Long distances in the car with little humans gives me anxiety. I try my very best to be as prepared with all the snacks, toys, music, activities so that when the dreaded whining begins I have something to keep their mind off sitting still in the car. In our family once you hear “I wanna get out” its downhill from there. Here are my toddler road trip essentials, including toys, music, games and movies that help keep my kiddos entertained.
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Toddler Road Trip Essentials: Snacks
Snacks are a nonnegotiable. I get snacky on roadtrips too, so snacks that work for both adults and children are a toddler road trip essential. There have been a few times when I only packed kid snacks and then guess who got the grumpiest? Hangry runs in the family. I break my snacks into 2 categories, Healthy(ish) and Treats. I push the healthy snacks first to a) fill the kiddos bellies up with a balance of protein, carbs and fats and b) because I know if they know I have treats, no one is going to choose the apple slices. Also, the hope is that there are less tantrums and sugar crashes because they have eaten real food.
Now for the treats, I bust those out when we are about to lose our minds. Emergency snack intervention! I choose treats that take them a little time to eat too so that it keeps them busy for a while and buys us parents some peace and quiet. I definitely don’t pack allllll of these snacks for every roadtrip, but I do think that you can never have too many snacks. Heaven forbid you run out with an hour left of your drive. BUT maybe that is a sign to pull over, take a break and get a milkshake J Here are our favorite road trip snacks:
Healthy(ish)
- Sliced apples
- Cheese sticks
- Gold Fish Crackers
- Veggie Straws
- Mandarin oranges (I keep the peel on so they take a minute or two to unpeel it!)
- Frozen yogurt tube
- Fruit leather
- Pb&J folded over sandwich
- PB and tortilla roll up
- Apple sauce pouch
- Granola bar
- Pirates Booty
- Sliced strawberries
- Freeze dried fruit
Treats
- Dunkeroos
- Halloween M&M Packs
- Fruit by the Foot
- Kinder Surprise Eggs
- Yum Earth Lollipops
Toddler Road Trip Essentials: Toys
Currently, our vehicle has slightly too many toys in it, I’ll be honest. I do have a handy tote that sits on the seat in-between the car seats with multiple compartments. It is perfect for books, coloring supplies and toys. Of course, all of these items end on the floor after a long drive, but it is a great way to organize road trip toys. Yes, I do still have to dislocate vertebrae in my back to reach the toys and pass them to the children while I am in the passenger seat, but doesn’t everybody have to do that?
- Water Wow – These are great because kids color with water and then once they dry they can do it again!
- Books – I typically pack sturdier books and books that are easy to hold so that they stand up to being crunched
- Barbies/Action Figures – I take toys from inside the house that I know my kids will interact with
- Sticker Pads
- Puffy Adjustable
- Faces
- Notebook with dollar store sticker sheet
- Coloring Book with new marker/pens
- Coloring Books
- Markers (if you child can put lids on)
- Or twistable crayons
- Mess Free Coloring Books
- Small Dollar Store Animals – I usually have a backup stash of little plastic animals if none of the 25 other things are doing it
Pro Tip: Peel off the sticker around the sticker before handing your kiddo the sticker sheet. This will make it easier for them to peel off each sticker!
Toddler Road Trip Essentials: Podcasts
Ok you are plowing through the snacks, and the kids are already bored of their toys. Storytime to save the day (or atleast help you get through the next 30 minutes)! These are the podcasts I save to my phone that my kids love and are excited to listen to:
- Story Time with Josh & Blue (Apple Podcasts App & Amazon Music)
- Disney Storytime Playlist (Amazon Music)
- Super Simple Podcast (Apple Podcasts App)
Pro Tip: Download a crime doc or non-kid audio book to listen to on your phone while driving. Give one wireless ear bud to your partner. Listen together and prevent the Cocomelon songs turning your brain to mush.
- If you are in the mood for murder….Dateline
- If you are in the mood for ridiculous chatter….This Past Weekend With Comedian Theo Von (language)
- If you are in the mood for positive healing… On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Toddler Road Trip Essentials: Music
Our kids love listening to “Kid Music” whenever we are the car. Sometimes all it takes is their favorite songs and a toy to play with and they are happy and occupied for longer than expected. Sometimes we even take turns picking a song so that everyone’s music needs are heard and met.
Playlists we have on repeat:
- Disney Junior (Amazon Music)
- Feeling Silly Playlist (Amazon Music)
- Movie Specific Playlists – here are a few that are actually pretty decent to listen to
- Disney’s Decendants
- Frozen
- Moana
- Sing
- Sing 2
- Trolls
- The Super Mario Bros
Pro Tip: Create an adult friendly playlist that the whole family can listen to. We named ours “Smiley Faces”.
