Travel Products to Keep Kids Entertained Series: Music Inspires & Entertains

Continuing Tropical Family Travel’s series reviewing products that keep our children entertained during travel time and even inspire interaction, we have tested some audio products that are certain to keep your little one occupied and even provide cultural inspiration.

In the last article, we encouraged a DVD as a must-have travel product. To accompany a portable DVD player, one "must-have" travel accessory is a collection of kid-friendly music options. Using the DVD as a CD player allows parents to listen to their preferred choice of music while kids listen to their favorites, although admittedly there are some fun music choices that the entire family can listen to and result in a family sing-along!

One of our favorite CDs we listened to is “Let’s Go! Travel, Camp, and Car Songs by Susie Tallman and friends. Produced by Rock Me Baby Records, this iParenting Media award-winning CD has 26 songs which if played continuously lasts about an hour. These songs bring back childhood memories of road trips and camping outings. A couple of favorites on the “Let’s Go!” CD include “Polly Wolly Doodle”; “Going on a Bear Hunt”; and “Ain’t Gonna Rain No More”. Retails for $13.99 at www.rockmebabyrecords.com.

Another set of CDs our toddler loved listening to (and car dancing to) is KOCH Records re-releases of two Sesame Street music collections, “Hot! Hot! Hot! Dance Songs” and “The Best of Elmo!”. Needless to say, it would not matter what Elmo sang, our 3-year-old loved both CDs. However, “Hot, Hot, Hot”; “The Lambaba!”; “Happy Tappin’ with Elmo”; and “Sing” were a few favorites. The Sesame Street CDs retail for $11.98 each and are available at major retailers including Wal-Mart, Amazon and Itunes.

Our little one also likes the Wiggles and she was entertained by the Wiggles new dance-inspired CD released this summer by KOCH Records titled “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”. There are 19 songs and some of our toddlers (and ours) favorites are the Caribbean classic “Day-O (aka The Banana Boat song); “The Shimmie Shake!” and “La Bamba”. This toe-tapping CD retails for $11.98 and is available at major national retailers including Target, Walmart, Amazon and Itunes.


Let’s just say that “drama” runs in the family, so I was excited to see how our toddler would react to the newly re-released CDs from The Broadway Kids by KOCH Records including “The Broadway Kids Sing America” and “Back on Broadway”. These CDs did not keep our toddler’s attention as long as the others, but she did love the songs she recognized from popular Disney movies including "I Just Can’t Wait to be King" and “Beauty and the Beast”. I am excited though to build her repertoire! On the America-inspired CD, she liked “This Land is Your Land” and “New York, New York”. Retails for $9.98.

From an organizational stand point, consider purchasing a CD wallet, such as Atlantic Metro Series, which holds 32 CDs and DVDs. This is a small square size and under $10 at Walmart.com. This size is easy to store in the car or take with you in your purse or carry-on bag and it ensures you take your child’s favorite songs and movies. TIP: Be sure you know how many entertainment products you take with you so you are sure to not leave any behind.

Other products that can be educational and entertaining for kids are books and games. Next, Tropical Family Travel will take a look at some products to consider taking on your next trip, or in some cases some items you might want to use before you go!

--Jenn Thomas