder Activity Set

Mess-free markers are ingenious, allowing kids to color without parents ever worrying about getting markers on seats, clothes or the car. They only show color when used on the matching Color Wonder paper. Tuck this activity set up front with you and around hour five when the kids start getting stir crazy, hand it back for a new lease on your car life.

Briarpatch Travel Scavenger Hunt Card Game

Classic road trip games, like I Spy, 20 Questions and The Alphabet Game, are the perfect way to involve the whole family while you're traveling. This Travel Scavenger Hunt Card Game is a great addition to your arsenal of pass-the-time games, letting players race to search for objects found on the cards.

Sorry! Road Trip Series

Travel-sized versions of family-favorite games, like Sorry!, Battleship and Scrabble, are another fun and inexpensive way for kids to entertain themselves in the backseat. Specifically designed for a moving vehicle, the cases have spots to hold all the pieces while playing so you're less likely to lose anything.

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30 Screen-Free Road Trip Ideas for Kids

Summertime means vacations, road trips, and the inevitable chorus of “are we there yet?” Indeed, spending long car rides with kids can be hard and children, especially younger ones, often tend to get bored quickly. This can lead to children spending a lot of time in front of a screen, which is not ideal for anyone on a road trip. Children will not remember the drive day adventures if they are playing tablet games or watching a movie. Road trips with kids can be wonderful opportunities for children to explore new activities, see and learn new things, and play time-tested road trip games. Today, Sara Lesire , St. Louis based civil engineer, outdoor-loving, mom of two, makes road-tripping with children a breeze with these 30 screen-free road trip ideas for kids!

{This post contains affiliate links.}

Screen-free road trip ideas for kids

Our family has been taking long road trips since our kids were babies. We rarely have to resort to screen time to keep them entertained and happy during our drives. Our kids don’t own tablets so I have had to get creative over the years on new ideas for those annual 14+ hour each way drives.  If you are looking for ideas on how to get your kids’ eyes off the screens without the whining, here are some great screen-free road trip ideas for all ages. 

Invest in a travel tray

First, while this is not exactly an activity, it does help make traveling with kids easier! We have been using travel trays in the car for several years now. They provide a flat surface for activities while the raised edge helps keep items from rolling off. They can use the surface for coloring, drawing, or any other hands-on activities. There is even a cup holder and pockets for storage. While they have a flat surface, the edges of the trays are soft and padded for safety in the event of a crash. They are also perfect for meals and snacks on the go.

Road trip surprise boxes

1. The surprise box! Each and every road trip, my kids always look forward to seeing what is in their “surprise box.” The boxes are just lunchboxes I found at a garage sale. Each long trip I fill them with inexpensive trinkets and toys from garage sales, Dollar Tree, or things I find on clearance. This is always a hit, because the contents are new to my kids, making each item or activity that much more exciting. I also add in some snacks and special sweet treats.

If you want to extend the suspense or use it as a reward for good behavior, you could try making multiple small surprise bags to be opened at certain times or at each road trip stop. Ideas of things to include are Legos, Hotwheels cars, fidget toys, small dolls, small stuffed animals, stickers, crayons, notebooks, travel games, fruit snacks, applesauce pouches, or coloring books. Dollar Tree is an amazing resource for budget-friendly goodies. 

Keep little hands busy

There are so many great interactive and no mess activities available to pack along. Do a little browsing in your house and online to prepare some of the following activities. 

2. Fine motor control games : Use an empty can with a lid such as oatmeal or a whipped topping container. Cut in some holes in the lid just large enough for kids to push pom poms through.

3. Pipe cleaners: These are so simple but so much fun for kids. See what shapes they can make with them or what sort of creation they can make by bending them in different ways. 

4. Fidget toys: Any kid (or adult) that loves popping packing bubbles will enjoy popper toys . 

6. Window art: For kids that have a window seat, inexpensive window clings from the dollar store offer a creative way to stay entertained while making an artistic impression. 

7. Magnetic toys: Our kids enjoy the challenge of making different shapes using a magnetic tangram set or making funny faces with this fun kit . You can also grab a cheap dollar store cookie sheet and bring along alphabet magnets or magnetic tiles that you probably already have around the house. 

10. Toy tubes: These toy tubes and pipes were huge hits for my kids when they were toddler and preschool ages. The pieces are larger too, which helps avoid them getting lost in the car. 

11. Mess-free coloring: Crayola’s Color Wonder markers have been in use in our house for years. They only color on the special paper for no messes!

12. No mess drawing: This simple LCD drawing tablet has been a favorite of our kids.  Easy to draw and it erases with just the press of a button. 

13. Lego box: Use double-sided sticky tabs to stick a lego baseplate into the bottom of a dollar store tray or plastic box. Add in a variety of lego bricks for a traveling box of creative fun. If you are worried about losing parts of a set, Dollar Tree sells lego sets and baseplates for an inexpensive version. 

14. Make a sensory I-spy game: Fill a plastic bottle or Ziploc bag with rice. Add in several small toys, tape closed the container, and let kids shake the container to search for the treasures. 

15. Etch-a-Sketch drawing:  This is a hit with most kids, especially preschool age and up. Twisting those knobs to create a drawing is a challenge and children love seeing what they can create (even if the results are often staircases).

Let them follow along

16. Map fun! Print out a map of your travel plans or pick up a state paper map and let them follow along on the route. Mark off your stops with a star to give them an idea of how far there is to go. Both my kids absolutely love looking at maps. Add in a toy car for some pretend driving fun. 

Make a road trip binder

17. Create a road trip binder full of printables! There are so many amazing and free road trip game printables out there created by graphic snazzy parents. I like to put a group of them together in a binder for each child. The pockets of the binder are great for adding in crayons or markers. Pro Tip: If you want to avoid the expected lost markers, try taping string around the crayons and markers and then taping it to the binder.

Some of the blank pages I leave tucked in the binder pockets to be used for any sort of coloring or drawing. But, others I put in clear, protective sleeves to be used multiple times with a dry erase marker. If you are reading this at midnight the night before a long road trip and need something quick, a clipboard instead of a binder also works great too to keep the pages together.

Below is a list of free printables for kids of all ages. 

Preschool/Elementary Ages

• Tot Schooling has this super cute printable pack with dot pages, I-spy games, travel bingo, and more. 
• This travel-themed drawing prompts from Picklebums are so fun. 
• Playdough to Plato has another road trip pack with multiple games and activities. 
• Paper Trail has a selection of different I-Spy games with different themes. My daughter loves these hidden picture games.  
• Crayola has a huge selection of coloring pages and activities to print while Wood Jr. has tons of printables included themed mazes .  

Older Elementary/Tweens

• Carla Schauer Studio’s Travel Scavenger Hunt for Tweens is perfect for the older kids to keep their eyes away from the screens and out the windows. 
• Krazy Dad has printable mazes for all ages. Choose the right difficulty level to keep kids challenged. 
• 3 Boys and a Dog has these unique restaurant sign I-Spy games . 
• A Suburban Mom has the best license plate game I’ve seen. It has actual pictures of what each state’s plate actually looks like. 
• I love Sunny Day Family’s printable Vacation Journal . Kids can keep a record of the places they have been. If you want a ready-made version, this kid’s travel journal looks adorable. 

Let them capture the moment

18. Take pictures! My kids have loved being able to take photos of both the journey and the destination. And now that almost everyone has a smartphone, you can often find cheap point-and-shoot cameras at garage sales or local swap pages. My kids have been loving these child cameras that are just the right size for little hands. They often will spend part of the ride reviewing their past shots on the camera. 

Play car games

There are so many great games that the whole family can enjoy together. Most of these ideas can be adapted for a variety of ages. Even better, most of them require no prep. 

19. Counting game : Pick an item to keep track of and then count them together. For example, count the number of red cars or the number of barns, train crossings, or speed limit signs. 

20. Car hide and seek: Take some small objects or print out some pictures of animals, cars, etc. and hide them around the car but in viewing sight. Tell kids to look around and find them.

21. Ask questions: Have everyone take turn asking a question such as everyone’s favorite ice cream, or a place they want to visit someday. If you need some ideas, check out these cute printable conversation starters . You can also buy this ready-made Table Talk list of questions for kids. 

22. Travel scattergories: Take turns picking a topic such as animals, fruits, ice cream flavors, etc. Try to name as many as you can in each category that starts with a certain letter. 

23. Would you rather: Older kids many enjoy Landeelu’s printable Would You Rather game plus a list of road trip games for tweens and teens. 

24. That’s different: Take turns pointing out something you see out the window that is out of the ordinary. It could be a crazy sign, a fun-colored car, or a unique landmark. 

25. When I go: The first person starts off with “When I go to (destination name) I am bringing a (an object, the sillier the better.) Then the next person repeats the phrase and adds on another item. For example: When I go to Florida, I am bringing a flamingo, a picnic basket, an umbrella, and a guitar. See how long you can keep it going. 

26. Guess the animal: One person thinks of an animal and everyone else takes turns asking questions to try and figure out which animal it is. This is similar to 20 questions, but we never set a question limit. Model asking broad questions first, such as does it walk on four legs or does it have fur, before moving onto the more direct questions, like is it a fish or is it a hippo. 

27. Mad Libs: Mad Libs are sure to bring a laugh to everyone in the car. You can find versions online to print or buy a whole book for endless smiles. 

28. Travel games: Magnetic and travel-sized versions of classic games like Bingo and Fishing can be fun for multiple kids. I’ve already added these super adorable chicken shuffle and woodland animal strategy games to my kid’s wish lists. 

29. Read or listen to books! Hit up your local library before your trip for some new reads for the car. I like to search garage sales, thrift stores, and local book shops for some new-to-them books to help the miles fly by. Another great option is Audiobooks! This way the whole family can enjoy listening to the books together.

Make a game out of it by having an informal book review when the books are finished. Ask the kids what their favorite book of the day was and why. Extend the conversation to ask what they would do if they were the main character in the story or which character they liked the most and why. 

Plan kid-friendly stops

30. Make the stops fun! One final easy way to keep kids from becoming restless on long trips is to break up the journey with some fun stops. I like to use the GoWhee or Roadtrippers apps to look up fun destinations along the route. Or you can just search for “best playgrounds near city/town” to find a good spot for a break.

If you travel often, I highly recommend the Next Exit travel book . It lists all the gas stations and restaurants at each exit along the entire U.S. interstate system. It also lists amenities and locations of all rest areas so you can see which rest areas have playgrounds. 

If you’re traveling in/around either the St. Louis, MO area or the Bentonville, Arkansas area, be sure to check out our Get Out Guides for all kinds of fun OUTDOOR things to do in these cities! 

What are your favorite ways to keep kids busy and happy while traveling?

About the author.

Sara has been married to her high school sweetheart for 17 years and together they have two children. Sara spent many childhood hours outside on her grandparents’ farm and strives for her kids to have similar carefree kid adventures. Based in the St. Louis area, she loves to share on her blog and social media all the scenic and fun places to explore around the St. Louis area and beyond. Hiking is the most popular activity for her whole family followed by hitting up the best local playgrounds. Photography is also a passion of Sara’s and she continues to be amazed at the natural beauty and wonder of God’s creation. When she is not hitting the trail, Sara works as a civil engineer.

You can find more from Sara online in the following locations: Instagram: @midwestnomadfamily Facebook: Midwest Nomad Family RWMC posts: Sara Lesire

More like this

You are absolutely right that long car rides with kids will be absolutely tough and I know it firsthand because we really often have such trips. To tell the truth, we always try to distract our children and dilute this time on the road with some games, but, unfortunately, we are already out of ideas. I’m so glad that I came across your article because it is so helpful in our situation and it can make our road trip easier many times. The surprise box is an absolutely brilliant and original idea which can interest any child. It could even arouse my interest. Also, it is so cool that you can use it for different purposes. When my children be naughty on this trip, I will certainly present this box to them as a reward for their good behavior. I really like the idea of fine motor control games because in this case you can combine usefulness with pleasure, developing your brain, that is important.

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Road Trip Activities for Kids Age 9-12 years

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Family Road Trip Activities For Kids

Are you planning a family road trip with kids and wondering what road trip activities for kids to bring along? Everyone is excited to go on a vacation, but taking a road trip with kids can be daunting for parents. From the dreaded “I’m so BORED” or “are we nearly there yet?” to “I’m hungry” or “I feel sick.” There is a lot to consider if you want to simplify your road trip with kids . Packing a selection of car activities for kids will help keep your children busy as you travel, relieve their boredom, and keep your sanity intact.

When traveling with kids the journey should include activities such as craft or activity sets, sticker books, workbooks, printable road trip games, toys, travel games, coloring, books (including audiobooks and podcasts), music, screen time, followed by snacks, then rinse and repeat!

In this post, we share our favorite road trip activities for kids age 9-12 . Don’t leave home without these non-mess essential travel activities for your kids.

If you have children of various ages you can read our posts about the 10 Must-Have Travel Toys for Baby , or must-have Essential Toddler Travel Toys , or the Best Travel Activities for Kids Age 4-8 . We also have a Guide to the Top 25 Travel Gifts for Kids of all ages who love to travel, as well as lots of Non-Toy Gift Ideas for Kids that are suitable for travel.

What are the Essential Car Activities for Kids?

When taking a road trip with children plan to bring a few special surprises to keep up your sleeves such as a new activity or toy your child has not seen before. And don’t forget to bring the most important item of all – road trip snacks for kids . 

Over lots of years and the many thousands of miles we have traveled with our children, there are certain items we won’t leave home without .

Essential travel activities for kids include:

• Craft or Activity Sets
• Sticker Books or Workbooks
• Printable Road Trip Games for Kids
• Travel Games
• Coloring Books and Crayons or Markers
• Books at your child’s appropriate reading level
• Audiobooks and Podcasts
• Music and Songs
• Family Road Trip Movies
• iPad, Tablet or Device with Headphones, charger, and travel case

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Non-screen Road Trip Activities for Kids

​We try our best to avoid too much screen time . We find our children cannot handle unlimited amounts of technology time and they will become angry and frustrated if we do not limit the amount of time they spend on a screen. With this being said you will find that the majority of travel activities that we recommend are non-screen options.

We prefer to start with non-screen activities first to help pass as much time as possible and then use limited technology time later in the trip as a reward. Otherwise, we find that if we allow our children to pick screen time as their first activity then it’s very difficult to break that cycle and get them off the screen without a fight!

Every family can choose what is best for you and your children, but we find the journey goes better with limited amounts of screen time. 

What are the Best Road Trip Activities for Kids Age 9-12?

Here are our favorite road trip activities for kids age 9-12 years. This includes essential no-mess car activities for kids that can easily be packed in the car or a BE Family Travel Tray . These road trip activities are great options to entertain your tween while traveling.

