I tried to do the math the other day on how many miles we have spent on the road with West in his four years, but I couldn’t track it all. It’s tens of thousands of miles… Or just a lot? Let’s say a lot.
We love road trips and think they are a really good means of travel with a toddler. You can take breaks. Explore things on the way. No one else is around to judge you and your parenting as you hand over the 100th jelly bean.
We only have only resorted a few times in all those miles to a screen and those were moments of desperation.
West doesn’t even think a screen is an option in the car…. Which is not to say we judge anyone who uses a screen in the car, but for us road trips are about what’s out there to be seen on the road.
So we have honed in on toys that work and toys that work over multiple trips, not just one trick wonders.
Below you will find our favorite road tested toys. Having visited a number of blogs myself looking for road trip toys, I find I run into the same batch of toys over and over again. Many of these you won’t find on those lists and they are the ones that have worked the longest for us. Of note, we usually just bring some kind of tray along for West to play with things that require a surface.
Hex bugs: A few hex bugs on a tray is a great form of entertainment. They also are great in restaurants or trying to see if they offroad on trails.
Young, Wild, and Friedman mini sensory kits: The Young, Wild, and Friedman kits are my new favorite toy in and out of the car. The natural play doh they include doesn’t stick to anything and all the little stamps, creatures, pom poms etc. in each kit can be used in 100 different ways. We have gotten months of use from one of these kits and you can combine different thematic kits to create your own little kit that feels fresh to your kid.
Yoto player: For the past six months, this has been our most used car toy. The Yoto player has different cards that tell stories. The Peppa the Pig and Sesame Street cards are the most popular for West, because they tell short little stories, which are more attention grabbing.
Washi tape: Washi tapes has endless uses. It comes in fun patterns. It can be balled up to make a load for the dump truck. It can be used to make roads on your tray. Sometimes it just tapes all sorts of things up. We love toys that are really modular like this and can be applied in different ways.
Pipe cleaners: Like washi tape, pipe cleaners can be used for anything and everything. You can make masks or crowns. You use them to attach other things in the car. Mostly West just likes to tell me to make different animals and transportation for him testing my creative abilities.
LCD writing tablet: the no mess drawing tablet for your little creator.
Little trucks: We don’t go anywhere without this set of little trucks from Tender Leaf. Again, they are great in the car, but also great when you pull up to a campsite with sand and dirt that needs moving. They are also great in restaurants with the play doh from the Young, Wild, and Friedman kit to make rocks and hurdles.
Clixo magnetic building toy: For some reason, West hasn’t taken to most magnetic toys in the car, which is too bad, because they are great for pieces not getting loose on journeys, but these Clixo building pieces have been great. Again, and you may be catching a theme here, you can do a lot with them. They can be connected into a bed for a stuffed animal, a hat, a tunnel for a car. Plus, they are small and easy to travel with.
