Do you like travelling? Do you usually travel with kids? If the answer is positive, you are in the right place. In this post, you can find out how to keep kids calm and busy during a family trip.
Travel is one of the best ways to open our minds, create memories and live new experiences as a family. Although a family trip is a very demanding project, it is worth it.
That’s why you should try to make all the tiring or boring situations as grumbling-free as possible. Enjoying the trip, the journey, and the experience is important for your family. So, it deserves to live it as well as you can imagine.
From our experience, one of the most challenging things we have to manage while travelling is kids’ impatience. Questions, complaints or requests, such as
- How much time remains until we reach our destination?
- How much time has passed until now?
- When will we reach?
- I am bored
- I am tired
- Mom, water
- Mom, I am hungry
- Mom, he/she is bothersome
- Mom, his leg is next to mine / his arm is in my place…
follow one another.
This is the unpleasant part of the trip. The challenge is to reduce it as much as you can. The success is to make the travelling time, which is the time of great anticipation, bearable or, why not, enjoyable.

After enough trips by car, plane, train, and bus, we have noticed some ways that have helped to keep kids calm and entertained while travelling. These ways have proved successful for short journeys, e.g. driving home after a tiring day or for extended trips or many hours of waiting in an airport or even on a plane.
We present the #tried_and_true tips for stress-free trips below.
1. Play “Yes or No”
Do you know the “Yes or No” game? It is a simple game that needs at least two players. One asks questions, and the other must not say “Yes” or “No” as an answer during the game.
To be more specific, the one is the “leader” who asks questions, and the other is the one who replies. If there are more than two players, one asks each of them the questions he wants, and the others answer. The players who answer the questions must avoid saying “Yes” or “No”. Whoever says “Yes” or “No” loses and gets out of the game until the next round.
For example,
- What’s your name?
- My name is Mary.
- So, you are Mary, aren’t you?
- I am Mary. / She mustn’t answer”Yes, I am”.
- Do you like dogs, don’t you?
- I do like dogs.
- Do you have a dog called Fluffy?
- No, I don’t. / She says “No”, so she loses.
This is a small abstract of the “Yes or No” Role Playing. And when it takes more than 10-20 questions, it’s a great way to ask and learn things you wouldn’t easily ask directly. For example, you can question
- You argued with your friends last week, didn’t you?
- Your best friend revealed a secret to other classmates, didn’t he/she?
2. Play “Who Can See What”
It is like Bingo, but you don’t have to print or plan anything. For example, if you drive through city roads, you can ask questions such as:
- Who can see a green bin?
- Who can see a red umbrella?
- Who can see a yellow car?
- Who can see two red bicycles?
If you are driving in the countryside, you can ask questions, such as:
- Who can see a small church?
- Who can see a tree that looks like a gigantic tear?
This game helps kids be more observant. Also, in the end, you may decide to guess something about the item you are talking about and make tales, so you cultivate your imagination.

3. Tell a story with three words
Two persons are enough to play this game. However, when there are more players, the game can be funnier. Our children love it! It has helped us have a lovely time while travelling, waiting in a queue, in a restaurant or under an umbrella on a sunny summer day.
One player gives three or more words. The other participant must tell a short story that contains the specific words. The clue is “More words, more complex story”, “funnier words, funnier story”.
When the children are young enough or even toddlers, two or three given words are enough. As they grow up, their vocabulary gets rich, so they can also suggest words. You can also increase the amount of given words. A good idea is for each player to tell a short tale that continues the previous one. In this way, you will collaborate to make a fairy tale, your family fairy tale!
The oldest child can write it at the end of your trip. Of course, you can add your fairy tale to your trip journal to keep more memories.
4. Make a poem
As kids grow up, their vocabulary gets richer. So it’s always a good idea to “work” with it. You may say a word and challenge your co-travellers to make a small poem with this word. Of course, all the players may give the initial word or create the poems in their turn. This game may be funny, but it is also a means to cultivate the imagination and the use of speech. And it’s a fact that the progress you see in the kids after some rounds may be fantastic!
Beyond the above ideas, music, audiobooks, and fairy tales may always be effective ways to keep kids entertained. However, we focused on interactive games or ideas, many of which may result in enjoyable or intriguing discussions and create funny memories.
If you have read all the options above, you can now choose those that may work better for your family and give us your feedback!

Reminder: You may choose different ways to keep kids entertained while travelling! We would love to know them. Come on, share them with us!
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