Taboo Kids Vs. Parents Family Game is an excellent game for kids to challenge parents. The hilarious kids vs. parents game is a fun twist on the classic Taboo game. It includes a kids’ deck and an adult deck of cards. The kids’ deck features familiar Guess words and only 2 forbidden words. Get teammates to say the Guess word on the card without saying the forbidden words. Say a forbidden word shown on the card and opponents will squeak the squeaker and the other team gets the point. Race against the one-minute timer in this fun and fast-paced family game. This is a great way to entertain the whole family on a road trip with kids.

100 PICS Riddles Travel Game

The 100 PICS Riddles Travel Game is for kids who love a challenge. Kids can entertain and bamboozle themselves and others with these family-friendly brain teasers! Can be played alone but friends and family usually want a guess too! This handy travel activity fits neatly into your pocket or bag. Ideal for playing in cars, restaurants, planes, and trains. The 100 PICS flashcard games help improve vocabulary, spelling, and memory.

Friendship Bracelet Maker Kit

The IQKidz Friendship Bracelet Maker Kit keeps the threads separated and organized, and includes the braiding loom with movable pegs to hold the bracelet in place, along with step by step directions. This arts & crafts kit makes it fun and easy to create friendship bracelets alone, with siblings, or with friends. Comes in a portable fashion storage box for storage and while on the go. Kids can get crafty and create awesome bracelets while traveling in the car or on vacation. This is one of the most creative road trip activities for kids and ideal for 8 to 12-year-olds.

Toy Storage Bag and Play Mat

The Creative QT Mini SlideAway Toy Storage Bag and Play Mat means now you can say “YES” to bringing toys along! No ordinary toy bag, the patent-pending Creative QT Mini SlideAway stops the spread of kid clutter and keeps it contained while you’re out and about. Pour toys or art supplies right onto the integrated tabletop play mat, and let little imaginations run wild. Toys slide away for storage with a quick pull of the handles and a little shake. The Mini SlideAway is perfect for building bricks, crayons, toy cars, snacks and is a great way to store car activities for kids.

Kodak Printomatic Instant Camera

Kodak Printomatic Instant Camera is a 10-megapixel, point-and-shoot that offers a combination of a powerful 10MP sensor with a wide angle f/2 lens that instantly and automatically prints hi quality color or black and white photos directly from the camera body. Just point and shoot making it the ideal all-in-one solution for capturing and sharing vibrant prints instantaneously wherever your child travels. The KODAK Printomatic Instant Camera All-in-Bundle is available with Zink Paper, Deluxe Case, Photo Album, 7 Unique Sticker Sets, Markers, Scissors, Border Stickers and so much more. This creative kit provides exciting road trip activities for kids who love to travel and is another artistic way for kids to document their family adventures.

Polaroid Originals OneStep

Polaroid Originals OneStep 2 VF – Summer Blue is a blast from the past! It will bring back lots of happy childhood memories as you reminisce and remember the fun you had with this as a child. It is easy to use: just point and shoot. Kids can compose their shot, press the red button and magic will appear! An instant print camera is a great way for kids to capture their vacation memories. You child can on a family road trip documenting their adventures in a Travel Journal for Kids .

Popular Activity Books for Kids

Road Trip Activity Books for Kids are a great way to entertain your tween as you travel. Here are some of the most popular travel activity book options.

Leather Travel Journal Daily Notebook

This Leather Travel Journal Daily Notebook is 6.3″ x 9.3″ so it works perfectly for your older child as a leather travel journal and diary, sketchbook, photo album, daily notepad, and so on. A handmade leather journal is a special keepsake for your child’s thoughts, plans, and ideas, durable for travel or outdoor adventure, and good for storage. The set includes a handmade leather journal, bookmark, and high-grade kraft packing, and is the perfect size suitable for most bags to take it anywhere. This is another road trip activity to help occupy your child’s time in the car as you travel.

Sudoku for Kids

Sudoku for Kids for Kids 8-12 years is a book that contains 200 sudokus with solutions. This helps kids to improve their memory and logic while having fun and helping to pass the time on a family road trip.

All You Need Is a Pencil

When headed on vacation All You Need is a Pencil – The Stuck in a Car, Plane, or Train Activity Book . Unfortunately, it usually begins with the family stuck in the car. And the kids yelling “I’m bored”. Fortunately, with these quizzes, puzzles, games, and doodles, the fun doesn’t have to wait, even if you do. And you can do them anywhere—no electricity needed—with just a pencil. Fill in travel quotes, writing in the name of anyone who says one of the phrases on the page—like “I have to go to the bathroom” or “I think we’re lost.” Play gomoku, a two-person game that’s similar to tic-tac-toe. Plan the ultimate vacation—a week anywhere in the world. Draw creepy critters, try tongue-tripping-twisters, and unscramble anagrams. It’s all so entertaining that no one will ask the dreaded question: Are we there yet?

Would You Rather for Kids!

• Would you rather  Pet a baby lion  or  Pet a baby elephant
• Or would you rather  Eat Dinner in a hot air balloon  or  Eat breakfast inside a castle
• Would you rather Be friends with Spiderman or  Be friends with Batman
• Would you rather  Have a swimming pool  or  Have a big trampoline
• And much, much more.

This is the perfect book for travel games for kids in your car while on long car rides! Would you rather books for kids are the best form of entertainment so you can keep your children occupied while they have fun pondering the silly and fun questions to themselves! Inside you will find 200 ‘Would You Rather’ questions ready to go, some of them include…

Maze Activity Book for Kids 8-12

Fun and Challenging Mazes for Kids 8-12: An Amazing Maze Activity Book for Kids is packed with mazes to entertain, stimulate, and challenge your kids. Jumpstart your child’s learning with this maze activity book for kids 8-12. These mazes can help improve fine motor skills, problem-solving skills, and visual perceptual skills. Various types, themes, and shapes ensure your child won’t get bored which makes these the perfect road trip activities for kids. This big book of mazes includes mazes in a variety of difficulty levels from simpler to more advanced. This maze book is educational, entertaining, and sure to get kids thinking!

Survive Your Road Trip With These Activities For Kids

As tempting as it may be to push through and keep driving to your destination, it is important to take regular breaks . Every few hours throughout the road trip allow your children (and you) the opportunity to stretch, move around, and visit the bathroom. Make sure stops have plenty of space for kids to run around for 20 minutes or more before getting back in the car.

Plan your family road trip to include some attractions along your route. You can use these as incentives to help your kids ride just a little bit longer. Fun pitstops that kids enjoy include:

• Parks and Playgrounds
• Picnic spots
• Walkable downtowns
• National Parks
• Historical sites
• Scenic overlooks

The more you travel with children the easier it will become. Being prepared with these road trip activities for kids will give you the confidence to adventure in the car while making the journey more bearable for you and your children.

And remember, let’s BE Family so you can enjoy the journey.

Until next time, 💖 Ruth

For more about family travel check out these posts: What Are The Best Family Road Trip Movies? Audiobooks For Family Road Trips Simplify A Road Trip With Kids The Best Travel Activities For Kids Age 4-8

BE Family Products Inc., or (BE Family Travel) participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Using any of the links on this website does NOT cost you anything but does help us continue to create content on this blog. Thank you so much for your support and for partnering with us. Let’s BE Family.

Ruth Hutchins grew up in England and now lives in North Carolina with her husband, Doug, and their two young daughters. They always loved to travel, but once having children everything changed because family travel is more complicated. Traveling with a baby may feel overwhelming to new parents. Travel with a toddler can really test your patience, and traveling with kids can lead to utter chaos. However, travel with your little ones doesn’t have to be that stressful or exhausting. On the BE Family Travel blog Ruth shares her parenting wins, and even epic failures about traveling with kids. She provides resources to help you feel empowered to plan a family vacation and travel with your children.

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Everything You Need To Keep Kids Entertained During Long Car Rides

Senior Staff Writer, HuffPost

Summer road trip season is upon us, and with it, the whines and wails of children who have been cooped up in the backseat of a car for far too long. Whether you’re traveling with babies , toddlers , school-aged children or teens, keeping kids happy and occupied is a vital component of stress-free travel.

Screen time is helpful, but it’s not the only option — especially for small children who can get easily overstimulated. And although nothing beats getting lost in a good old-fashioned book, it’s not an option for those of us who get carsick the second we step into a moving vehicle.

Luckily, there are tons of options for parents looking to keep kids entertained during long car rides, from audiobooks to magnetic board games and more.

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25+ Free Road Trip Printables for a Truly Fun Family Car Trip

Categories Family Road Trip , Activities for Kids , Family Fun , Free Printable , Frugal Vacation , Roundup , Saving Money , Travel

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Our last road trip activities for kids post has been read more than 50,000 times! And it’s been shared more than 8,000 times.  Wow – people really liked our ideas! It was full of the ideas we came up with to survive travelling with kids on a long road trip.  I’ve got a new tool in my family travel arsenal: Road Trip Printables!

Our last real road trip was 5 years ago and as we plan our next long road trip I’m happy to reread the former one and remember the tips!  

I don’t know how I forgot some of them – I’m adding aluminum foil to my list right now. 😜

This year our kids will be older: 11 and 13.  We expect our ride to be smoother than last time – for one they’ve both got bigger bladder capacity now.   (This time I don’t expect our son to need to publicly urinate in front of state troopers .)

But this time around we are spending more total hours in the car travelling from Ontario to Calgary, Alberta and back.  Dang, Ontario is big – it’s going to take two days just to get to the border from home!

We need some new ideas to keep our family amused during these extra long hours in the car.

I decided to find a whole bunch of free printable road trip car games and make a huge folder of them to spread out over the drive.  

I plan to also bring some plastic sheet protectors and low odor dry erase markers to reuse the best games.  ‘Cause I ain’t bringing a printer on this trip with us.

It would seem like a waste to just amass such a great list for ourselves when we can share them all with you!   So here’s a list of 25+ great free road trip printables – games worth printing for your long drive ahead.

Also, check out our kid-approved list of more  family fun road trip activities and games !

25+ Free Printable Road Trip Games

Don’t miss our kid-approved list of more  family fun road trip activities and games !

New! Save money on your road trip food! Check out:  Travel Recipes: 20+ Meals to Make in a Hotel Room Microwave or Kitchenette 

Fun & Free Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Printable

20+ Best Campfire Pie Iron Recipes (aka Pudgie Pies or Mountain Pies)

Travel Recipes: 20+ Meals to Make in a Hotel Room Microwave or Kitchenette

25+ Family Fun Road Trip Activities and Games to Make the Hours Fly By!

Make Packing Easier with our Family All Inclusive Resort Packing List ~ including special tips for Cuba

Tiny Budget & Big Fun: Summer Vacation in Your Own Town

Sunday 1st of May 2022

this stuff is great!!!

50+ Unbeatable Road Trip Toys For Long Car Journeys

Taking a family road trip soon? Nobody, not even an adult, can sit in a car for hours on end without SOMETHING fun to do!

Whilst we have dozens of hot tips for road tripping with kids, simply nothing (other than maybe a good supply of snacks !) will help you through long-distance driving quite like a great selection of travel toys for the car.

The best toys for car trips are ideally:

• Fairly quiet (i.e. won’t distract the driver!)
• Do not have small parts which can be easily lost (or swallowed)
• Can easily attach to the car seat (if you are traveling with a baby or toddler)

Electronics such as small tablets, smartphones, or portable DVD players can play a part in your road trip entertainment arsenal, but there are plenty more boredom busters you can pack on your next family road trip that don’t require batteries!.

We have rounded up for you here a selection of the most fun toys for road trips, broken up into age groups so no matter what age your child is, there is something on the list for them!

Classic Baby and Infant Toys For Car Trips

Best road trip toys for toddlers, best road trip toys for preschoolers, best road trip toys for elementary school age kids, best road trip toys for tweens and teens, other ways to pass time in the car.

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Babies and infants need surprisingly simple toys to keep them occupied during long car journeys. In fact, from traveling with a newborn through to those toddler years, all they really want is YOU! But when having an adult seated with the baby in the back doesn’t work, try these simple, engaging car toys for babies .

Toe Time Infant Car Seat Toy

Car seat toys make the perfect travel toys for babies. You can hang them on the back of the seat, and they can play with the soft toys attached to the mat. The great part is, they can’t drop them!

Funky Toy Keys

As you take your road trip, letting the baby play with your real keys isn’t a safe option, but you can give them their own playset of keys. The set has 4 car sounds that come from the purple remote and realistic keys for them to play with.

My First Road Trip Book

An 8-page soft book for babies, this soft activity book from Melissa & Doug will let your little one enjoy the colors and shapes in the book. It’s also great for toddlers, so the book will work for both young and older babies for hours of travel entertainment.

Winkel Rattle & Sensory Teether Toy

Made for tiny hands, this little teether toy is soft and shaped like a maze. Your little one will be mesmerized as they play with the teether and look at the colors of the tubes; it’s always been one of our favorite travel toys.

Plush Elephant Music Toy

This cute little elephant is not just cuddly, it lights up and plays music, making it a great toy for babies and younger children and will entertain them as they ride along during a long road trip.

Hanging Rattles Toy

Attach these rattles to a crib, car seat, or stroller so that your little one can have fun on the go; these are one of the best baby toys for the car.

You can easily transfer this toy to all three so you can take it wherever you go on your family road trip.

Teething Rattles

This fun set of silicone teething rattles makes for one of the best travel toys for infants, keeping them entertained and comforted throughout the trip.

The teethers are made of non-toxic material and have smooth polished edges for safety. Lots of pieces, so if one does get lost or dropped, you’ll always have a backup!

Cloth Books

A fun and educational soft toy for ages 3 months and up, these cloth books are soft in touch and make the crinkle paper sound that babies love.

Your baby can chew, crinkle, and play with the colorful books as you travel, with handy clips for attaching to car seats and strollers.

Pink Glo Worm Stuffed Lullaby Toy

This cute little pink glo worm will sing soothing melodies to your little one as you travel. When his belly is pushed, the glo worm’s face lights up and will sing gentle lullabies, ideal if you need to rock your baby off to sleep in their car seat while you’re on the move.

Soft Silicone Teething Toys

Another teething toy set that’s perfect for road trips, these silicone toys are shaped like tools. They also attach to a clip so that you can keep them close no matter where you go.

You can find even more inspiration for baby car toys over here

Top Tip: If your baby’s toys don’t come with a clip, you can still buy these toy teethers to easily attach them to your infant car seat and stop the dropping game once and for all!

Your toddler is ready for some more interactive games and activities in the car , but they still need to be safe for your tot to handle unsupervised while your eyes are on the road. All of these road trip toys make great interactive and sensory distractions for toddlers on long drives:

Busy Board Toddler Backpack

Your toddler will love playing and manipulating each and every aspect of this fun toddler busy board backpack.

What’s great is they can even fit a few of their other favorite toys inside too for their very own travel bag.

Squishy Drawing Pad

Filled with sensory beads and non-toxic gel, this drawing pad will allow your young toddlers to make an endless number of creations throughout the trip with just the touch of a finger, no other tools required.

