Keeping Kids Occupied When Traveling Series: Activity-Based Product Recommendations

Tropical Family Travel continues its series of product recommendations to keep kids occupied and entertained when traveling. Selecting enough activities/books/toys/games coupled with not over-packing is a challenge. To keep kids calm and happy, think of what interests them at home. Does your child like to read? Does your child prefer more activity-based projects? By what means are you traveling?

For air travel, we only take what will fit into a backpack used as our child’s carry-on and for car trips, we have a larger toy bag with surprises.

The anticipation of a trip for a child can be like Christmas, so, it is advisable to not share tales about the upcoming journey too soon, but there are products that help prepare your child for their vacation and build excitement. Two of our favorites tested include the following:

Pretend & Play® World Traveler: This kit helps kids get inspired about traveling. The packaging is very unique and creative and features airplane/train/bus tickets, a passport, maps, different currencies, photo journal and more. Ages 3-7; Retail price: $32.95 at www.scholastic.com

10 Days in the USA: This interactive and educational game is part of a series (Asia and Africa are two other games available) and helps youth learn about traveling and destinations. Using different transportation means, this game will get your child ready for any adventure. Ages 10+; Retail price: $24.99 at www.otb-games.com

Once families are in the “are we there yet?” stage, here are some activity-based ideas that are sure to not disappoint for different age groups.

Infants: PLAYSKOOL’s Shake, Rattle & Roll Teether: This teether is compact, easy to grip and provides many textures and colors to entertain baby with sights and sounds. Available at CVS/pharmacy locations. Retail price: $4.49

Toddlers: A couple of childhood classics are available in travel-size products. The pocket-size Magna Doodle® and the Etch A Sketch Hot Pocket® are perfect to take on any journey and provide some creative time for kids. Ages 3+, 4+ respectively; Retails for $5.72 and $6.97 respectively at www.minimus.biz

Twisty® Traveling Flash Cards: This has to be one of my favorite discovered travel products. Our 3-year-old took this product with her everywhere and wanted to show everyone as she went through each letter and corresponding word, along with the counting cards. These compact Twisty Cards are very durable, so even a child younger than 3 could benefit from this educational product, and it is all attached on a rotating ring so no cards on the floor! Ages 3+; Retail price, $7.99 at www.munchkin.com

Dr. Seuss Beginner Alphabet Cards: Take along these colorful, learning A-Z flashcards for an interactive activity. These types of cards have been a traveling necessity and are easy to pack, but beware of “26 card pick up” that kids find humorous. Ages 3-5; Retail price, $10.99 at www.scholastic.com

Short Stuffs & Fun with Felt: Two craft-based projects that can provide entertainment fun when traveling are offered by Scholastic. The Short Stuffs is a no sew stuffed animal kit, so safe and results in a travel companion. For Fun with Felt, kids can use their imagination to create animals, bugs and more. While there are a lot of pieces to keep track of, there is no glue or mess involved in their creations and the book has a storage pouch. Ages 4+ for both; Retails for $16.95 and $12.95 respectively at www.scholastic.com

Ariel Stationary Set: FAB/Starpoint has a travel-size activity set that is complete with a pouch, Ariel stickers, a small pad of paper and some colored pencils. The packaging is great and it measures about a 6x9, but the pad of paper is only about the size of a playing card. So, I recommend you supplement this kit by adding some additional paper and extra crayons for the trip. It can be easily packed and is durable to reuse and customize to your needs. Retails for $5.99 at Target.

Polly Pocket: For the older girl who can keep track of lots of pieces, Polly Pocket offers new Pop ‘n Swap Fashion Dolls that is easy to take-along and keep your tween/teen occupied as there are multiple heads, torsos, bottoms to click together creating different outfits. There are 400+ combinations. Retails for $20.

Kids Travel: A Backseat Survival Kit: A full-color book of car-appropriate activities, plus a 100-page game pad and a pouch full of everything you need to do everything described. The only backseat survival kit endorsed by Save the Parents' Sanity Foundation. Ages 6+; Retails for $19.95 at www.scholastic.com

In our final installation of the Keeping Kids Occupied When Traveling Series, Tropical Family Travel takes a look at a few books and games that will not disappoint!