Can you travel with kids and stay (mostly) screen free?

Is travelling with kids and staying screen-free possible? Absolutely. Does it take some effort? Yes. Does it take a whole lot of patience? For sure. Is it worth it? That's up to you. Did we manage? Not completely. Did we enjoy our holiday? Most definitely! 

Let me start by saying that we are not a screen-free house but I limit what my kids watch quite a bit (they are 3 and 5 years old). We don't have any screens on from Monday to Thursday. On Friday and weekends we have TV on while I prep dinner and that's it. My kids don't really play video games, so luckily that isn't an issue (yet). Maybe your kids watch a lot less or none at all. Maybe your kids watch way more. I'm an advocate of everyone doing what works for them, but I assume if you are still reading this then you have some interest in living semi-screen free.

When we headed off on holiday last month, I was hoping to still keep our screen time to a minimum. I flipped through and examined a lot (A LOT!) of different activity books, so I wanted to share our favourites. These books helped entertain my kids for long periods of time in the car, in the airport lounge and on the airplane. I'll be honest - we brought iPads with us too, loaded with educational apps and Netflix (because sometimes you just need a bit of Netflix!). We all know there can be moments of travel that are stressful and that you can't be fully engaged with the kids (reading maps to find a hotel is top of my list for pulling out the iPad!). In the long run though, the books were still far more engaging for the kids, even if it meant that there needed to be some parental involvement (especially with my 3 year old). I've long given up the idea of uninterrupted personal time, so overall it was a smooth journey! 

Let us know if you have enjoyed any of the books on our favourites list. Also, do you have any we are missing? I love good activity book, so please share yours with us!

The links provided below are affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase there is not extra cost to you but we will receive a small percentage. It also means you are supporting this mama and allowing her to keep running this blog and website! 

​Lonely Planet Kids Adventures in Famous Places
This particular book is part of a larger series. Each one is packed with activities, colourful illustrations and beautiful re-usable stickers that have corresponding pages to go on.  I love the world wide cultural aspect of Lonely Planet books, as they are filled with facts and cool learning tidbits. It's especially fun to read about travel while you are actually travelling too! Others in the series include Adventures in Busy Places, in Cold Places, in Wild Places, in Noisy Places and Smelly Places. 

Stickers are at times too large and too small for little hands, so this book is better off with kids age 5+.  Pick up your own copy at The Book Depository HERE. 

​Lonely Planet Kids Boredom Buster
​Games for the Road

For our young family (ages 3 and 5), this book only worked with an adult joining in but would be great for older kids (8+) to play with on their own or with a sibling.  Each page is filled with an activity or game and the majority of them are on-going or can be used over and over. Some pages are actually the base of a board game and they suggest using things like coins as place markers as you play. Other activities involve spotting things from the car window and scoring points. Some pages contain puzzles, riddles, mazes, word searches, picture hunts and so many other really creative and brain stimulating suggestions.

Grab your own copy from The Book Depository HERE. 
​​

​​Hidden Pictures by Highlights

This book isn't something I would normally pick up, based on the cover. My mother actually suggested it after seeing another family with it at a restaurant. I thought I would give it a try and it quite literally kept my 5 year old occupied for HOURS! This probably sat on his lap more than any other book we brought with us. It is made up of very detailed and busy hand drawn pictures with objects hidden throughout. Some pages are in colour and list hidden objects along the side of the picture. Other pages are in black and white and you need to use a corresponding sticker sheet which has the hidden objects in sticker form for you to place over top once you find the object. I got called on to help out whenever things were too tricky for him to find and I can see why he enjoyed it so much (it's pretty addictive). 

Pick up your own copy at The Book Depository HERE.

Ultimate Sticker File: Tractors and Trucks
​
I picked this book out specifically for my truck obsessed 3 year old. He only turned 3 while we were on holiday and hasn't really had much interest in this type of book before. Saying that, this ended up keeping him occupied for much longer than I expected. It has a great balance of activities for his age and will grow with him this year. Some pages were perfect for him like shadow shapes that needed matching shaped stickers to go over top. That's a great early learning activity to help practice visual discrimination. Other activities were a bit more challenging and involved counting or drawing shapes a bit above his level. Either way, he loved the variety of trucks and transport shown throughout and flipped through the pages frequently.

Grab your own copy from The Book Depository HERE.

The Usborne Explore the World Activity Book

​This book is so ram packed with activities, I think my son actually found it a bit overwhelming. I adore it though and could literally spend my whole holiday playing with it (but I didn't...well not the whole holiday!). Most pages have two or three different activities on them, so in total there is a huge selection. It has everything from beautifully detailed colour by dot pictures to code breaking mysteries. Click the pictures above for a closer look at a few pages. This book will certainly be a winner with kids closer to age 8 and up (although my 5 year old did sit with me and work through many of the games). 

Grab your own copy from The Book Depository HERE.

​Usborne Mosaic Sticker Dinosaurs
This is another book that is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. They really should make an adult version (maybe they do...but I've never looked!). My son was given one as a gift when he was almost 4 years old and he loved it. The only problem was it was too difficult for him at the time. The stickers are very small and there are no real instructions (only a picture to copy which requires you to count along each sticker space in relation to the last one you placed down). He did however love watching me do it and would help me count and get stickers for me. By the following year he could do it himself, but was unhappy that the finished picture didn't look as neat as mine. Finally by this year he sits alone working on it and  is happy with the outcome. He will be 6 in a few months. I can see this lasting quite  while since there are so many different pictures you can build. I consider it a great investment (that I can 'borrow' and use too).

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. To purchase this book through Amazon, click HERE.

Hope you discovered something that catches your eye and helps make your next trip a little easier!

​Deb x