Search and Find Game

While your toddler is enjoying the ride, keep them busy with this fun search-and-find game. The double-sided activity mats will keep your older toddler entertained for hours.

LCD Writing Tablet

Your toddler can use a fun doodle pad board (aka sketch board) throughout the trip to draw and engage in imaginative play, perfect for small hands gaining dexterity.

Popit Fidget

Fidget toys are perfect as toddler travel toys, keeping little hands entertained. Such a simple game, they come in lots of fun shapes and colors, and they take up very little packing space.

Wooden Activity Cube

This small wooden activity cube will help keep your toddler’s hands busy for hours. They can move the different pieces and work on various motor skills with the toy.

Smart Teddy

Take this interactive smart teddy with you on your road trip to keep your toddler entertained. The app on your phone can control what’s on the teddy and the kids will have fun listening to stories and other learning activities.

Reusable Sticker Pad

Stickers are always a winner with little kids. Your toddler will love giving the farm animals different faces as they play with this reusable sticker book. The pad contains 10 different farm scenes and 76 reusable cling-style stickers to make the face.

Magnetic Maze Puzzle Game

As you are traveling in the car, your toddler can have fun trying to move the ball in the maze with the attached magnetic pen. It has a colorful sea theme to it which will make it easier to hold their attention throughout the trip and an easy carry handle.

Buckle Pillow Toy

This cute owl pillow is not only soft and cuddly, but turns him around, and there are several different activities your toddler can play with on your family road trip.

Your toddler will be able to snap, button, and buckle the different items on the pillow, making this buckle toy perfect for problem solving and cognitive skills.

You’ll find even more road trip toy ideas for toddlers over here

Your preschoolers will have more dexterity, and toys can hold their attention span for longer periods of time.

We’d recommend on a long journey you also invest in a car seat travel tray so that your child has a comfortable play space with a play surface they can spread all their toys out on, and handy pockets to stop items rolling away.

Disney Eye Found It Card Game

As they explore the different Disney scenes when trying to find the character and scene images, your preschooler will not only be working on hand-eye coordination but also counting on the road trip. The perfect educational preschooler toy to pack for a road trip.

Preschool Busy Book

This busy book is perfect for entertaining your little one throughout the car ride. It’s a sturdy book, so you can easily take it in the car, and your preschooler will have fun working on the activities while honing their fine motor skills using the erasable marker pens.

Fire HD Tablet

You can’t go wrong with a tablet when it comes to traveling in the car! So much can be done on the tablet and your little one will love watching shows, playing games, and more. Just make sure you’ve downloaded what you need before setting off in case you don’t have wifi!

Color Wonder Mess Free Coloring Pages

A coloring book with a difference! Available in a variety of different designs, as you travel in the car, your little artist can color the sheets of paper without you having to worry about a mess.

Each kit contains 18 Blippi coloring sheets and five magic markers.

Go Fish Alphabet Card Game

Go Fish is a fun game for any age, and this set helps your preschooler learn the letters of the alphabet, both capitalized and lowercase.

Card games are great travel toys that your younger children can also play with older siblings, helping them out.

Town Maze Magnetic Puzzle

Need an activity your child can really focus on? Your preschooler will have great fun trying to get the colored balls in the matching garage with the magnetic pen. This is a great option if you’re seeking a more challenging STEM toy for car travel or anywhere you’re heading on vacation.

Dot to Dot Workbook

A quiet but fun road trip activity your preschooler can do throughout the ride, this dot-to-dot workbook is fun and educational.

Ideal for the 3 to 5-year-old age group where critical thinking is involved, and they have a fun coloring page to complete, too once the dot-to-dot is complete.

Travel Memory Game

Seven double-sided cards are included in this memory game. Each card has different images so your preschooler can stay entertained throughout the trip. An ideal car game if you have siblings who want to play along together.

EZDesk Travel Activity Kit

Full of fun activities your preschooler can do while in the car, this activity kit will have them coloring and designing a variety of different things.

With it’s own carry case and handle its the ideal travel toy than can come from car to roadside stop.

Travel Tangram Puzzle

Mix, match, and style the different pieces in this fun travel tangram puzzle.

This is a fun travel game, and it allows children to get creative with shapes, ideal for the older preschooler with magnetic pieces that (shouldn’t!) get lost!

A wonderful age for road-tripping with kids – though you’ll need plenty of ideas to stave off the chorus of “are we there yet” . Try these wonderful travel toys and educational games, perfect for your slightly older kids on your next family road trip:

Handheld Game Set

This small little game system is a powerful little portable machine that has 100 preloaded classic retro games to play. If you don’t want the expense or arguments of a full-size tablet, this is a wonderful hand-held compromise.

Fashion Design Sketch Portfolio

If your child loves fashion and creating their own style, they will love this fun fashion sketch pad with stencils and stickers. It comes in plenty of different designs from clothing to bedroom design or even design your own unicorns.

Flashing Cube Memory Game

Even though your child is stuck in the car throughout the road trip, doesn’t mean they can’t have fun! This flashing cube has 4 quick-fingered games that they can learn to master on the ride.

Nintendo Switch Lite

A fun game system for on-the-go, the Nintendo Switch Lite is a popular road trip accessory. On the go, they can play their favorite games as they wait to get to their destination, in a small and lightweight unit (don’t forget a storage case too!)

Secret Decoder Activity Set

Kids will love cracking the codes by uncovering hidden clues and secret messages throughout the pages. It’s also a fun way to encourage problem-solving and critical thinking, bound to keep them occupied for many hours while you’re on the road.

Scratch Paper Art

The magic rainbow scratch-off paper kits are fun for kids of all ages, but they work best for your elementary-aged child.

This kit has everything you need for hours of fun, including 50 pieces of scratch paper and 4 stencils to follow, or create your own colorful designs.

Wax Craft Sticks

Get creative in the car by designing some cool things with wax. This fun set is perfect for road trips and will allow your child to get creative with their hands, even on the go.

No sticky mess, you get over 300 sticks in a set of different lengths so the only limit is your child’s imagination!

Travel Board Tic Tac Toe and Checkers

This set is perfect for traveling with friends or siblings. The magnetic game board will let your children play checkers and tic tac toe throughout the car ride. Super simple family games that never go out of fashion!

Colorful Tangram Jigsaw Puzzle

While on the road, children can have fun with this challenging jigsaw game puzzle. The 40-piece game set will keep them busy for hours as they put together the puzzle.

Designed with road trips in mind, they include clues for everything you will likely encounter on your family road trip!

Travel Scavenger Hunt Card Game

Scavenger hunt games are always fun for kids and this card pack will keep them entertained as they search for the objects found on the cards.

Don’t want your older kids simply plugged in for hours on end? Plenty of fun and creative road trip toy ideas are perfect for all those family members 10 years+ who still need busy hands and minds.

Flipslide Handheld Game

Flip, slide, and match the cubes as you are timed with this travel game. The game has 4 game modes, each with a different level of challenge, perfect for passing the time on car rides.

Triangle Peg Games

Remember the wooden strategy game we played at some of our favorite restaurants?

These pegboards can be taken anywhere so that your tweens and teens can play anywhere they go. Great for strategizing and stretching the mind.

Nintendo Switch

A Nintendo Switch can be a lifesaver when it comes to killing time while your tween or teen is traveling in the car.

They can use the same game system they use at home with portable remote controls that simply clip in to have some fun on their road trip adventure. Don’t forget a carry case to keep their console and game chips safe.

Travel Blurt Game

This is a game that siblings can play together, or you can get the whole family involved during the road trip. It’s hilarious and fun to see what kinds of things will be blurted out.

Handheld Magnetic Word Game

A travel edition of our favorite word game. Magnetic toys always make a good road trip toy. This set even includes a travel storage pouch to carry it anywhere. A great brain teaser toy for your tweens and teens looking for road trip activities that engage the brain.

Boredom Buster Activity Pack

This activity book for teens has 180 different brain games and puzzles they can do while in the car. Each brain game is challenging but fun and pitched at your older child.

The Ultimate Magnetic Puzzle Game

Nothing beats the feeling you get when you solve a challenging puzzle. This magnetic puzzle game is an impressive game that can be played in the car for some challenging fun.

Fast Sling Puck Game

This fast-sling puck game is a portable hockey game that fits on the table while you are taking a break at a roadside stop. Depending on the room you have in the car, it might be able to fit on their lap while in the car.

Magnetic Board Game Pack

This pack includes 12 different retro fun games that your tween or teen can take on any family vacation. It’s great for elementary-aged children as well, but we like it more for tweens.

World’s Largest Word Search Book

If your child enjoys doing word search puzzles, they will love working on this activity book while on a road trip.

With over 1,000 puzzles, your teen or tween will have plenty of puzzles to help them pass the miles.

We hope you’ve managed to find something in this road trip toy selection to suit every member of your family.

In addition to all the incredible games we’ve covered in this guide (yes, over 50 road trip toy ideas!) you may also want to prepare for your next family trip:

• Download some audiobooks that all the family can listen to together or a podcast series suitable to your age group.
• Family singalong. I know, I know, the 17,000th rendition of their favorite nursery rhyme might be driving you around the bend, but little kids love nothing more than mom and dad joining in. Change the words, and sing in a funny voice; it’s bound to get some giggles from the back. (Psst, there’s quite possibly an age limit on this one though, you don’t want your tweens and teens disowning you at the next roadside stop)
• Easy word games. You don’t need a fancy toy to keep the kids entertained all the time. Plenty of imaginative games in the car can be played verbally without any props. Try “would you rather” questions, alphabet listing games, or good old I-spy!
• Older kids can easily engage in road trip trivia games – from quizzes to conversation starters, easy apps you can download , or DIY games you can make up as you go.

What are your go-to toys and games for a family road trip?

© Family Road Trip 2024

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40 + Road Trip Activities for Kids

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Are you looking for road trip ideas for toddlers, preschool, kindergarten and for kids? 

I’ve got you covered , i’ve compiled a list of over 40 ideas so that you can relax, have a smoother trip and it includes fun activities to do in the car or on the go (road trip ideas for kids) , some of the ideas mentioned have been very helpful for myself and others., some have been very helpful for mamas all around the world. , a few of these road trip with kids’ ideas are from parents who have commented in a group i moderate about the methods that were helpful for them , i have added them to this list as well and i hope this gives you an all around better set of ideas that are not just my own but ideas from other mamas who have found what they tried was super duper helpful too , related: is it summer time for you here are over 70+ summer activities for kids and some will work for on the go too , how do you make a long car ride fun , i’ve compiled this list for ages 2-7. , it is a wide range of road trip with toddler ideas, fun road trip games for 3 and 4 year olds, and things to do on road trips with 5,6 and 7 year olds , i hope you can find which category best suits you and your lo. , some of these activities will also work with a differentiated set of ages while some won’t. , what can you do on a long car ride , there are many fun ideas and kids activities you can bring forth for kids on a long car ride. , some ideas are bringing coloring books, mess free water coloring books, busy bags, busy books.. , i’ll be going through more things to do during a road trip below , how do you make a road trip fun , i always say a playlist of good music your family loves, snacks, and a wholesome set of activities by age  will do wonders , i’ll be sharing below some ideas that can make your road trip go smoothly for the family , do you have any other fun ideas you may have tried to make for the best road trips with kids , related: here is a free color match/fine motor printable you can take on the go, what can kids do on a road trip , depending on your child’s age, there are many fun things for kids to do on a road trip . , here is a list of fun things to do on road trips that can work for a differentiated set of ages with the same deck of cards., toddlers can play with a deck of cards. , preschoolers can practice matching the 2’s with the 2’s and the 3’s with the 3’s with that same deck of cards. (on a tray. i’ll elaborate more on this below.), 5,6,7 year olds can play a game of go fish and other fun card games your lo can think of. , road trip activities for 2 year olds, what are some travel activities for toddlers, how do toddlers survive a long car ride , here are some tips and ideas on how to make the best of a long car ride with a toddler, i like to have on hand educational toddler apps on my phone/tablet as a side hand in case i need it. , but first and foremost, busy bags, busy bags, busy bags.. these are a wonderful set of pencil holders or crayon boxes to store small invitations to play (i’ll elaborate more on this below.), coloring books, notepads, post it notes, water wow books, finger puppets, a deck of playing cards, a plastic tray (i cannot stress this enough. it is a wonderful tool to use with invitation to play activities.) think of an airplane tray where you eat your food on. , painters tape for a fun fine motor activity, “remove the tape” from the plastic tray. , snacks, snacks, snacks and more snacks. 😀, toddler books (for a list of our favorites, check out this post right here .), stickers for sticking on a notepad or window stickers for sticking on the window. , busy book – here is one that has a few pages that will work for toddlers as well , sing the daddy finger song together. , and, these are just some of the many ideas i’ll be sharing in this post. , i hope you find some of them helpful , next up: long car rides with toddlers.., how should i bring my toddler on a road trip, how do you keep a 2 year old entertained on a long road trip, here are some ideas on road trip essentials for kids:, if you are going on a road trip, make sure to have roadside assistance readily available in case of any emergency (flat tire, no gas..) , a comfortable and well placed car seat for your toddler. , when my oldest was smaller we used to have an organizer that strapped to the back of the drivers chair (for toddlers, strap this to the front of the back seats as toddlers should ride in a rear facing car seat.) these are great for storing their toys so they can easily grab them. , choose any of the fun activities mentioned above for a road trip (some more ideas: games, flip books, cd’s for learning about the alphabet, fun songs they like to sing along to, i spy color games…), be sure to take extra stops and breaks as children shouldnt sit in a car seat for more than 2 hours at a time if they are 2 years old. , take your trip around your toddlers nap time. this is so that they can take a nap when you are starting on your road trip. , lastly, avoid taking your trip around any traffic or rush hour. , related: looking for an awesome busy book for on the go check it out here, so, how do i entertain my 2 year old on a road trip , these are just some ideas that can be helpful for entertaining your toddler on a road trip , of course, busy books, quiet books that contain matching games will be very helpful and we have a couple of amazing resources that can be well prepared for taking on a trip 😀, and, they are great for siblings too , 2 year olds, 3 year olds and 4 year olds can have fun learning with some of the activities in our preschool learning binder. , all of the activities will work for preschoolers and some of the activities will work for toddlers.  , road trip activities for 3 year olds, how do i entertain my 3 year old on a road trip , i myself have a 4 year old at the moment. , so, i know that some of the activities that work for toddlers will also work for her. , however, it may not hold on to her attention as long as they do with a toddler. , she needs a bit more of a challenge and i’ve got some ideas and things to do on long car rides that can be helpful. 🙂 , how do you entertain a 4 year old on a long car ride , here are some tips and ideas for keeping 3 and 4 year olds entertained on a long car ride trip: , car activities for 4 year olds, much like the tray i mentioned above, there is an actual kids car seat tray exclusive item they sell on amazon that is probably about the coolest product i’ve ever seen. , if your preschooler is still napping, plan your trip around nap time. , if you are leaving at night time, your preschooler will most likely sleep throughout most of the trip. , busy bags, busy bags, busy bags.. prepare some busy bags for fun kids activities on the road. (i’ll elaborate more on this below this post.) , download educational games on the tablet/phone., also, download your child’s favorite movie or a set of tv shows they like watching. , take a busy book on the go busy books are amazing on the go treasures. , insert stickers, playdough, craft sticks, magnifying glass, a deck of playing cards into a pencil holder for a fun set of activities for your lo on the go. this is a type of busy bag 🙂 , preschool activity binder busy book printable (great for on the go)..

