Share the ways you keep your children entertained on long journeys with Vodafone

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Every parent has their own special way of keeping long journeys fun – whether it’s through using devices to watch videos, or involving the whole family through songs and games. As the summer holiday season is in full swing, Vodafone want to know how you keep your children occupied on long trips.

Here’s what Vodafone has to say:
“It’s a glorious summer’s day. You’re stuck in the car and there’s 100 miles still to go. The kids are getting restless. But you know the perfect way to keep them entertained. A sure-fire way to keep them distracted just a little bit longer. That back-pocket ace card that you can play during times like these.

We want to know your secret!”

What’s your trick to keeping your children entertained for most of the journey? Are you a key part of the entertainment (think a family game of ‘I Spy’), or do you let them get on with it and hope for the best? Are there any particularly memorable journeys you’d like to share?

From young children to teens, what are your tips and tricks in keeping them entertained? Share on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where 1 MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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We have done an epic 28 hours drive to holiday in Hungary with our three children, Twice!! So we have plenty of in car games at our fingertips we do the usual i -spy or colour I-spy for younger ones, our family favourite game is the A-Z game where someone chooses a topic, i,e countries, girls/boys names, animals, food, tv shows, music artists, sports etc etc and you go around the car taking a turn to name something beginning with that letter one person answers then the person next to them has to answer for the next letter in the alphabet and so on. We also have a game where you have to make words from the first three letter of car number plates as you pass them

audio books

Top trumps and ispy. We also each choose three songs at a time. Means we get to listen to some of our own music

Playing car games such as 'A to Z' game, where you all try and name different fruits & vegetables for each letter of the alphabet.

My kids ask me to play a game where I ask a simple question and they have to compete to give me the most absurd WRONG answer. It's a right laugh. For example: What drink do you have with breakfast? BLOOD.

Portable dvd player

We had a variation on yellow car, because it was always the same sharp-eyed person who saw them first. If you won two consecutive points for spotting yellow cars, you were "in jail", and had to cover your eyes for two minutes. (The driver did not take part in this game!) You could also send someone to jail if you saw a police car or van.

It depends on what mode of transport we are on. In the car I like to start with some I spy games and on trains colouring books are great. No matter what I plan though it always ends up the same way with them watching movies or playing games on their tablets which I usually frown upon when they are on them for a long time but on long journeys they save all our sanity.

Watching DVD's, playing story tapes, singing car songs (for as long as mummys tolerance lasts!)

Thankfully my kids are older now (secondary school plus) so we don't have endless hours of "are we there yet?" and games of I Spy that we had when they were little - they have their phones with them and tend to either play games or watch Netflix on them during long journeys!

the ipad unfortunately.

Story CDs are a great favourite here, and I-Spy with added amusement when the three year old joins in (I spy something beginning with O, Mummy correctly guesses 'tree'!)

I pack LOTS of snacks! Also the iPad is a godsend!! My kids also love sticker books!

Sadly, watching films on the tablet

our DCs all suffer from travel sickness so we usually just put some music on in the car and we also have a dog so on longer trips we make lots of planned sight seeing stops.

We have audiobooks and try to travel at night so they can be told to sleep.

A good old sing song

ipad, or hubby works for mobile phone company so he and son like to play spot phone masts lol

The ipad with all her favourite shows downloaded and lot's of snacks!

The car game...yellow, mini, beetle, convertible
Name 5 things....5 things you find in the sea..5 types of car..
Their favourite...times tables!! (not)
Count the xmas trees at xmas time

We used to play games like making words containing letters on car number plates. Bingo, crossing off things like a horse, or a post box or a river.

I love how i can give ALMOST exactly the same answer for this as I did for the thread on creativity!

I have a go to list of things for the kids to do if they tell me they've nothing to do:

• play some music
• get out your colours and draw
• read a book
• tell me a story
• show me some of your new moves

Also in the car, we totally still play the old fashioned games of "First to see", "I spy" and "Alphabet Animals/Alphabet Science/Alphabet Anything"

Funnily enough, I never, ever say go and get the tablet!

We take tablets with pre loaded programmes on them, also take colouring books and lego sets. Audio books are a big hit as well.

We listen to the radio and my daughter asks me to sing to her, she also brings plenty of books to read for when she has had enough of mummy's singing

Good ol' I Spy, Yellow Car and various other games. Always have a couple of decks of cards on me, and sketch pads and felt tips. The trick is to have a good half dozen options up your sleeve…