40 Child Brain Development Activity Ideas

Looking for activities to boost your child's brain development? Check out these ideas!

I feel like I am constantly looking for educational or development-building activities/toys/games that will be beneficial for my son. In all honesty, I probably worry a little too much about the activities he is participating in. Is it just me? I am guessing not. But the truth is. our kids learn through play and so you may already be encouraging brain development in your child.

Summer is here for many of us and you may have more time with your little ones at home. My son's daycare is closed for about three weeks over the summer months. So of course I am looking for activities that are fun and engaging for him, but I also want activities that will be good for his brain!

Brain Development

Young children's brains are developing rapidly, with 90% of brain development occurring before age 5. There are four primary domains of brain development: cognitive, physical, speech and communication, and social and emotional. The domains are categories of development. When you consider what milestones your child is achieving, those milestones fall into domains. (Some milestones fit multiple domains.)

Positive, safe, and nurturing environments and experiences are the foundation for healthy development for young children. As parents, we want to make sure our children are forming secure attachments and have a healthy environment to grow in.

Adult Engagement

Your child benefits from you engaging with them through play and fun activities. Though as your child grows they may need less engagement from you to engage in the activities below. It is always good to speak with your little ones, read with them, sing with them, ask questions, etc. You know your child best and how much engagement your child will require to get the most out of these activities.

Personally, I feel the most important thing is to have fun! Your child will likely have fun if you are and enjoy the activities that are also helping them develop.

Cognitive Activities

These activities help develop executive function skills. Keep in mind that activities that also help develop other skills may help develop cognitive skills. The skills associated with cognitive development (executive function) include:

• focus

• working memory

• emotional awareness

• emotional regulation

• empathy

• adaptability

• motivation

• self-control

The Harvard Center on the Developing Child has an awesome site with information on activities for different ages.

Activities you can engage in with your child to help them develop executive function skills include:

1. Active songs (music that encourages children to participate and follow directions)

2. Follow the leader or Simon Says or other copycat games

3. Puzzles

4. Peek-a-book or hiding games

5. Storytelling and reading - be sure to stop and ask questions along the way (as your child gets older, let them be the story teller and/or ask them to finish a story you start)

6. Pretend play

7. Memory games

8. Matching and sorting games (Increase the difficulty as children get older)

9. Counting games

10. I spy

Physical Activities

The activities below help children with physical development. Skills associated with physical development are related to gross and fine motor skills and include:

• Picking up head

• Sitting up

• Rolling over

• Crawling

• Standing

• Walking

• Running

• Kicking

• Throwing

• Holding toys

• Picking up small objects

• Feeding themselves

• Drinking from a cup

• Climbing stairs

• Dressing/undressing

• Jumping

• Turning pages in a book

• Catching a ball

• Using buttons

• Using a pen/pencil

(and so much more!)

Activities you can engage in with your child to help them develop motor skills include:

1. Tummy time

2. Free play/exploration (inside and outside)

3. Have a dance party

4. Take family walks/bike rides/scooters, etc.

5. Organized activity and sports

6. Build with blocks/LEGOS

7. Arts and crafts projects that include scissors, small beads, playdoh, crayons, markers, etc.

8. Have your child help with household chores (make a game of it!)

9. Read! Let your child turn the pages

10. Play games and sing songs that encourage physical movement (follow the leader, musical chairs, Simon Says, hokey pokey, etc.)

Language and Communication Activities

The activities below help children develop their language and communication skills. The skills associated with language and communication development include:

• understanding language

• communicating

• speaking

Check out Empowered Parents for a ton of great ideas to help your child develop including language and communication.

Activities you can engage in with your child to help them develop language and communication skills include:

1. Building toys - talk all about the colors and shapes, give directions, and talk all about what your child is building.

2. Sing songs

3. Read - ask questions, discuss pictures, make up alternate storylines, etc.

4. Sensory bins - talk-about textures, colors, and sizes; have your children sort and match things.

5. Pretend play - have your child pretend to make a phone call, or choose a character, or run a restaurant, etc., which will get them talking about the pretend situation

6. Play photographer - allow your child to take three pictures and then have them describe them in vivid detail

7. Whiteboard time - give your child letters, words, and pictures to draw/write.

8. Read the billboards on road trips - once your child is able, billboards can be a great way to practice reading skills

9. Show and tell - have your child pick out their favorite toy, stuffie, or book and have them tell you about it. Prompt with additional questions.

10. Nature walk - comment and describe everything you see and have your child do the same; answer any questions your little one has

Social and Emotional Activities

The activities below help children develop their social and emotional skills. The skills associated with social and emotional development include:

• self-regulation

• emotional awareness (self)

• emotional awareness of others

• self-control

• relationship skills

• decision making

Activities that you can engage in with your child to help them develop social and emotional skills include:

1. Read stories and discuss how the character feels, point out emotions in images

2. Pretend play - give your child a character to play

3. Think out loud

4. Do chores together

5. Play games

6. Team Sports

7. Explore social and emotional situations through a puppet show

8. Play emotions charades

9. Make a calm-down bottle (and teach your child how to use it!)

10. Create a vision board, so your child can create a visual representation of kindness, friendship, and support they would like to see around them

Check out these great resources from Discovery Building Sets and PBS with more specific details on games and supporting your child's social and emotional development.

Conclusion

Our child's brain development is so critically important, especially from birth to age five. There are so many activities we can do with kids (that are easy!) to help as they're developing.