Preschool Activity Binder Busy Book Printable

How do I keep my 4 year old busy? 

These are just some of many ideas that are so very helpful in keeping my lo and others entertained in a car ride or on the go. , i hope some of these road trips with kids ideas are helpful in keeping your 3 and 4 year olds busy when you’re on the go, car games for 6 year olds , how do i entertain my child on a long car ride , on top of having a 4 year old, i also have a 7 year old 🙂 , 5, 6 and 7 year olds can enjoy all that 4 year olds enjoy but on a completely different level and in a more advanced approach. , for example, with the deck of playing cards, they won’t just play with them. , they will actually use them to play a game of go fish or any other card game you can think of 🙂 , 6 and 7 year olds can also explore the world around them once at a rest stop. , if you are stopping near a place that has many trees like oregan or washington, you can take a breath of fresh air and enjoy talking about the different things you see in this new state you are in. , collecting small treasures and bringing them back to your home will allow for a fun spark of imagination and pretend play traveling around the world kids activity. , i am getting ahead of myself. 🙂 , so, for now here are some ideas on how you can keep a 5, 6 or 7 year old entertained: , educational games on their tablet. , books, books and more books. , coloring books, notepads and markers, crayons and pencils/pens. , snacks, snacks and more snacks., a deck of cards, board games, mad libs.., i see something… and i spy games by looking out the window. , puzzles, open ended toys, and toy figurines. , music to sing along to together. , movies, tv shows and educational shows. , road trip games (road trip bingo, road trip card games, road trip uno.), pack lots of crayons, markers, gel pens.., creative car games for car trips with kids, my senses activity binder free printable (great for on the go)..

Senses Learning Activity Binder for Preschoolers and Kids

How do I entertain my kids on a long car ride?

Fun ideas for long road trips…, all in all, fun educational games on their tablet/ audiobooks, books, card games, coloring book and markers will do the trick , i hope you enjoyed some of the ideas mentioned above for things to do on a road trip with 5,6 and 7 year olds , can you think of any other fun ideas that maybe you have tried and that was very helpful , leave me a comment below letting me know maybe it can be super duper helpful for other mamas too 😀, games to play in the car with family, what are some games to play in car with kids what about games to play on car trips with family , board games, i see something.. , musical cd that everyone can sing along to. , best road trip games .

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Here are some ideas of the best road trip games for kids:

(tap the images below to learn more.) , travel tray.

Road games for kids

Games to play in the car with toddlers

Car games for preschoolers

Roadtrip games

Games for car rides

Games to play in the car for kids

Fun car ride games

Fun games for road trips

Road trip games for family

More Road Trip Games for Kids

Road trip activity ideas for Kids

Preschool roadtrip printables

Things to do on a long car trip.., if you haven’t checked out some of our printables, please do so , some of the activities will work amazing for on the go and to make your trip fun, such as the busy books, quiet books and some of the matching activities , hope you have a beautiful and amazing road trip 🙂 , related products, looking for free printables and activities.

Need a simple and effective set of hands-on, low prep printables? Here is one of my Early Learning Freebies just for you!

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March 26, 2021 at 10:50 am

Amazing ideas for kids. I will share this article with my family groups and i am sure this will be very helpful for all parents for make interesting journey with their kids. Keep sharing!

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Family Road Trip Packing List (+Essentials for Kids & What Not To Pack)

By Author Jurga

Posted on Last updated: September 8, 2023

Looking for a family road trip packing list or wondering what are some of the road trip essentials for kids ? This packing list should give you a good overview of the things to pack (but also the ones to leave at home). Take a look!

We have a standard packing list for all kinds of trips: beach vacation, city trip, skiing holiday, and, of course for our favorite way of traveling – road trips with kids. But I recently looked at our family road trip packing list and realized how outdated it was. So it’s high time to update our family road trip packing list , and I thought I would share it with you as well.

This road trip packing list contains all the items that make our life easier and road trips with kids more enjoyable. At the same time, it’s not a complete road trip packing list.

I guess you don’t need someone else to tell you how many socks or t-shirts to pack for your upcoming road trip, or to remind you to carry car registration and insurance documents or a passport if visiting a foreign country…

There are two types of road trips – the ones you make with your own car/ campervan, and the ones where you travel overseas and rent a car. Needless to say, you will be able to pack much more if you are traveling close to home. After all, you are probably not going to carry a huge cooler or a car seat organizer on the plane.

So use this ‘road trip essentials’ packing list as a guideline , to check if you haven’t forgotten any of the useful items that will make your family road trip more comfortable. Find out!

READ ALSO: Top Tips for Traveling with Kids

Before I tell you about the more traditional items you need to pack for a family road trip, let’s start with the most important things first. You may not have needed any of this ten years ago, but now it’s unthinkable to set on the road without these items.

This is our road trip packing list for families:

Tech gear and entertainment

• Smartphone and charger
• Battery pack  to charge all your electronic devices. It’s a true life-saver if your phone tends to run empty long before you reach your hotel for the night. Check out this best-selling battery pack !
• Tablet/ DVD player/ or an MP3 player to keep your kids entertained in the car. I’m not going to tell you to pack your favorite CD collection for a family road trip. If you are road tripping with kids, you will never get a chance to listen to it anyway. Instead, make sure you have plenty of DVD’s with children’s movies ( check here for some popular kids’ DVD titles ).
• Alternatively, pack a tablet with some games (but you’ll likely need one tablet per kid). Or – my best suggestion – an MP3 player with audiobooks for children  (our kids’ favorites are Harry Potter audiobooks ). Here you can read more about our experience with audiobooks during long car rides with kids .
• Make sure you also pack chargers for each of these devices. That’s where the battery pack comes in handy. We also always pack a USB-charger for in the car .
• GPS or Google Maps app on your smartphone . Make sure you download the maps of the area where you will be road-tripping. In the past, we used to pack our TomTom GPS for every trip. Nowadays, we usually rely on Google Maps, unless traveling to a place where it doesn’t work well.
• Camera gear . A tripod and wireless remote control for your camera  are nice to have when road tripping with the family. It allows you to easily take nice pictures of the entire family. Extra batteries and memory cards , etc.

First aid essentials

The following items are among the most important road trip essentials for kids. So put these on your checklist and make sure you always have them at hand!

• First aid kit  (such as this compact first-aid kit ) is good to have on any trip. But it’s literally a life-saver on a family road trip!
• Ice spray.  Ice spray or a cold pack is a must when traveling with young kids. Our boys are so active and adventurous, so when they were little, they used to fall all the time. But on a road trip with kids, you don’t have an ice pack or ice cubes at hand. An ice spray is a real life-saver!
• Band-aids . Make sure to pack some in different sizes and always keep at least a few of them within easy reach.
• Disinfectant.  We use iodine antiseptics for wound treatment.
• Pain medicine (for kids and adults) .
• Mosquito repellent. We usually pack mosquito repellant spray , but recently we bought mosquito repellent bracelets and they seem to work well too.
• Sunscreen lotion. We always pack SPF50 sunscreen lotion for all our trips.

Road trip essentials for kids

Here are some of the main items for your road trip with toddler checklist:

• Comfortable car seats for kids adapted for their age. When traveling in our own car, we use Britax belt-positioning boosters for all our kids. When children sit in a car for hours, it’s important that they are comfortable, safe, and also have good head support. When we rent a car overseas we never rent children’s car seats. We carry our Trunki BoostAPak for each of the kids instead.

READ ALSO: Best Booster Seats for Travel

• Car seat organizer . Car seat organizers are really useful if your family likes road trips a lot. They will hold all the kids’ stuff in one place and will save you lots of frustrations (‘mom, where is my…’ or ‘dad, could you pass me my… ‘).
• Activity books and coloring books.  Check these Amazon bestsellers for preschoolers ,  kids ages 7-9 , and for older kids .
• Crayons, pencils, and pens . We usually pack twistable crayons since they last longer than any pencil or pen.
• Road-trip games and books , e.g. Travel Scavenger Hunt , Spot It! on the road , Mad Libs on the Road , and more … Just don’t pack too many of these. Often, a simple car game played by the whole family is much more fun for the kids than any game you can buy.
• Magnetic car games . If you are planning to pack any games to play in the car, go for magnetic versions !
• Extra diapers/wipes/clothes/quiet toys for the youngest ones.
• Sickness bags and an easy-to-access clean pack of clothes for the kids. Motion sickness bags are ideal to pack for a road trip.
• Ball or a frisbee . If you have some space in the car, pack a ball. It’s a great way to tire out the kids during short stops on the road. Alternatively, pack a frisbee or a foldable frisbee .

READ ALSO: Toddler Car Travel Tips & Best Travel Gear for Kids

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Food and drinks

Here are some useful items that should be on your family road trip packing list as well:

• Reusable water bottles . We usually pack one reusable water bottle per family member. In most places in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe you can easily refill water bottles with tap water. It’s free, it’s healthy, and it’s environmentally friendly. On top of that, water doesn’t leave any stains if the kids spill it in the car. We always buy a few large bottles of water as well, so that we can refill the bottles if there is no good tap water available.
• Cooler . If you have space in your car, then a cooler might be a nice thing to pack for a family road trip. If you’re looking for a heavy-duty waterproof and leak-proof cooler that has plenty of space to store food and drinks for the whole family, check this portable travel cooler . Not only does it have a practical and stylish design, but its advanced cooling performance with high-quality insulation also promises to keep your food and drinks cold for up to 3 days. There aren’t many other coolers out there that can do that! And yes, quality has its price, but we had to throw away several cheaper coolers (and the food inside) after just a few days of use, so now we rather go for quality and certainty.
• Snack containers with separate compartments (something like this ).
• Dried fruit, nuts, cookies, etc. Small snacks should always be on your family road trip checklist! There’s nothing worse than a couple of tired hungry kids stuck in a traffic jam for a few hours…

Miscellaneous

• Printed map, a road atlas,  and a travel guide of the area you are traveling to. Do you really want to drive on the main highways all the time when there might be an alternative scenic road leading to your next destination? Plan your trip well: include some stops for the kids to play, add a few off the beaten path places to your itinerary. When you use a good old-fashioned map, you can see so much more! GPS is important in order to guide your family to your hotel or camping at the end of the day, but it can ruin the joy of a traditional road trip.
• Roadside assistance emergency pack and a Swiss knife . We never ever leave on a trip without our Swiss knife. We have used it on more occasions than I can remember and it served many purposes, from peeling apples and carrots in the car, to repairing a broken air pipe of our car’s engine. And while we always have good travel insurance , without that Swiss knife we would have probably been stuck in the middle of the highway in France on a rainy Sunday evening… Since that trip, we always have a  Swiss knife and a  roadside assistance pack or at least a couple of screwdrivers in the car.
• Flashlight .
• Instant stain removers like this one from Tide .
• Paper tissues, wet tissues, kitchen towels , and – if you have some space – a picnic blanket . You will need all of these when road-tripping with kids.
• Quick-drying towel.  Microfiber travel towels are very handy for any road trip.
• Trash bags .
• Sunglasses .

Best bags for road trips

• Duffel bags . Pre-kids we always traveled with hard-shell suitcases. But if you ever tried to squeeze more than two suitcases in the trunk of the car, you know that they are pretty useless. No matter if we are making a road trip close to home or flying overseas, we always use duffel bags with wheels. Here you can read more about the travel bags that we have used for the last 3 years – Thule Subterra luggage .
• Day backpack and rain cover . We have many backpacks in various sizes, but the ones we tend to pack for most road trips are our 30-liter backpacks . If you plan on spending lots of time outdoors, get a universal rain cover (if your backpack doesn’t have one yet).

READ ALSO: Best Travel Bags for Kids

Clothing that is always in our car

As already said, I’m not going into detail on all the clothing you should pack for a road trip. So here are just the main, essential clothing and footwear that you should always have with you when road-tripping with kids:

• Rain jacket . We never pack umbrellas when we travel, but a good light waterproof rain jacket is a must.
• Sneakers or walking shoes . Also Flip flops or crocs .
• Sun hat and swimwear.

Nice to have for road trips

• Binoculars. We have small binoculars for each of the kids and it keeps them busy on the road. We used them in Africa , in Australia , in Yellowstone , and pretty much on any road trip ever since.
• E-book.  Kindle e-reader is always in our bag.
• Headphones.  My husband likes to pack his noise-canceling headphones for those moments when the kids get too loud in the car.
• Travel mug , in addition to a reusable water bottle. We only pack these when driving in our own car from home.
• Neck pillows and blankets. We always pack light fleece blankets in the car for kids if planning to drive at night. They are also very handy for those winter road trips to the mountains! If you are looking for a compact neck pillow that doesn’t take up too much space, take a look at this highly-rated best-seller .

What not to pack for a road trip

Here are some items that you better leave at home:

• Hard shell suitcases.
• Too many toys for kids . Definitely leave all the noisy toys at home.
• Umbrella . We never pack an umbrella for a road trip. Take a rain jacket instead.
• Too many clothes and shoes . Pack less and make sure you can layer when needed.
• Sweet food and drinks , or anything else that gives too much energy and makes their hands sticky.
• Too many food containers or other items that take a lot of space in your car.

So, these are our road trip packing tips for families road-tripping with children. Do you have any tips or packing essentials to share? Feel free to leave a comment below!

READ ALSO: Most beautiful road trips in the world

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Tuesday 19th of December 2023

Thank you !!!!

Saturday 25th of June 2022

Very helpful! Thank you!

Monday 27th of June 2022

Glad to help. Have a great trip!

Tuesday 6th of October 2020

A very comprehensive travel list Jurga. Thank you so much for taking the time to share essential items and reasons for bringing them.. It did help me remember a few things I had not thought of.

Wednesday 7th of October 2020

Glad to hear that, Al. That's how we use our packing lists too - to quickly check that we didn't forget something essential. Happy road-tripping!

Wednesday 1st of July 2020

Thank you for sharing these packing tips. It is so helpful for this summer as we are planning to take our first road trip EVER.

Glad you found this useful, Jennifer. Enjoy your trip!

Wednesday 15th of May 2019

This is a very comprehensive list to have a successful and smooth road trip. Having a road trip means that you want to have fun, relax and enjoy your vacation which is why it's very important to check almost everything to avoid any hassle along the way. The least we wanted is to get stuck on the road due to car problems instead of enjoying our trip. That is why I make sure that my car is in great condition before the said date. What I usually do is to visit my car shop at least a week before to have my car checked for possible repair and maintenance. I think this would be a great addition to your list.

