Ideas for things to entertain a 2.5 year old while travelling

[snowgirl1]

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for what to take to keep a 2.5 year old entertained while travelling?

When DS was that age, we had a portable dvd player and all his favourite dvds. Also lots of snacks and a few new toys (I went to Poundland and bought a few). Good luck!

It depends what type transport really and your attitude towards using electronic gadgets. A tablet with downloaded peppa pig would work brilliantly for dd on car and plane journeys. ss would a portable dvd player. But as we have neither of these we use a mix of books, colouring books and games on my phone.

There are lots of suitable games for iPad such as 'Dear Zoo', 'Monkey Lunchbox', 'Nighty, Night'.

My 2.7 DD loves sticker books and I always let her choose a magazine for a long journey.

Oh, snap cards are popular too for a plane.

Little boxes of books, sticker books, travel etch a sketch type things - all helped with my lively boys!

Thanks everyone. I hadn't even thought of using the ipad so that she can watch things - doh! Some episodes of Peppa Pig would probably keep her happy for hours, given the chance.

We have snap cards so I'll take those and get some sticker books especially for the trip. We also have a travel etch-a-sketch which she was a bit too small for last year, so will take that along this year too.

Books - like 1000 baby words - lots to see. Also download episodes of things from I player on to ipad.

It's been a Godsend for me. I do a four hour car journey to see my parents with my 2.7 year old.

She sleeps for an hour or so. I stop at services and set up Peppa and some snacks and she's happy.

It is especially hypnotic if they don't watch TV all the time so back to back Peppa is a treat!

DD gets car sick very fast and therefore magazines, activity books, reading, colouring etc are all out. A DVD is ok if we drive the motorway but not A-routes or even worse country lanes.

So we are used to hearing endless story tapes and music CDs. She also learned early to be a bit bored or invent stories herself she tells her teddy she normally has in the car.

Making an interesting stop down the route like a Nation Trust place (we are members) to run around or even softplay when it was pouring down with rain once is an intensive to get her going.

If you are not on your own playing I spy or making sentences out of number plate letters is a way to spend the time.

How are you travelling?

If by rail, then colouring-in and books were always really good. If you do put Peppa on the ipad, then PLEASE for the love of god, make her wear earphones.

For local journeys by public transport, even long ones (up to two hours), we'd look at the tube maps, read adverts, count tube stops, all that kind of thing. It was really enjoyable, it accidentally got DS reading very early, and he's still a whizz at planning journeys.

Car journey, DS would look out of the window (otherwise he'd barf) and chat!

We have a travel aquadoodle or small magnetic drawing things. I think the magnetic drawing boards that she had from in-laws might have come from somewhere like poundland or similar. Otherwise, I agree with books, Peppa Pig or other ipad/ phone apps aimed at her age.

Endless loops of Julia Donaldson audiobooks on the ipod got us through the worst of the journeys we've done. Now DS1 has a younger brother they just pull faces at each other and demand food all the time

We have a nursery rhymes CD (free from ELC) which has been invaluable in the car. My now 2.5 yr old would stop grizzling as soon as we put it on from a very young age. It's still very popular now, and we all sing along. It hasn't become TOO tedious yet . . .

IPad, but ONLY if she also uses child headphones otherwise it'll drive you screaming round the bend

We recently did a long train journey (5.5 hours) and I planned lots of different things to do and plenty of snacks. Pound shops are a great source of activities: stickers, colouring in, draw your own jigsaw, little toy cars, Mister Maker app on the Kindle. Mixed in a good long nap ( in the pushchair in the 'lobby' between carriages) and a spot of walking up and down the whole train and we had a remarkably good trip.

I regularly do 11hour flights on my own with my two (aged 2months and 3yrs, now 2.5yo and 5.5yo)

iPad, snacks, colouring, repeat. Works especially well if we hide the iPad and seriously reduce tv time in the week before journeying. DD (the younger one) is fine watching with the sound off because I made her think there's no sound and DS wears earphones

We're flying then driving. Thanks for all the ideas!

My two are similar age and won't watch a Disney film yet (although friends kids with older siblings seem to), but they love half-hour animations like The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom, plus a lovely one I found called Lost and Found.

I only recently discovered the button on the iPad that means episodes of Peppa play continuously too!

Don't forget you can download things from CBeebies/iplayer for a week or two, so you don't need wifi to play them.

We also have an iPad case which fits to the back of the front seats in the car so they can watch on for long car journeys.

I don't have many children's apps, but I do have a drawing app which dd loves.

At the other end of the scale we took two of those foil windmills you get on the beach for quizzing around long empty corridors in the airport to tire them out!

Fuzzy felt!

Retro but very plane friendly.
I didn't give my kids loads of interesting new toys as they would get too hyper.

Too much ipad an make your eyes tired.

I used to travel with three under four years on my own on 11 hour flights. It was always ok. I used to drug mine though. It was in the good old days when it wasn't disapproved of. I just gave them a little if they needed it to help them nod off. .

As soon as they were old enough they had gameboys and I was very lenient about how long they could play if we were flying. It used to put them in a trance much like, I imagine, endless peppa pig episodes would.

This water magic book and a cheapie magnadoodle thingy picked up in Aldi were invaluable on our recent lengthy car journey to Ireland. We also had the iPad stocked with DVDs but it only came out towards the end of each journey when we were desperate

Peppa Pig is banned on our iPad though, DD is not old enough for earphones and I cannot cope with the endless snorting

Agree with lots of what's been said already. In the car, we have loads of story CDs, practically the entire Julia Donaldson catalogue plus Mog, The Cat in the Hat and lots of others. Mostly they have music/sound effects etc so keep a little one interested. The Julia Donaldson ones also come with songs. My 3 year old demands a story every time we get in the car now.

This came out of the kids being bored in the car one day and I started reciting some of their favourite stories (the ones I have read so many times I know them backwards). I could still do this but buying the CDs is the lazy way and maybe more interesting because of the music etc.

I read a great idea for the car which I have never got round to doing but sounds great, of making a spotting board with pictures of things to look out for on the journey e.g tractor, sheep, bridge, yellow car and get them to colour them when they see them, or put a sticker on or just tick them off. Right, I am determined to do that next time I plan a long car journey...

Oh, thanks - lots more ideas. Love the idea of fuzzy felt - remember it fondly from when I was a child!