Watching movies in the car

[Anonymous]

My kid listens to music, sings, and looks out the window for anything under 4 hours, so I don't have actual experience, but we do take a tablet on vacation that is pre-loaded with downloaded videos. So, just download them before you go. Then when you get where you're going, delete them and download more for the ride back.

[Anonymous]

We just don’t. They read books or I put an audiobook on the car sound system. They also like the extreme dot to dot book. We do lots of 2 day (8 hr per day driving)road trips. Kids are 5,10,12. No complaints but it is all they know.

[Anonymous]

License plate game, I Spy, books and family conversation. Expose your kid to a world outside a screen.

Signed,
Regular traveler of 8+ hour days, no screens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't. Firstly, that's a GREAT way to get carsick. Secondly, we don't take long car rides. If it's over two hours, we fly.

This response above is so unhelpful and jerky, it's hilarious. It's also dumb. Slow clap for you, snobby jerk PP!


As for me, my 5 1/2yo DC (in a car seat) uses an old iPad with downloaded content (loaded up pre-trip) and headphones. The iPad is in a soft foam case thing with holes on the sides; I use a very short bungee cord to attach the iPad underneath the headrest (as in, around the base of the headrest if that makes sense) of the front seat. I move the front seat back so the iPad is at a close but comfortable distance for DC to use it and not have to hold it and potentially drop it. It works great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They have these things called books. And games. Try those?

Also, it's OK for kids to be bored on long car rides.

Yeah, nobody does that anymore. I see kids on phones and tablets at the grocery store, restaurants, in strollers on walks. It's really kind of pathetic. I'm old enough to remember trans-pacific flights with one lousy movie that you could barely see (flights were over 10 hrs, two legs), and now everyone freaks out if they have to fly 3 hrs with iPads.

I have tweens and no devices. They’ve been great travel companions.

[Anonymous]

We got wifi service for our car. Mercedes come with ready to go hotspot you can pay monthly via TMobile. I bet most car companies offer one

[Anonymous]

Let your kids get bored, people! They don't need entertainment every possible minute. Ok ok we do do audiobooks for really long drives, but at least they can still look out the window. Isn't part of the point of a road trip to observe the country?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let your kids get bored, people! They don't need entertainment every possible minute. Ok ok we do do audiobooks for really long drives, but at least they can still look out the window. Isn't part of the point of a road trip to observe the country?

No, sometimes it’s so save on airfare for a family of five traveling to visit extended family at the peak traveling times driving through the same boring landscape every time. Let us have our entertainment.

[Anonymous]

A pipe cleaner attached to my headrest and hooked onto the popsocket of my phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let your kids get bored, people! They don't need entertainment every possible minute. Ok ok we do do audiobooks for really long drives, but at least they can still look out the window. Isn't part of the point of a road trip to observe the country?

No, sometimes it’s so save on airfare for a family of five traveling to visit extended family at the peak traveling times driving through the same boring landscape every time. Let us have our entertainment.

I think you highlighted why the PP above you said what they said.

[Anonymous]

We have a few shows downloaded on the iPad. Agree with the PPs who say to not depend on the screens though. We regularly drive 10+ hours without any screens and have some great conversations with our kids that we’d miss out on otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't. Firstly, that's a GREAT way to get carsick. Secondly, we don't take long car rides. If it's over two hours, we fly.

Thanks for this comment. WHAT would do without you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amazon Fire and kid downloads shows before we leave.

+1
I also turn on the hot spot on my phone for use on the Amazon Fire Kindle in case they want to watch something different or play online games. The Kindle is shared and attached between our headrests. They both get car sick to some degree, so they wear motion sickness bands and take breaks from the screen. I make sure they pack other distractions.

[Anonymous]

One ipad, two sets of headphones with a splitter for the ipad. Download movies before we go.

[Anonymous]

Just download before you go. A basic Amazon kindle now can be gotten with plenty of space to download a few movies.

Also, before you go, visit the library and grab some books you know they'll be interested in.