Hi Erwin, yes, absolutely - checking that the car is in good condition is vital before any road trip.

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We are planning a very long drive this week.  We’re hitting the road before sunup and driving until way past bedtime.  As a survival strategy I’ve prepared a giant set of road trip activities for kids.

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In just a short while our family is going to be taking a road trip.

A very loooong road trip.

As in, start driving at 3 AM and reach our destination after 10 PM.   With five kids ages 7 and under.

And no, we don’t have a DVD player in our van.

This may sound a little crazy, but seriously?  Putting all seven of us in a hotel room with a baby still waking up every two hours sounds a whole lot crazier.  So I’ve been working at a creating and collecting a variety of activities to keep my crew busy for our big adventure.

I have seen some amazing DIY lapboards on Pinterest.  But I don’t sew beyond buttons.  I don’t do well with wood, foam, or stretching fabric.  I don’t even cut a straight line.  So this is my version of a DIY lap board.

Find a cheap magnetic baking tray (tip – they’re not all magnetic; check first).  This 9 x 13 tray cost 99 cents.   Then get some markers or crayons and hot glue magnet strips to them (even adhesive strips can use that extra glue).

Anything to keep my toddler from dropping a marker every five seconds.

The sketchpad was from the dollar bin at Target.

Books on CD

Our number one activity on long car rides is reading.  Thankfully, my Seven and Five can read on their own. But my Four in particular does not have patience for long trips, and he’s not ready to read independently.  I’ll read aloud periodically, but it’s not something I want to do for ten hours!  That’s where books on CD come in.  I borrow them from the library, store them in my CD holder , and reserve multiple copies of each book so each of the big kids can follow along.

I also referred to my Best Picture Books for Kids Pinterest board and found a huge stack of new-to-us books to take along.  (The hard part has been keeping my kids from reading them before the big trip!

Road Trip Printables

I searched high and low for free road trip printables. These were the best I could find because not only are they from talented bloggers,  they’re also easy to download and print.

The beautiful road trip drawing prompts (empty road and truck) are from Picklebums.

The lovely hand-drawn BINGO games are from Housing a Forest.

The simple and colorful Road Trip BINGO is from This Reading Mama.

For children who can read, Interstate BINGO is another fun printable from This Reading Mama.  My Five and Seven will enjoy this one.

The Car Scavenger Hunt is from a giant set of road trip printables from 123Homeschool4Me.

Sticker Scenes

This reusable sticker pad from Melissa and Dog is totally awesome as is.  But I wanted to find a way to make it work in the car. The scenes are too large for laps, and definitely for our little trays.  So I decided to cut each scene in half and cut the stickers into sections.  Then each child can have part of a scene and a set of stickers to play with.  The scenes won’t be as striking as they would be with the full sheets, but you can’ t be choosy when you’ve got seven people jammed into a seven-passenger van.

Conversation Cards

These are 100 conversation starters in the form of “would you rather” questions. I love these!  Would you rather have a pet chicken or a pet elephant? Would you rather lounge  in a pool of marshmallows or M & M’s?  Learn more and get your free printable cards (or simply a list of questions) in this post .

Drawing Prompts

This Complete the Picture drawing pad from Melissa and Doug  is brilliant.  It’s definitely too advanced for my Two and probably my Four. But I think it’s something my older two kids, ages five and seven, will really enjoy.  I had to trim the pages to fit them into the small baking sheets.

Beginning Sounds Coloring Pages

I don’t do a lot of worksheets with my preschool boys, but a car trip is the perfect time to pull some out.  I created this set of 26 coloring pages.  They simply need to color the pictures on each letter that begin with that letter.  You can get the free printable in this post .

Magnetic Matching Activities

I created these simple matching activities for my Two.  He loves this sort of thing, and it will give him something to do when he’s starting to get antsy.  Since there are magnets on the back of each piece to keep him from spilling them, I’m hoping that this will be easy and fun. This does take some time to assemble, but I think it will be worth it.  See the tutorial and get the free printables in this post.

Color by Number Addition Pages

My Seven asked for color by number pages.  I wanted to create something that would challenge her as well as give her something she enjoys, so I put addition facts on these fairy tale characters.  You can get the set of ten free pages by visiting this post .

Magnetic Pattern Block Activities

We already have pattern blocks, but for this trip I bought a magnetic set of blocks  so the kids can use them on their baking sheets.  I found the large pattern block activities at PreKinders.  I printed a transportation , snowflake , and animals set.  The kids can each set a paper on their board and cover it with the magnetic blocks.  I also printed the small set of designs from Kelly’s Kindergarten and bound them with a ring . (You will need to shrink her designs before printing them if you want them small.)  My older kids can recreate these pictures on their boards.

Snacks, Snacks… and More Snacks

And what would a long car ride be without snacks?  We don’t usually have prepackaged snacks at our house, but I’m making this trip an exception.  I’m packing mini chocolate chip cookies , honey graham sticks , crispy cheddar crackers , granola bars ,  and bunny snacks .  I’m also packing some dry cereal (a rare treat – our kids have plain yogurt with just a sprinkle of cereal for breakfast), string cheese, snap peas, and baby carrots.  Plus a brand new water jug  filled with ice water.

We’re ready for our trip!

After I pack the suitcases, of course…

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48 comments.

August 10, 2018 at 7:54 am

Thank you so much for your great roundup of ideas! We are traveling in Canada through Ontario and Quebec, to see sights in New Brunswick and P.E.I. I’m looking forward to using your ideas on our trip! Blessings! 🙂

August 13, 2018 at 9:08 am

You’re welcome!

September 9, 2017 at 3:01 pm

Just stumbled on this site and am delighted. I’d like to offer an alternative idea for your travel activity tray which offers built in storage. 1) Buy a roasting tin and a baking sheet that fits on the top of the roasting tin. 2) Attach magnetic strips around the top of the roasting tin, and on the bottom of the baking sheet. The sheet needs to exactly cover the roasting tin. 3) Place either a magnetic sheet, or magnetic strips on inside base of roasting tin. 4) Magnetic sheet to fit base of baking sheet (if big enough you can ignore stage 2) You can now add magnetic strips to crayons, organza bags from Poundland/Dollar store, toys. These things can be safely stored in roasting tin. The combined roasting tin/baking sheet are now a storage/lap tray. Little items can be stored in the organza bags or magnetized to stay in the storage area or to be used on the tray. You could also spray paint the roasting tin/baking sheet, drill small holes at one end and using whatever you choose can be hung from the seat in front. For very young children safely secure small magnets in small stuffies, these can be stored in the roasting tin and then stuck on to the baking sheet.

October 5, 2017 at 12:56 pm

What a cool idea, Lucy! Thanks so much for sharing it!

October 5, 2016 at 9:03 am

I love these ideas! We are planning to drive to Disney in February with another family. The thought of four little girls ages two and five on a 20 + hour car ride is terrifying the parents.

Anna Geiger

October 7, 2016 at 5:24 pm

Yes, I get it! 20 hours is a long time. Snacks will be your best friend. 🙂 In December we are planning a road trip to Texas with all six kids. I think it’s about 15-20 hours… I’ll have to pull out some of these to use again!

December 22, 2015 at 6:39 pm

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful ideas and resources. I’m now actually looking forward to our upcoming road trip with our 2 and 4 year old boys (plus an infant, but she won’t be participating in the activities :)).

January 1, 2016 at 5:54 pm

You’re very welcome, Cassy! I hope you have/had a great trip!

December 14, 2015 at 9:22 pm

Thank you so much!!!!! I got a 17 hour car trip coming up and didn’t want to go out and buy a ton of things for my preschooler to do. Yes we are breaking the trip up but he is not a great car rider so this is exactly what we need.

December 19, 2015 at 3:46 pm

I hope you have a wonderful trip, Cora!

Stephanie H

March 11, 2015 at 10:00 pm

Thank you for the wonderful ideas and printables. We are ready to venture out on a 15 hour drive for Spring Break with a 7 and 2 year old. Thanks to your post my “Activity Box” is complete and I have something checked off my to do list! THANK YOU!

March 20, 2015 at 6:35 am

Yay! I hope you have (had) a wonderful trip!

January 9, 2015 at 11:02 am

Man, you are so creative!!! Thank You sooo much for this!! We’re leaving in less than a month, this is doable!!

January 12, 2015 at 4:30 pm

Way to go for getting started ahead of time, Jennifer! I hope you have a great time and as peaceful a car ride as possible. 🙂

December 28, 2014 at 5:58 am

I am probably the first dad in here. This is really cool stuff. Thanks for sharing all this. I am printing away as I speak

December 28, 2014 at 2:42 pm

Not quite the first, but maybe the second. 🙂 I hope you have a great (and somewhat quiet) trip, Nick!

July 24, 2014 at 5:15 am

I loved your Tip Me Tuesday link. {thanks girl!} Would you like Tip Junkie to feature your blog post to over 200,000 creative women? If you upload this blog post into your Tip Junkie craft room using at least 2 images, 2 steps, and blog post URL then I can easily feature it in my RSS feed, home page, and all my social networks instantly. {squealing with delight} ~ Laurie {a.k.a. the Tip Junkie} http://www.tipjunkie.com/post/how-to-add-a-craft-room-project-on-tip-junkie/

July 24, 2014 at 5:19 am

Yes, yes, yes, Laurie, of course! Thank you!! I will head over to do that right away. I was just thinking yesterday I was going to send you a note to thank you for your Mom Blog to Money Blog course. I completed it this summer and learned so much, just in time to apply everything I learned to a site redesign coming next week. Excited! Thank you!!

July 14, 2014 at 8:57 pm

Thanks so much for these! I’m traveling 16 hrs with a 4, 2.5 & 10 month old so looking for some activities to keep us all sane

July 17, 2014 at 8:02 am

That’s a long trip, Ali – been there! I hope it goes well for you and that you have a nice peaceful trip. 🙂

July 9, 2014 at 10:02 pm

Thankyou so much, this is exactly what i was looking for to amuse my kids on our next trip!! Thankyou so much for sharing!

July 17, 2014 at 8:01 am

You’re welcome, Steph! I hope you have/had a peaceful ride :).

June 20, 2014 at 12:01 pm

These are some AWESOME suggestions. I’m planning a vacation for July and we’ll be traveling roughly 13 hours in a car with a 2 and a 5 year old. Thanks so much for sharing!

July 9, 2014 at 5:32 am

You’re welcome, Brandy! I hope your kids stay content on your long trip!

May 28, 2014 at 8:17 pm

This post couldn’t have come at a better time for my family. In the next month, we are taking 3 16 hour road trips. I have a 1 year old, a 2 year old, and a 4 year old and we will definitely be using some of your ideas! Thank you so much for all your hard work. We are planning on driving from 9pm until we get there!

June 1, 2014 at 7:53 pm

Good for you for driving through the night! We are probably a little older than you, as that’s pretty hard for us. On our way to our destination we ended up getting the kids up at 4:30 AM with the plan that they would go back to sleep for a few hours. Nope! Not sure if leaving even earlier is a good or bad idea..

little island studios

May 28, 2014 at 11:17 am

Great Ideas! We traveling and always looking for ideas…love to bring magnetic fun!

June 1, 2014 at 7:52 pm

Love your recent post about Virginia Beach… my home town!

May 28, 2014 at 9:16 am

My family is flying from SC to WA this summer. My daughters are 7 and 6, but the 6 yo is more like a 4 yo. The color pages will be WONDERFUL for them to do on the planes and at grandma and grandpa’s house when they claim to be “bored”. Thanks a lot for these wonderful resources.

June 1, 2014 at 7:51 pm

You’re very welcome, Christine! We are currently enjoying our vacation, and the pages we did not do in the car (mainly the Melissa and Doug activities) have been great to fill some time at our destination.

May 27, 2014 at 2:24 pm

Can’t wait til you get here!

May 27, 2014 at 7:48 am

I love this!! We regularly make a 9-10 hour car journey to see family and am always looking for ideas to keep my pre-schoolers entertained (without having to reach for dropped bottles or toys every few minutes!) Thank you.

June 1, 2014 at 7:50 pm

You’re very welcome! I hope your kids enjoy a few of these ideas. As it turned out, my kids were happiest with the coloring pages, books on CD, and drawing pads. They did a little bit with the magnetic shapes and of course loved the snacks most of all. 🙂

October 25, 2018 at 8:03 pm

Thats great! ??

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57 Car Activities For Toddlers For A Stress-Free Trip!

By: Author Brenda Kosciuk

Posted on Published: March 29, 2023  - Last updated: June 16, 2024

Truth: A long road trip with my kids (especially my toddler) gives me major anxiety.

And they shouldn’t because I have this amazing list of great travel and car activities for toddlers .

I have a 6 year old, but she’s much easier in the car than her 3 year old sister and she can do all of these activities as well!

Toddler car activities that work for older kids, too?

That’s a win, win!

Keeping toddlers occupied and happy in the car on long car rides or road trips is actually pretty simple, as long as you are prepared ahead of time.

This is definitely not something that you want to ignore until the last minute.

A little preparation using these amazing ideas is going to make your family road trip SO MUCH BETTER.

Especially if you are taking a road trip with kids by yourself .

You don’t want to be stressed before the vacation activities even start!

Have you ever tried to entertain little kids in the car for hours without any real plan?

Yes, you could just load your tablet or portable DVD player with tons of movies, but is that really going to keep your kids occupied?

My guess is no!

At least not if they are anything like my kids.

There is only so much zoning out that my kids can handle.

They like being active, not confined.

They like interaction and stimulation.

This is why I have developed this list.

Because intentional travel toddler activities are going to save my sanity.

Because even if I put on a movie during a long car trip, inevitably one of my kids (halfway through) will start.

“Are we there yet?”

Figuring out what to do with a 2 year old in the car is stressful.

Having a bunch of these car games for kids and car activities for 2 year olds, 3 year olds or 4 year olds ready to go will help you to not want to jump OUT of the car during your next long drive.

This post contains affiliate links.

Best Car Activities For Toddlers

Getting some new books for road trips with toddlers will definitely buy you some quiet time in the car.

You could also get some from your local library.

I would go with books that your toddler will be majorly interested in (favorite characters, for example).

For my 3 year old, that would mean a bunch of Paw Patrol books.

If there is someone in the back that can read to your toddler, even better!

You could even show the YouTube read aloud version of any of these 2-year-old book favorites.

It’s also a great idea to have your toddler tell everyone in the car what’s happening in the story.

It’s a great way to get your toddler’s creativity flowing while she’s stuck in the car for hours.

You could also bring along some of your toddler’s favorite books.

2. Melissa And Doug Water Wow Books

Water Wow books are super popular toddler road trip travel toys.

Simply fill the water pen with water, and your child can “color” in the pages.