Toddler Road Trip Essentials “Smiley Faces” Song List:
- Karma [Clean] by Taylor Swift
- Unstoppable by Sia
- The Greatest by Sia
- Wonderful by Kenzie
- Affirmation Song by Doggyland
- I Love My Body by Mother Moon
- The ABC’s of You The Juicebox Jukebox
- Best Day of My Life by American Authors
- Symphony by Imagine Dragons
- Give Love (Feat. LunchMoney) by Andy Grammer
- Love Myself by Andy Grammer
- Keep Your Head Up by Andy Grammer
- ILY (Family) by Brett Young
- Be Anything by Jaden Michaels
- Shake Your Boots by RaeLynn
- You Need to Calm Down by Taylor Swift
- Born For This by Andy Grammer
- Bring It All Back by S Club
- Speak Life by TobyMac
- Honeybody by Nu Deco Ensemble
- Roar by Katy Perry
- Cover Me In Sunshine by P!nk
- Rainbow by Kacey Musgraves
- High Heels by Flo Rida
- I Feel Like Dancing by Jason Mraz
- The Middle by Jimmy Eat World
- Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
- Happy by Pharrell Williams
- Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae
- Fireflies by Owl City
- Sunshine by Matisyahu
- Kids by One Republic
Check out the Smiley Faces playlist HERE on Amazon Prime Music
Toddler Road Trip Essentials: Tablet
We aren’t strong enough as parents to last on a road trip without some help from the handy dandy tablet. Thus, the tablet is a hero item on our toddler road trip essentials list. The key for us has been to limit the capabilities of the tablet and only download movies and games we are comfortable with. If the tablet helps our kiddos enjoy the drive and as a family we aren’t lunging for each other’s throat by the time we get out of the car, that is a win. Here are our current favorite games to play and movies to watch on the tablet for our young kiddos on a road trip:
- Disney+
- Bear in the Big Blue House Series
- Spidey & His Amazing Friends
- Chicken Little
- Bluey
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
- Netflix
- Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Series
- Lucas the Spider
- Storybots
- Gecko’s Garage
- Games
- PBS Kids Games
- Sago Mini Games (School, Babies, Daycare, etc)
- Khan Kids
- Sesame Street
- Budge Games
- My Little Pony Coloring
Other Activities
- Eye Spy – Classic eye spy is a great game to play when you are getting close to your destination and/or you want the kiddos to take a break from the tablet. If you have forgotten…. “Eye spy with my little eye, something that is (pick an object and name the color)”. The rest of the car takes turns guessing what it could be.
- Alphabet Game – Each person is trying to make it through the alphabet by spotting a word and shouting out that letter. For example: The game starts out with everyone looking for an “A”. I see an “A” on the side of a truck so I shout out the word and then the letter A. The game continues on to B. You can play it as a team or as an individual race.
- What’s in that Semi? – This is a silly imagination game where each person makes a crazy guess at what could be in each semitruck that passes
Make Memories Along the Journey
Something that I heard once, that I loved, but to be honest I am still working on is the idea of “Make memories along the journey”. The idea being don’t just grit your teeth and suffer a car ride, doing anything in your power to prevent stops just to make it to your destination. How much time did you spend in the car that you didn’t enjoy?
All Drive, No Stops
Frequently, we would embark on a four hour drive to spend time with the grandparents. No matter how prepared I was with what I thought were fool proof toddler road trip essentials, there would always be moments of let’s just get there already, kids screaming, parents losing their minds being confined in a small space with demons. After a 4 hour drive with no stops, cranky kids and even crankier parents, everyone is tired and hungry and stinky, we would get to the grandparents’ house and expect ourselves to be our best selves.
This was never the case. I always wanted a quick 30 mins to decompress, to gain my patience back. I think that if we would have forced ourselves to stop at a rest stop or take an early exit to let the kids stretch their legs, look at some subpar historical site or even grab a snack at a gas station then we would have arrived feeling much better.
Get The Milkshake
The idea to not only make memories at the destination but also along the way. A random gas station turned out to have super good milk shakes. Or a funny story where a kids’ blow out had to be changed on a picnic table in the middle of nowhere, but the sun was shining so it was kinda peaceful in a weird way. So not only do I say this to myself, but try and enjoy the time in between home and the destination. The memories start the minute you step out the door. And no not all memories need to be rainbows and perfect children, but if you have just one GOOD ENOUGH memory than it was worth it.
What items are essential for your road trips with toddlers?
