How to Keep Kids Happy on Long Journeys (Without Screens)
"Are we nearly there yet?"
The Summer isn’t over yet and if you're planning to squeeze in one last long car journey, train trip or airport queue before it’s gone, you already know that question is coming — usually about eleven minutes in! And while the tablet can feel like the only answer, it often ends in a flat battery, a car-sick tummy, or a meltdown when it's time to switch off.
The good news? Little ones can be genuinely happy on a long journey without a screen — it just takes a bit of gentle planning. Before I started Fun Printables 4 Kids, I worked as a nursery nurse, and the same trick that works in a nursery works in the back seat: little ones don't need constant entertainment, they need variety.
Here's what actually works.
1. Think in 20-minute bursts
No activity needs to last the whole journey — it only needs to last about twenty minutes, because that's roughly how long most young children will focus on one thing. So instead of packing one big activity, pack five or six small ones and rotate. When interest fades, swap — don't push. A journey of two hours is really just six short activities with snacks in between, which feels far more doable for everyone.
Keep a couple of activities back as surprises, too. Something new appearing at hour three works wonders.
2. The clipboard trick
A cheap clipboard is the single best piece of travel kit I know. It turns a lap into a table — somewhere sturdy to colour, draw and play paper games without pencils rolling into the footwell. Clip a small stack of pages on, tie a pencil to the clip with string, and you've got a portable activity station that costs a couple of pounds.
If you laminate favourite pages and pack a whiteboard pen, they wipe clean and can be used again and again — all journey, and on the way home too.
3. Let them pack their own activity bag
The night before, give your little one a small bag and let them choose what goes in — a few toys, crayons, a comfort teddy, a couple of activity pages. Children are far more excited about a bag they packed themselves, and choosing is half the fun. You quietly keep veto rights (and sneak in the surprises), but the ownership is theirs. Bonus: they're in charge of carrying it.
4. Quiet games that need nothing at all
For the moments when everything's been dropped, finished or lost under a seat, keep a few no-kit games up your sleeve: I Spy for little ones ("something that is red"), the counting game (who can spot ten lorries first?), the quiet game (who can stay quiet for the longest - bliss), storytelling chains where each person adds a sentence, and "guess the animal" with yes/no questions. These cost nothing, work anywhere, and are often the bit of the journey everyone remembers.
You don't have to do it all
One clipboard, a handful of small activities and a couple of back-pocket games is plenty. You're not there to be the in-flight entertainment — a happy journey is one where everyone arrives calm-ish, fed, and still friends. If a nap happens somewhere in the middle, that counts as an activity too.
If you'd like a head start on filling the activity bag, my Sunshine & Sandcastles Activity Pack contains more than 40 pages including spot the difference, mazes, wordsearches, bingo and quiet colouring sheets — all ready to print, clip and go, in both A4 and US Letter. Print, pop them on the clipboard, and enjoy a few peaceful miles.
Safe travels — and happy printing!
Lucy x
Fun Printables 4 Kids