It works surprisingly well, and by the time your toddler colors in the last page, the first pages will be dry so that your toddler can start all over again.

3. Read-Along Storybooks With CD

I would love to read to my toddler in the car, but reading makes me carsick.

Read-Along Storybooks that come with a CD are actually even better for in the car.

There are so many great books to choose from and the narration is really great.

We own quite a few of these books, and we often listen to each of them several times on long trips.

At first, I had to prompt my daughter (when she was 2) to turn the page when she heard the chime, but she caught on very quickly and was then able to do it independently.

If your toddler already enjoys read-along storybooks, you might want to venture into audiobooks for your toddler .

4. An Old Cell Phone

This cell phone doesn’t even have to be working or charged.

I’m not kidding, your toddler will love it and will feel like such a big deal.

The key is to tell your child that it’s “her phone”.

Both of my kids play with their non-working phones all the time.

They call people, they receive calls and they tell their cousins that it’s real.

Old phones are great things to keep a toddler busy on a road trip.

5. Would You Rather Questions

I love asking my toddler questions, and these funny Would You Rather for kids are the best type.

They’re super easy for your toddler to answer because they give 2 options for your child to pick from.

The sillier the better!

I also have this or that questions for kids , which might be a little easier for toddlers.

6. Stickers

Stickers are always a hit, and I love that (especially at the toddler stage), it’s an activity that takes a long time.

Make sure that you remove the sticker paper around the stickers first so that it’s less frustrating for your toddler.

We recently got the Pete The Cat Sticker Book and I seriously LOVE it because the quality of it is really amazing for the price. It has different scenes where you place the stickers and the stickers don’t easily rip like some others.

Reusable sticker pads are also a great option.

7. Flashlights And Glow Sticks

If you will be traveling when it’s dark, flashlights and glow sticks will be a crazy fun activity.

Just make sure to keep them put away until then.

8. A Stack Of Post-It Notes

A stack of post-it notes just provides for so many possibilities.

Your toddler can stick them all over the place, can write on them with crayons or colored pencils, or can re-stack them endlessly.

9. Small Objects In Small Containers

Scour your house for some egg fillers for toddlers and put them inside plastic Easter eggs.

Your toddler will love opening them up to see what’s inside.

Your toddler can also put them in and out of the Easter eggs.

10. A Taste Test

I LOVE this one.

It can be done with Jelly Belly jellybeans , gummy bears, fruit snacks, etc and is probably best saved for older toddlers so that you don’t have to worry about choking.

Have your child close her eyes, hand her one of the previously mentioned foods, and have her guess the flavor or color.

11. Edible Necklaces

Before you go on your trip, you and your toddler could make an edible necklace out of cereal such as Cheerios.

Then store the necklaces for the trip.

This is a great activity because the necklaces will take your toddler a long time to consume, and they’re more fun than simply handing over a bag of Cheerios.

12. A Travel Tray

A travel tray will simply make coloring, playing and doing all of these activities so much easier.

This travel tray is my favorite, because it has side pockets, sturdy sides, fits perfectly over your child’s car seat and it folds flat for storage.

Just imagine: All of your child’s toys and snacks will stay contained to their little space and you won’t have to worry about her dropping her toys or getting goldfish crumbs everywhere. 

Oh, and according to the reviews , this tray has saved MANY road trips.

13. Your Child’s Blankie Or Lovey

If your toddler still has a lovey or special stuffed animal, be sure to bring it with you so that your child can more easily take a nap.

14. A Kid-Safe Mirror

It’s simple but oh-so entertaining!

15. A Slinky

I don’t know what it is about the Slinky, but my kids are mesmerized by them.

16. Magnets and a Cookie Sheet

If your toddler is learning letter recognition, some alphabet letters would be a great activity for the car.

You could also tie it into looking outside at signs to try to find a letter (if your toddler is forward facing).

17. Measuring Cups To Stack

I’m sure your child is already a fan of stacking Tupperware, bowls, and whatever else she can find in your kitchen cabinets.

Bring some small measuring cups to continue the stacking fun in the car.

18. Magnadoodle

19. color wonder mess-free markers and pads.

For some reason, kids just like markers more than crayons and colored pencils.

What is it?

Color Wonder markers and pads are amazing because they have the excitement of markers but they only work on the special Color Wonder paper.

They are a much better version of a coloring book for the car.

20. Imagine Ink Mess Free Coloring Sets

Imagine Ink Coloring Sets are very similar to Color Wonder but they are more compact and only come with one marker (which means less chances of losing a marker in the carseat).

My 3 year old also prefers the Imagine Ink books.

21. Look And Find Books

Look And Find books will keep your toddler’s mind engaged and thinking creatively during your road trip.

Though a lot of these books are maybe to advanced for as car activities for 2 and 3 year olds, there are many Look And Find books that are geared toward this age level.

• Paw Patrol First Look And Find
• Peppa Pig First Look And Find
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse First Look And Find

22. Wrapped Dollar Store Items

Break the monotony of your car ride up by handing your child some toys wrapped in gift wrap.

You can visit the dollar store to buy a few small toys, or you could even wrap up some of your toddler’s existing toys.

I love the idea of giving your child one wrapped toy at certain intervals.

You could give a toy after a certain time period or when you cross over into a new state to celebrate.

23. Snacks, Snacks and More Snacks

I remember thinking (before kids) that I was NEVER going to let them eat in the car.

Then I had kids, and surprise!

I laughed at my pre-kid self.

Even if you do not allow food in the car (how do you do it?!), car trips could be the exception to the rule.

While I’m a HUGE crazy person about what my kids eat, I have been known to give my kids some special treats on long car rides.

Pack your snacks wisely.

The best snack ideas are foods that take a long time to eat such as pretzels, goldfish, cereal necklaces, etc.

You could also try incorporating food with something else, like a game.

Winner gets a pretzel!

Snacks will be your number one tantrum deterrent and the easiest way to distract, so make sure you pack more than enough.

24. A Boogie Board

A Boogie Board is an LCD board that your toddler can write on with a stylus and erase with a push of a button.

It’s pretty simple (and actually you can then use it for jotting down your daily to-do list).

I actually bought one for myself, and then had to buy a second and a third because my kids kept stealing it from me.

25. Conversation Starters

What better time than to get to know each other than when you’re stuck together in a small car for hours?

These conversation starters will help you get a little glimpse into your toddler’s mind.

They are truly fun for the entire family.

If your toddler is struggling to answer the questions, give your answer first as an example.

26. Tell Jokes

Okay, your toddler might not completely understand kid jokes yet, but toddlers don’t care!

My toddler will laugh at any joke I tell her, even if she has no idea what it means.

These jokes for 4 year olds,  5 year olds or 6 year olds contain many that your toddler will actually understand.

This activity will be a lot of fun.

It’s true, the jokes might not be funny for the adults in the car, but the toddler giggles will definitely put a smile on your face.

You can also have your toddler make up her own jokes.

My 3 year old loves to invent her own jokes, and though they never make sense, they always make me laugh because it’s adorable.

Her jokes always end with “because he was a real hot head!”.

27. The VTech Rock and Bop Music Player

The VTech Rock And Bop Music Player is another toy that will make your toddler feel like a big hotshot.

It’s like an iPod for toddlers.

It might be the phone shape of it, or it might be the headphones that come with it.

It plays cute songs and your toddler can also play a few games with it.

It’s really interactive and will give you some quiet time to just relax in the front seat.

(My 6 and 3 year old fight over this all the time). 

28. The Counting Game

Choose something that the whole family needs to look for (black cars, red trucks, stop signs, cows, etc).

See how long it takes you to find a certain number then start again.

I love this even for the youngest toddlers because it will help your child practice colors and numbers, and the repetition with help immensely.

Try to pick your number limit based on what your toddler knows.

My 3 year old can count up to 15, and then gets them a little mixed up.

The next time we play this game, I will go up to 20 so that she’s getting repetition of the numbers 15-20 that she needs.

Okay, you might hate this idea and you can choose to ignore it completely, but kids love repetitive songs that we find to be, well, annoying.

Think “The Wheels On The Bus”, “10 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed”, and “The Song That Never Ends”.

30. Movie Soundtracks And Kid’s Music

If you don’t feel like having “The Song That Never Ends” stuck in your head for the duration of your vacation, bring along some movie soundtracks or your toddler’s favorite songs to play in the car.

No, not a mixed tape, actual scotch tape.

Or washi tape or whatever.

I have a feeling if I handed my 3 year old tape in the car and told her that she could use it all, she would be like a kid in a candy store.

This one could go either way.

It could occupy your toddler for a VERY long time, unless your toddler is the go-big-or-go-home type.

Then your entire roll of tape might be pulled out in one long, sticky strand in about 10 seconds and then you’ll be on to the next activity real quick.

32. Band Aids

So what if your next rest stop is spent peeling band-aids off of every inch of your child’s clothing.

I am telling you, this activity will last a LONG time.

Simply getting the band-aid out of its packaging with take a while, and it’s a great fine motor activity too.

Don’t worry about your toddler wanting you to open all the band-aids. Most (every?) toddler wants to do everything themselves anyway.

This is one of my toddler’s most favorite fun car activities.

33. Play I Spy

While I don’t think I Spy is a very good game for DRIVING because you’re simply whizzing by everything, it is a life-saver when you are stuck on the highway because of traffic, construction or an accident.

34. Magnetic Toys

Magnetic toys are great because they won’t be falling all over the place.

Magnatiles are a great choice, and will get tons of play even after your trip.

35. Wooden Lacing Activities

Hone your toddler’s fine motor skills with these on-the-road activities for toddlers.

• Lacing Activity Set with cute animals
• Wooden Lacing Beads

35. Flashcards

I know that flashcards kind of have a bad reputation, but my toddler LOVES doing her alphabet flashcards.

We have these flashcards and they are great because they are super thick and sturdy, they have pictures of common things and they are connected by a ring which is perfect for in the car (my biggest pet peeve about driving with kids is when I hear that someone has dropped something. Did I say that already?!)

36. Scissors and Paper

Give your child some scissors and paper or a magazine.

Your toddler will cut and rip that paper and likely make a gigantic mess, but it’s guaranteed to be a very effective way of keeping toddlers busy .

If you’re really brave you can give your child a glue stick also so that she can glue all of her pieces onto some paper.

37. Pinwheels

Your toddler can spin it and (try) to blow it.

Or just swing it around, whatever floats her boat.

38. A Balloon

A balloon on a string in a confined area is super fun (for the kids, at least).

39. Wikki Sticks

Wikki Sticks are made out of yarn and food-grade wax.

They can be stuck together to make endless designs and are completely reusable.

40. Electronics

You were probably wondering if I was ever going to suggest electronics.

I don’t LOVE screen time for my toddler, but a little screen time (especially in the car) is always a good option.

If you’d like to offer up some electronics, here’s what I suggest.

If you do games on a tablet, my ABSOLUTE MOST FAVORITE app is Endless Alphabet .

It is an incredible app, but is also simple and will teach your child letters and new words.

Your child will drag letters to form words, all while the letter that you’re dragging is making silly sounds (the K will make a K sound over and over).

Once your child has finished the word, there will be a very short scene showing what the word means in a very silly way.

My kids LOVE getting to the end to see what the little creature will do.

If you’re going to show a movie or a TV show, I highly suggest this tablet holder for the back of your seat.

This is the one that we have because it goes in between the two front headrests so that both of our kids can watch a movie on it.

This awesome Disney movie list can give you some great options.

You should also purchase an extra long charger so that you don’t run out of batteries in the middle of Chase’s mission.

41. Toy Catalogues

If it’s near Christmas, give your toddler the latest toy catalogue and have her circle the toys that she wants.

Yes, she will probably circle everything in sight.

No, she won’t remember what she circled.

42. Podcasts

You can definitely listen to a podcast while your toddler is playing, snacking or whatever.

Check out the 5 Best Podcasts For Kids Under 5 .

43. Dollar Store Toys

Your kids can even go with you to pick some toys out. Just make sure to put them away for the road trip.

44. Guessing Games

You can describe an animal, a family member or a mystery object.

45. The Quiet Game

This just might be my most favorite of many road trip games.

The Quiet Game is simple.

Whoever speaks first loses.

You could even up the ante and have someone in the car try to MAKE everyone else laugh.

Another idea would be to give a small prize for being the last to make noise.

46. Pictionary

Mom, older siblings or your toddler herself can draw a picture and everyone else needs to guess what it is.

The great thing about this game is that my kids love stumping us, which is great for those times when you have absolutely no idea what your kid has drawn.

47. Tell Stories

My husband often tells my kids stories at bedtime.

The main character of the story is always themselves, and the story inevitably contains some kind of silly occurrence.

Another fun option is to have one person start the story, then the next person will say another sentence of the story and so forth.

This is really fun and great for your toddler’s imagination.

48. A Tape Measure

If your toddler’s got a bunch of toys back there with her, give her a tape measure and ask her to measure each of them!

49. Play 20 Questions

Make it simpler for your child by starting with a category (animals, foods, etc).

50. Blow Bubbles

This one might be a no-go, but if your toddler can blow bubbles on her own (or if there is an older sibling in the back to blow them), then this will work.

Just make sure that you get the mini bubbles so that if they spill, your child won’t be covered in sticky bubble solution.

51. Play Finish-The-Doodle

Have your toddler make a doodle on paper or on her Magnadoodle.

An older child (or mom) should use that doodle to make a drawing out of it.

52. Avoid The Complaints

If your kids are prone to “Are we there yet?”, this idea is PERFECT.

Give your kids a roll of quarters.

Each time that your kid says “Are we there yet?”, she has to hand over one quarter.

53. Pipe Cleaners

Ask your toddler to create a surprise for you out of pipe cleaners.

They are super easy to bend and form into different shapes!

54. Scavenger Hunts

This road trip scavenger hunt come in three varieties: the traditional checklist, BINGO and a color car find.

55. Mile Tracker

Give your toddler a paper with a bunch of squares on it (one square for every 50 miles of your trip).

Every 50 miles, have your child cross off one of the squares.

This provides a great visual for your child to be able to see how much farther you have to go.

56. Rotate Toys

Make sure that you don’t just throw a bunch of toys in the back with your toddler.

Give one toy at a time, and once your toddler starts to fuss, switch that toy out for another one.

57. Rest Area Mini-Olympics

Get your kids to get all that pent-up energy out each time that you make a stop.

You can have your kids hop, do jumping jacks, stretch, run, etc.

I hope this post helped you to find some new favorite road trip activities!

It’s hard to entertain a toddler in the car, but you can do it!

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The Best Car Activities for Toddlers: 30+ Fun Road Trip Ideas

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When you think of a long road trip with two or three year olds, what comes to mind? Whining, crying, temper tantrums? Trying to get out of their car seat? It doesn’t have to be that way, not if you have the right car activities for toddlers! If you’re taking a road trip with young children, it’s tempting to just stick them in front of a screen and call it a day. But as a mom of 4, I can tell you that if you plan a few activities to break up the screen time, everyone will be much happier!

