Sharing a tablet in the back of the car and other long car journey ideas ....

[twinkletoes56]

We're planning on driving into Europe for our holiday in August (3 weeks). However they'll be a long drive to get where we're going (Scandenavia) and we have 2 children under 6. We have had relatively long car journies before but the children were a little younger, sleeps were more likely and random toy objects had more appeal.

So, we're thinking of going down the tablet route for the back of the car to shift some time hopefully peacefully. We're up for the proactive eye spy etc approach, audio books etc but there are limits to how much the kids are entertained by these and they get travel sick with books.

We have one tablet in the house which we are very strict with use time on. I would like to try and use this and suspend somehow in the centre for them to wacth jointly rather than buying another 1 or 2 so they have one each. Has anyone had experience of doing this / can advise re how to suspend one? All the gadgets you can buy seem to be for the back seat if you have a 1tablet to one child arranegement??

Also, does anyone have any further experience of how to shift some time in a car.

Thanks

We used to use an in car dvd player that had 2 screens so that both children could watch it in the back. I don't know how you would suspend one tablet tbh

We use one tablet for two children. However, our middle back seat has a little flap of leather across it, so we slide the iPad cover through that and it hangs. Children are rear facing.

I just googled and came across this: www.amazon.co.uk/DIGITRONICS-Rotating-Central-Headrest-Tablets/dp/B00FBMA5KW

Would that be any good?

We use audio books. There are a few for under sixes out there.

Can't add anything to the gadget issue, but one of our most successul time-passing games is a very simple and nameless one. One person starts by announcing what we're all going to look out for (a yellow car/a person with a dog/someone wearing a hat or similar) and then we all try to spot the thing. The person who sees it first gets to choose the next thing to look out for.

Bright and early. That looks great thanks. Funny, I'd looked myself but could only find the ones for the back of a seat (Doh!).

I'm interested to know once you go down the in car screen route is it hard to have periods with it off (on long journies). I'd want to only limit it's use at all to long trips but I can imagine that it might become expected all through a journey and I'm wondering how this would be best managed. It would be still nice to have conversations / interact with the children too!!

Any other none screen tip greatfully accpeted too.

Thanks again.

We only use it for long trips and as we don't travel much that is maybe once every couple of months.

All other journeys are screen-less and the DC are fine, I think they understand the difference.

We have the Amazon one, seems to work well.

We got a headphone adaptor from Amazon. It plugs in the headphone socket on the tablet but has two sockets so you can connect two separate sets of headphones to it. You just need to get them to agree to watch the same thing! Was about £5. Works great.

A non technology idea - colouring in or fuzzy felts using those trays you get with a built in cushion underneath. We even got travel Aquadraw pictures a couple of years ago. Small pictures rather than the big mats.

Thanks. Really helpful. All you can eat- does the tablet rotate so you can start / pause stuff from the passenger seat? I'm just wondering how you access the tablet with two children in the back as a front seated adult if it's clamped in? Will look at fuzzy felts. DH won't allow pens in the car!!

It slides out quite easily to access from passenger seat. But my 5 year old mostly does the pressing of buttons to set up the next movie etc.

If they get sick reading, then they will possibly also have the same reaction to screens. It's something to do with horizon v brain v looking down.

Yes thanks. We have a definite reaction to books so maybe a screen may have the same effect!! Thanks for all the info.