And while a little bit of screen time isn’t bad, it really isn’t good for them for a 7, 8, 9, or however many hours-long car ride. When it comes down to it, you do what you gotta do to survive, but ideally, you can throw in some other activities with the screen time.

Fear not, because there are other ways to keep the kiddos occupied that don’t involve screens. Many of these activities are not only fun for toddlers, but also stimulate their brains and hone those fine motor skills, all while you’re on your way to grandmas!

Toddler car activities don’t have to be expensive, either. In fact, most of these things are free or inexpensive, the sort of things you can find at home or at the local dollar store.

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links.

Family Road Trips With Toddlers: A Survival Guide

I have 4 kids right now, ages 10, 8, 8 (twins!), and 3. At one point, I had THREE TODDLERS and we have always traveled with them. My husband’s family lives 12 hours from us, and so it’s a long road trip that we have made every year, at least once.

I’ve picked up some tips and tricks along the way. I’m going to share a LOT of activities and ideas but please don’t try to cram in every activity on your road trip. Simply pick a few of your favorite ideas!

Traveling with tots is not the impossible feat you might think it is, but there are some very helpful ways to prepare! Having the right car activities for toddlers is a great thing, but there are some other tips and tricks to make it even easier.

I have a whole post on how to travel with kids overnight (and why I prefer it to traveling during the day!) but regardless of the time of day, here are several practical tips to keep in mind:

• Pack a VARIETY of activities! That’s what this whole post is about, after all!
• Pack snacks! Even a short road trip still needs some road trip food. Your toddler will look forward to it and it’s an effective way to break up the time and keep things from getting too boring!
• Pack an emergency bag: this includes extra clothes in case of accidents, a first aid kit, and a PUKE BUCKET or BARF BAG . I’m serious. We made this mistake on a road trip last year and let me tell you, not pleasant! I highly recommend these portable barf bags . They are affordable and easy to pack!
• Pack a travel potty if your toddlers are potty training or just recently became potty trained.
• Plan some toddler-friendly stops: especially if you’re on a long road trip, it helps to have some fun, family-friendly pit stop locations planned! It takes the edge off the boredom and lets them get some energy out! Googling local parks or free attractions is great, but sometimes even an empty parking lot is good in a pinch!
• Have a schedule : if your toddlers are used to a certain schedule during the day, try to stick to it on the road trip. Meal/snack time, nap time, quiet time, and playtime can all be incorporated during a long drive. Just don’t be surprised if the change in location throws things off a little bit! That’s okay!
• Introduce new things as you go: start with one toy or activity, and if your toddler starts to look bored, give them something new to do, or surprise them with a special snack, or anything to make the trip seem less monotonous!
• Break it up with screen time: of course it is okay to allow some screen time, in fact, it might be a good idea to let them take a break and watch a movie or an educational show, especially during a longer than 4-hour road trip!
• Tip to limit screen time: During long car rides with younger children, I try to hold off on screen time until after they took a nap. I also plan it strategically around stops, so if there’s an hour-long movie for them to watch, I’ll put it on an hour before we have a stop planned. This way, they won’t be too upset when it’s time to turn it off, because we’re about to get out of the car.
• Hotel Room Bag: If you’re stopping overnight, make sure to pack a hotel room back, with all of your overnight essentials! Don’t forget sound machines, night lights, and a few fidget toys or sensory toys to keep the kids entertained in the small room.

Related Content:

• Traveling With Kids
• Traveling With Kids Overnight
• Flying With Twins

Car Storage and Organization

Before we get too far into the post, I’m going to tell you how I organize our car. In the past, I’ve let the kids each pack a backpack with their activities, but then their backpacks are on the floor and their stuff gets everywhere. For our last trip, I ordered these car organizers that hook onto the backseat and it was a game changer!

They come in a 2-pack, so I had one in the back with Josie and Margo (8-year-old twins) and one in the 2nd row with Theo and Beckham (10 and 3). Theo is a huge help with Beckham, giving him the toys he requests, setting up his headphones, etc.

We also used this car seat organizer to keep our snacks in. Each kid had a ziplock bag with their snacks in it and we refilled it from this container.

Foolproof Toddler Car Activities

I’m sure this goes without saying, but as always, use discretion with which of these are appropriate for your toddler (especially if they involve smaller pieces). Every toddler is a little different and depending on their age and development means that different toys and activities will be better for them.

These are all great travel toys that I’ve used for many years. As my kids get older, I’ve updated this post each year, so now this is really just a big post full not just the best travel toys for toddlers, but the best travel toys for all of my kids!

Travel Tray for Toddler Car Activities

These travel trays look AMAZING. My kids are constantly dropping things in the car and asking for me to retrieve them for them. These trays would prevent things from falling to the floor!

If you don’t mind investing a little bit of money into your car activities for toddlers, a travel tray is a great way to pack everything in one place and let the little ones entertain themselves. There are compartments on the sides for books and snacks, and sometimes even a stand for a tablet.

I like this one a lot for a long car ride because it has a dry-erase board and activities!

We recently used this on a 22 hour road trip from Rhode Island to Florida and it was great. We used it for our 3-year-old, Beckham. It was the perfect tray to help him with his snacks, and he used the road tape and some toy cars to play with. It’s also perfect for coloring, but Beckham didn’t want to color.

Encourage independent play with toys that are easy to play with and easy to clean!

Toy cars travel easily and don’t need a flat surface to be entertaining. However, you can enhance the play experience by creating a road on a travel tray or cookie sheet with this road tape . They are the perfect toy for little hands and the toy that Beckham prefers the most.

Did you know young kids have better reading comprehension by listening to books than reading them? Obviously, most toddlers can’t read yet, but audio books are still a perfect way to stimulate their brains and their ears! 

You can get free audiobooks from the library or snag a free 30-day subscription to Audible and download new books right onto your phone! And if you already have Audible, then you’re ahead of the game.

Pro tip: If you have a DVD player in your car, play a DVD over the stereo without turning the screen on and BOOM: audiobook. We do this with Daniel Tiger DVDs all the time!

Yoto Player

Beckham got a Yoto Mini (currently out of stock everywhere so I am linking the full-sized one) for Christmas and it was such a good investment. Our older 3 kids love to read and they all have kindles, so they can read for hours in the car. When they are reading, we set Beckham up with his Yoto and headphones and he happily listened to books! They are the perfect screen-free activity for long trips.

Physical Books

Space may be limited on a long car ride, but that doesn’t mean you can’t let them pack a few of their favorite books to flip through on the drive! It’s great if you have some interactive books they can engage with, too, or if your older kids are willing and able to read to them!

My 3 big kids (10, 8, 8) love to read and they all have the kids Kindles. The kids kindle is actually a regular, adult kindle, BUT it comes with a case, ad-free, and a year of kindle kids unlimited. Kindle kids unlimited is basically like Netflix, but for e-books. I had my kids download dozens of books before we left, and if they ran out, I simply connected their kindles to the hotspot on my phone so they could download more.

Here are some of our favorite books lists:

• The Best Children’s Books For Twins (About Twins!)
• The Best Spring Books for Toddlers
• The Best Fall Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
• The Best Christmas Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers

I purchased these on one of our recent road trips and they were a huge hit with my kids! They made little people and my son even made glasses to match his sisters. I loved that they were using their imaginations to create things in a non-messy way. I made sure to pack them away in our box of travel items so that they are still fresh and exciting the next time we travel.

Buy them here: Wikki Stix

Magnetic Cookie Sheet

I’ve seen this idea before and it’s brilliant! Put some magnets on a cookie sheet and let them play with it like they would fridge magnets! I love using these vehicle magnets or gear magnets!

Play kid-friendly music

Entertain your toddlers with a little car-bound singing and dancing to their favorite tunes – children’s music, movie soundtracks, or light pop music are all good options.

Road Trip Games: Play “I Spy” 

This is probably easier for older toddlers and preschoolers but you can still call your toddler’s attention to neat things out the window, like big trucks or mountains! My toddlers were always upset when the big trucks left until we made a big deal out of waving “bye-bye” to it.

Road Trip Games: Play “Simon Says”

If “I Spy” is a little too advanced for your younger toddlers, then a fun game of “Simon Says” may be an easier way to keep them entertained.

Road Trip Games: Scavenger Hunts

My kids had so much fun with this scavenger hunt game on our most recent family vacation. Not only was it fun on the drive, but they enjoyed it while we were driving around Florida as well!

No-Mess coloring books

If your child loves to color but you love keeping your car marker-free, then no-mess coloring books are a real lifesaver on road trips! I absolutely LOVE THESE.

Here’s another no-mess coloring book option that I’ve recommended before and have heard others recommend: Melissa and Doug’s Water Wow books, designed for on-the-go! Just fill the pen with water and let them go to town with no inky mess. These are hands down one of the best toddler travel toys out there.

Portable Travel Games

These are an absolutely perfect travel toy for older siblings and they’re also perfect to keep in your bag for a long wait at an appointment or a restaurant. It comes with hangman, connect5, tic-tac-toe, dots & boxes, and categories. My older kids loved playing this, and my husband and I were able to play hangman with them from the front seat.

Magnetic Drawing Board

One of our favorite toys is another mess-free drawing option: magnetic drawing boards .

Wooden Matching Game

This wooden matching game can be played with a single player, so it works for a kid sitting alone in a row, but can also be played with multiple players. It is for ages 3-6 and while this isn’t a toy that we have owned, it looks like a great road trip toy.

Magnetic Dot Art

Let me tell you a funny story about this magnetic dot art toy . We traveled to Ohio in November, and my 3-year-old refused to play with ANYTHING. Everything bored him. Fast forward to our 23 hour road trip a short 3 months later, and I didn’t pack him many toys because I’d learned my lesson.

Guess who whined for something to play with the ENTIRE RIDE? You guessed it. While I had packed him a few things, it wasn’t nearly enough to keep him occupied for the ride there and back. So, I headed to Target and purchased like the only travel toy I could find. And this is it and it was a huge hit with all of my kids!

Tetris Stax

This Tetris is a fun 1 player game that my oldest got in his stocking. It’s the perfect size for a stocking stuffer! It’s for ages 8+ but it’s pretty hard and my 8-year-olds have difficulty with it! Because of this, it does occupy my 10-year-old for quite some time!

OK, hear me out! The age on this is 4-9, but my kids ages 3-10 LOVED THIS!! It is so much fun, but it is a tiny bit messy for a car ride. If you’re like me, you’ll take a little bit of mess that can be easily cleaned up, if it means happy kids on along journeys.

While toddlers cannot do this alone, they can do it if they have an older sibling to help. Theo was able to help Beckham with this activity and it was a huge hit for everyone!

Super Sliding Puzzle

This is one we don’t own, but I’ve been eying it for a little bit. I especially think my 10-year-old would like it! He loves puzzles and this looks really fun, although it is a bit on the pricey side.

3D Mind Puzzle

This 3D puzzle is for ages 3-8 and it looks like a blast! I know that my big kids would love this as much as my 3-year-old, and it’s on my list to purchase as a surprise for our next road trip.

Light Up Pop It Game

What kid doesn’t love pop its? And a pop it game that lights up is an amazing idea. This if or ages 5+ and is one of the best toys for older kids.

Sticky notes

Another creative idea that’s cheap if not free if you have lots of these lying around: sticky notes! Toddlers can go to town sticking them all over the car without consequence… I mean, you do have to clean up a bunch of sticky notes eventually, but it’s a small price to pay.

Rainbow Scratch Pads

There are many different sets of these rainbow scratch pads, and they are one of my kids all-time favorite activities and are perfect for long trips. They do leave a bit of a mess because of the scratch aspect, but nothing a little wet wipe or vacuum can’t take care of.

Magnetic puzzles

This is similar to the magnetic cookie sheet idea above, except that you stick magnets onto the back of puzzle pieces instead. These are a wonderful option for a long car trip.

Here are two options: magnetic farm puzzle or these magnetic animal puzzles .

Magnetic Play Scene

I just purchased this magnetic play scene as a Valentine’s Day present for our toddler, knowing that we have 2 trips coming up (both by air and by car!) and this looks like fun activity for a long trip.

It comes with a magnetic puzzle, a play scene, and a dry-erase pad with some markers.

I’m super excited about it, AND the fact that it is all self-contained!

Here are some other adorable options for magnetic play scenes. These are truly some of the best road trip activities for toddlers!

Here are a few more really fun ones that I found. Please note that some of these are for a three year old and up due to choking hazards. And, depending on your kids ages, some of these magnetic play scenes can be something that the whole family can enjoy.

Magnetic Dress Up Studio

Dress up the girl with magnetic clothes, jewerly, and accessories!

Magnetic Funny Faces

This is like a magnetic Mr. Potato Head. I am tempted to grab this for our next trip because it looks so fun!

Busy bags and busy boxes

A “busy bag” or “busy box” refers to pre-packed activities designed to keep kids’ hands and brains busy, but that leaves it pretty open-ended, right? Check out this post to learn more about how to put a good busy bag together!

However, I do like the idea of using a metal lunch box because you can stick magnets to it, maximizing the number of activities available!

Much like the sticky notes mentioned above, stickers are a great option for toddler entertainment.

A big sticker book with lots of different animals and shapes is always a win!

This obviously depends on the toddler and whether or not they can handle the temptation of plastering the car window with stickers.

Out of my 4 kids, I would trust 2 of them with stickers in the car at this age.

Reusable Sticker Books

Another option if your toddler loves stickers, and you can’t quite trust them with real stickers, is to invest in some reusable stickers like these ones here.

And when I say reusable, I mean, you can wash them and reuse them! They don’t actually have a sticky back and come with a scene to place them on.

I seriously LOVE these sticker pads and they entertain my toddler at home for quite a bit of time. They are a really good option for both younger and older children.

This sticker pad with the roads and rails is also super cute! I am leaning towards the vehicles because my toddlers have always loved vehicles, but they are also availabe in dinosaur , animal , around the town , and fairy tale themes.

And finally, I haven’t tried these, but I have heard great things about these puffy stickers ! There are so many options for reusable sticker pads, and I promise you, they are such an easy way to get hours of entertainment.

Many of these portable ideas benefit from a plastic tupperware container of some sort for easy travel and storage – a mini art kit of crayons and colored pencils is no exception!

Glow Sticks or Glow Bracelets

If you know you’ll be driving as it gets dark, glow sticks are a fun way to shake things up and give them something exciting to play with!

I’ve seen travel kits on Pinterest with normal-sized legos, but personally, I think that’s a little risky… maybe it could work for older toddlers and preschoolers, but for younger kids, I’d use big legos like these!

Edible necklaces and bracelets

String cheerios, Fruit Loops, or another ring-shaped snack food into necklaces and bracelets for a fun snack that keeps their hands busy… and might just minimize the number of cheerios that get all over the backseat!

“Presents”

Break up the monotony of a long car ride with unplanned snacks and activities, given as “presents.” You can even wrap them up for even more fun! Even if it’s a little toy or trinket they already have, the thrill of the unexpected is sure to delight them!

No, seriously: plain old masking or washi tape (so it’s easy to get off of surfaces) works wonders as a car activity for toddlers. They have a ball tearing off pieces and sticking them to things. You may not need to spend a dime on this, but here’s a pack of colored masking tape just in case!

Popsicle stick velcro puzzle

Stick pieces of velcro to the ends of colored popsicle sticks for a simple DIY activity that toddlers can use to make shapes. Alternatively, stick magnets to the ends and use on the cookie sheet from above!

Easter eggs

Whether it’s spring time or not, you can make an easy game out of empty Easter Eggs: fill them with trinkets or snacks, or draw dots on one half with the corresponding number on the other so toddlers can practice number matching!

Another craft supply you might just have on hand that toddlers love: pom poms! Much like pipe cleaners, you can cut holes out of a cardboard box or container and let them have fun poking them through. Just make sure they don’t decide to put them in their mouth.

Matching card games

Practice numbers, letters, pattern recognition, and more with some simple matching card games designed with toddlers in mind!

Pool noodle stacking

Here’s another busy bag idea that could translate well to a road trip, especially if you have a travel tray: cut a pool noodle or two into disks and create a stacking game. This can be color matching, number matching, or just for the fun of stacking something and knocking it over.

Stuffed animals

A favorite stuffed animal, blanket, or lovey is always a good call when it comes to keeping toddlers occupied on long road trips. They can provide some entertainment as well as comfort from home.

Travel Felt Board

Felt boards like this travel set are a great activity for road trips because they’re quiet, reusable, and fun. They are similar to reusable sticker pads and magnetic boards, where the felt will stick to the board and not fall to the ground.

Toddlers can let their imaginations run free and you don’t have to worry about messy clean-up.

Calculators or Old Cell Phones

Seriously, something with buttons that your toddler can press and play with will keep them entertained for hours. Pick up a cheap calculator from the local dollar store or donate an old flip phone and you will not be disappointed with the result!

Car Activities for Toddlers: Final Thoughts

I hope this has given you some fun ideas to entertain your toddler on your next family road trip.

Don’t forget some healthy snacks (and some fun treats!), some good entertainment, and of course, a little bit of screen time.

It is absolutely possible to have a fun, relatively stress-free travel experience with little kids along for the ride. The key is to keep them entertained because if they’re bored, you WILL hear about it.

However, there are definitely more car activities for toddlers out there than the ones I’ve suggested here. If there are any not on this list that you think are also foolproof, feel free to let me know in the comments! Until then, happy travels!

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Girl Comes Home After Crash That Killed 3 Family Members — as Nonprofit Makes Taylor Swift 'Dream' Come True

Aubrey Bogacki was the sole survivor of July 20 crash in Slippery Rock that left her killed her father Nathan and siblings Emma and Grant

Abigail Adams is a Human Interest Writer and Reporter for PEOPLE. She has been working in journalism for seven years.

A young girl who survived a car crash that killed her father and siblings is filled with grief and gratitude as she continues to recover following the tragic incident.

Aubrey Bogacki was hospitalized after the fatal crash on Saturday, July 20, which killed 44-year-old Nathan Bogacki and two of his children, 17-year-old Emma and 13-year-old Grant, according to a GoFundMe set up on behalf of her family.

Aubrey, the sole survivor of the crash, returned home on Thursday, Aug. 8, after spending less than three weeks in the hospital, according to NBC affiliate WPXI .

She was treated for various injuries, including a broken arm, collapsed lung and multiple neck injuries, NBC affiliate WFMJ reported.

Speaking out for the first time, Aubrey, 11, told the station that she was feeling a range of emotions.

"I'm sad and happy at the same time," Aubrey said, explaining that she's sad because of "what I went through," but that she's grateful for all of the "support behind me."

Following the devastating crash, her community came together to support her family, raising over $175,000 as of Monday, Aug. 12.

Additionally, a local nonprofit called Jamie’s Dream Team has stepped up to help make Aubrey’s "dream" of seeing Taylor Swift in concert, a reality.

"Aubrey is strong, and she deserves whatever she wants or what anybody can give her," Jamie Ward, founder of Jamie’s Dream Team — a nonprofit organization that helps dreams come true for those in need — said during an interview with CBS affiliate KDKA .

In addition to getting tickets to see Swift in Indianapolis this November, Aubrey and her mother will also be going to Disney World.

“I just want Taylor Swift to please meet with this girl when she’s in Indianapolis, or give her her hat, do something,” Ward told WPXI . “Make her know that she is loved by somebody that she loves.”

The fatal crash occurred just after 12:30 a.m. local time on July 20. Pennsylvania State Police previously said a 2019 Nissan Altima was traveling on State Road 65 In Slippery Rock Township when it veered off the road.

Everyone inside the car, except for Aubrey, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Initially, Aubrey’s prognosis was not good, according to WPXI. But Nicole Bogacki, Aubrey's mother, told WFMJ her daughter’s recovery has been “unbelievably amazing.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"She progressed so quickly and she fought so hard and never gave up and pushed herself and where she's at today,” Nicole explained.

Meanwhile, Aubrey is looking forward to getting back to full strength. "I wanna start going back on the field for softball," she told WFMJ. "That's my goal."

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40 Best Toys for 6-Year-Olds That Let Their Creativity Shine

Our 6-year-old testers loved playing with these DIY kits, games and coding toys — and they all make great gifts!

We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

But that doesn't meant that all toys geared towards 6-year-olds are created equal — or that kids will like whatever you throw at them. To help separate the best of the best, the Good Housekeeping Institute tests toys with toy experts, parents and, most importantly, 6-year-olds themselves, with winners earning a Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award . This year, these rose to the top as the best toys and gifts for 6-year-olds in 2024.

Our Top Picks

• The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination Picture Book , $12 at amazon.com
• Air Hogs Zero Gravity Sprint RC , $20 at amazon.com
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• Crazy Forts Master Builder , $60 at amazon.com
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Whether you're looking for gifts for 6-year-old boys , gifts for 6-year-old girls or gifts for any other elementary schooler in your life, these are sure to be a hit!

Just My Style Tinsel Hair Stylist Studio

Now kids can get in on the "fairy hair" trend without a trip to the salon. This kit comes with nine bundles of tinsel strands that are each 10 inches long, so they can be cut to fit. It also comes with some other fun add-ons, like hair beads, elastics, clips and hair pins. Good Housekeeping kid testers say they loved the way it looked! Ages 6+

Tightrope Game

This game involves balancing marbles on twisted rubber bands, which means it tests players' logic and hand-eye coordination. Good Housekeeping Institute testers say this game is truly a challenge and is great for those who like to flex those problem-solving muscles. Ages 6+

Crazy Forts Master Builder

Let them build something they can actually crawl inside with this fort-building set. It comes with rods and connectors, plus plans to help them make structures like an igloo or a rocket ship if they don't want to come up with their own designs. You do have to provide the sheets to drape over them. Ages 5+

Skillmatics Storybook Art Kit

This kit helps kids realize their dreams of writing their own illustrated stories, and it includes helpful items to get them started, like prompts, suggested vocabulary lists, stickers and markers. Kid tester especially loved filling out the "about the author" section. It comes in different themes, including adventures , animals , space and unicorns and princesses . Ages 5+

Air Hogs Zero Gravity Sprint RC Car

This car may be small, but kids will be wowed when it drives up the wall and even onto the ceiling! And yet, it won't damage the paint on the walls. Ages 4+

The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination

With this picture book, kids are deputized to be come special agents of imagination, sharing their creativity and stories with the rest of the world. The Good Housekeeping Institute testers were won over by the incredibly detailed illustrations. "My kids especially loved the labeled map of the imagination office,” one parent reviewer said. Ages 4 – 8

RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Awards

Hello Kitty Dreamland Sleeping Plush

It's Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year, and what better way to celebrate than adding another plush to a collection. This one is really big — 18 inches — which makes it perfect for snuggling up to at night. "It's so cute, big, soft and huggable," one kid tester said. In addition to Hello Kitty, there are friends available, like Kuromi and Cinnamoroll . Ages 0+

Fingerlings Adopt Me Animals

This toy combines two of their favorite things: Fingerlings and Roblox's red-hot Adopt Me game. Kids can now collect their virtual friends in real life. You can get either a puppy or a bat dragon , and each one has the 40-or-more reactions and sounds that Fingerlings are known for. Ages 5+

3Doodler Start+ Essentials 3D Pen Set

Introduce them to the world of 3D printing with this pen set. It creates plastic that hardens immediately but is not hot to touch! Kid testers really liked it, and even their parents noticed how much time they spent engaging with it . One note: Keep the end of the stylus clean, so it won't jam up. Ages 6+

Fun With DIY Puffy Charms

For kids who like to personalize everything, this kit comes with what they'd need to make more than 130 puffy stickers. They can then use them to make charm bracelets, decorate notebooks, dress up shoelaces and more. Ages 6+

Dash Coding Robot

Using one of five free apps, kids can code Dash to hurl LEGO bricks like a catapult, get it to act like an animal or drive like a delivery truck. As kids grow and really get into coding, they can do more advanced things using coding concepts like loops, events, conditions and sequences . Ages 5+

Marching Band Two-Sided Puzzle

You get two puzzles in one with this jigsaw set: One side features an illustration of a marching band, while the other is a grid of the instruments used in that band, so they can show off their musical knowledge. It comes with 100 pieces, which makes it a good challenge for 6-year-olds. Ages 6+

LEGO 100 Years of Disney Animation Icons

Disney fans and LEGO collectors will both thrill to this Seal-holding set, which lets them make Disney-inspired LEGO art that they can hang on their walls. Builders can actually make 72 different characters from the included pieces, and they can make a nine-face collage for the wall and three individual plates for others. Then, they can swap out and re-build whenever they like! Ages 6+

Tech Deck Sk8 Crew 2-in-1 Transforming Ultra Sk8 Bus

If the Olympics got them all fired up about skateboarding, keep up their interest with this play set. This bus opens up to reveal three different ramps that kid can send the figure through, using the skateboard as a fingerboard. Kid testers like the colors, the build of the ramps and the fact they they could store the pieces inside to bring to relatives' houses. Ages 5+

Good Housekeeping Kids Cook!

The experts from the Good Housekeeping Institute test kitchens have developed more than 100 simple recipes that kids can try at home. They'll be whipping up everything from smoothies to lasagna based on the easy-to-follow instructions. Ages 6+

Sonic Tornado Biplane with Action Figure

Kids can take their Sonic adventures off of screens and into the real world with this airplane play set. The propeller spins, the wheels move and the plane plays music from the Sonic series at the push of a button. They'll be so excited to receive it in the run-up to S onic the Hedgehog 3 this December. Ages 3+

The pieces of this DIY set are actually plastic tiles that interlock , kind of like a 3D puzzles, and building them can help improve fine motor skills as well as hand-eye coordination. The kit also includes LED string lights to make each creation glow in the dark. Each single kit (sold separately) can make three different projects, and when they're done, they'll love displaying it in their room. Ages 6+

Iggy Peck's Big Project Book for Amazing Architects

For kids who like art and engineering, this is an activity book with a city-planning twist. Modeled after the character in Iggy Peck, Architect , the activities encourage kids to think big (imagine a new cityscape, or what dwellings would look like on Mars) and small (design building details, like a gargoyle). Ages 4+

Genius Starter Kit

Pair this kit with a tablet to bring game pieces and play to life. No Wi-Fi is necessary to start playing the included games , you just need the app, the IRL tiles and pieces and a child who's ready to learn. They can play five games and improve their skills in numbers, Tangram puzzles and words at their own pace, since the games are designed with beginner and expert levels in mind. This kit is for the iPad, but Osmo also makes kits compatible with Fire tablets . Ages 6+

Pixicade Unlimited Mobile Game Maker

Kids step into the role of video game designer with a set that melds the real and virtual worlds together. First, kids draw out their levels — including characters, obstacles, hazards, goals and movable objects — on paper with markers. Then they can scan their drawing into an app that'll turn it into a playable level, which they can then tweak and add power-ups. Good Housekeeping Institute testers were amazed to see their creations come to life! It's for ages 6+, but kids younger than 10 probably need adult help. Ages 6+

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother . She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found dominating the audio round at her local bar trivia night or tweeting about movies.

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Recent ohio college grad shot dead in taco bell drive-thru by stranger in murder-suicide.

An Ohio woman in line at a Taco Bell drive-thru with her dog was fatally shot before the gunman turned the gun on himself in a shocking murder-suicide Wednesday night.

Megan Keleman sat in the driver’s seat as she ordered food at the fast food chain when Jason Williams, 53, rammed the rear of her car just before 7:20 p.m. in Stow, Ohio, according to police.

The 25-year-old, who graduated from Cleveland State University in May, told a Taco Bell employee on the other end of the speaker to call 911.

Williams had exited his car and shot Keleman before shooting himself, Stow Police Chief Jeffrey Film said Thursday at a press conference, according to Cleveland19 .

Witnesses told detectives that the gunman began blowing his horn at Keleman after she pulled in front of him entering the drive-thru line.

Both Keleman and Williams were pronounced dead at the scene.

The Summit County Medical Examiner identified both and noted Keleman was a homicide victim and died from gunshot wounds to the neck.

Williams’ death was ruled a suicide from a gunshot to the head.

“We have no information to indicate that the two subjects knew each other,” Film said

“As chief of police and a community leader, I would like to say that this is a true tragedy. Not only the Kelemans lost a daughter, but we as a community lost one of our daughters.”

Police discovered during their investigation that Keleman had called her father, presumably after her car was struck, according to bodycam footage obtained by the outlet.

“I’m gonna stay on the line, I’m coming right up there,” Keleman’s father can be heard telling an officer.

Police have not discovered a motive behind the tragic shooting and “may never know why.”

Keleman’s family said they were “enduring an immensely painful loss” following the death of their daughter.

“We appreciate the community’s support and hope that our request for privacy will be honored so that we can continue to focus on supporting each other through this difficult period,” the family said in a statement.

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While Film said Williams had only one OVI arrest on his record, he was arrested in April for several offenses including a weapons charge.

He was indicted on April 14 for improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and or drugs, according to court records viewed by The Post.

He was released on a $5,000 bond in May, under the condition of not possessing any firearms, WOIO reported.

Keleman earned her Masters degree in Business Administration from CSU in May. She majored in Finance and Financial Management Services and was described as an “active leader on campus.”

She helped lead campus tours, organized student orientations around CSU and served as the editor-in-chief of the university’s student newspaper, “The Cauldron.”

“We send our deepest sympathies to Megan’s family, friends and loved ones. We have lost a caring, engaged and optimistic member of the CSU community,” CSU President Dr. Laura Bloomberg said.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to  SuicidePreventionLifeline.org .

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