I personally love an activity I can do with my son any time with no extra materials. Bonus points if it can be done with just a few spare minutes or while we are waiting or in the car. Parker and I love to sing songs in the car (I definitely have noticed this helping in his language development and I am sure it is helpful in other areas of development too). He also loves a pretend phone (we have three) and they are great for the car and to bring along in the diaper bag. He loves to call his Mimi on his pretend phone and have a pretend conversation. I love these easy activities we can do anytime with any amount of time.

I hope this post has given you some great and easy ideas for activities you can do with your little ones!

Remember Mama, you are doing a great job! You got this!

Resources and Sources for More Information:

• Harvard Center on the Developing Child - Cognitive

• Edutopia - Cognitive

• NAEYC - Social and Emotional

• Empowered Parents - Social and Emotional

• The Art of Education - Social and Emotional

• PBS - Social and Emotional

• Discovery Building Sets - Social and Emotional

• CDC - Developmental Milestones

• Raising Children - Physical

• Help Me Grow - Physical

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association - Language and Communication

• Empowered Parents - Language and Communication

• Teaching Expertise - Language and Communication

The Importance of Play in Promoting Child Development

Play is critical to all domains of brain development in early childhood and is necessary for healthy development.

Did you know that play is beneficial for both children and parents? Play is vital in healthy development for your child's brain in all domains of brain development: cognitive, physical, social and emotional, and communication and language. In today's world children are getting less time for play, but it is important to ensure your child has time for play for optimal development.

Personally, I knew play is important, but I didn't realize how many benefits can be contributed to children playing. Since learning more, I am making an effort to give my little one more free play time. It is so fun (and interesting) to let my child decide what and how he plays.

Recently, he likes to play nap. So he will say, "nap, mama" and wants me to cover him with a blanket then lay on the floor next to him. The nap lasts about 20 seconds before he wants to get up and move and then will tell me to nap again in a minute or so. It is hilarious and I look forward to continue watching him to play and to see how his play changes as he gets older.

Play's role in Child Development

Play is essential for healthy brain development. Children should be given an opportunity to play from a very early age. There are numerous benefits of play, play gives children the opportunity to:

• use and develop creativity.

• develop their imagination.

• develop dexterity.

• increase physical, cognitive, and emotion strength.

• overcome fears.

• increase confidence and resiliency.

• develop skills to work in groups, share, negotiate, and resolve conflicts.

• learn self-advocacy skills

• practice decision making skills.

• discover their interests.

• engage in their passions.

• build active, healthy bodies.

• be joyful.

• reduce stress.

• build enduring relationships with parent(s) or caregiver(s)

Play is so important to childhood development, that it has been deemed a right of childhood. And yet, studies show that children are getting less and less play in modern society.

The numerous benefits of play and the level to which it helps children develop and learn makes play vital, and so it is critical for parents to make time for unstructured play.

What is play?

We know play is super important, but what is meant by play? Some could consider sports play, but organized activities are not what the experts are referring to when discussing play in this sense (not to say that there are not many benefits to organized sports and activities as well).

The Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development defines play as "spontaneous, voluntary, pleasurable, and flexible activity involving a combination of body, object, symbol use, and relationships."

Play Scotland provides additional guidance on play. Play is:

• Fun

• Uncertain

• challenging

• Flexible

• Non-productive

• Freely chosen

• Personally directed

• Intrinsically motivated

• What children choose to do when adults are not directing them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages two types of play. Free play where parents sit back and let their child play with little involvement from parents. Parents may be an observer or (if safe) leave their child(ren) alone for free play. At other times, parents should be fully engaged in play with their children, giving their children and the playtime their full attention. Let you child still direct the play, but you engage in the play as they choose.

Why is this important?

It is important because as parents we need to be intentional in making time for child-directed play. Since we know there are so many benefits to our children getting this time, we can ensure our children get this time for play whenever possible. (Note: Many parents use organized activities as a safe and beneficial child care option while they are working, I am encouraging child-directed play when possible and this will look different for each unique family.) If you are looking for child care, consider looking for a provider that encourages and gives time for play.

Recently there have been studies that children are not getting adequate play time. Many children (particularly American children) are over scheduled as their parents do their best to prepare them for college and academic success. While many children who are extremely involved in organized activities are thriving, many children are feeling increased stressed and anxiety.

By making time for play and engaging with children in play, parents can set their children up for success for the future. Play can have the power to set children up for success in a variety of areas (not just academically, but including academically). It can also be a powerful tool for parents to bond with their children and see the world from their child's point of view. If your child is working through stress or difficulties, this may come out in their play as they work through processing their lives and environment.

Cognitive Development Through Play

Cognitive development is you child's ability to:

• think

• understand

• communicate

• remember

• imagine

• predict what might happen next

Young children learn best through play and when they have the opportunity to direct play, they are learning, solving problems, creating, experimenting, and thinking in a way that is relevant to them. It is great to engage in the play your child chooses, but try to let them solve problems they encounter. They will generally let you know if they need help.

What kind of play promotes cognitive development?

All types of play can help develop cognitive skills, but some specific ideas include:

• singing

• playing musical instruments

• child-directed art activities

• collage

• paint

• drawing/coloring

• dramatic play

• block play

• puzzles

• reading

• playing board/card games

• sensory play - playing with sand, water, etc.

• cooking

• outdoor play

Social and Emotional Development Through Play

Social and emotional development is your child's ability to:

• have positive relationships with other children and adults

• ability to recognize non-verbal cues

• ability to maintain eye contact

• have confidence

• respecting others

• listening to other

• use self-control and patience

• recognizing their own emotions

• recognizing others emotions

• displaying empathy

• sharing

• working as a team

Through play, children naturally learn may social and emotional concepts and skills. There is no better way than to learn social and emotional skills than through practicing them in our children's natural state of learning and being, as they are playing.

What kind of play promotes social and emotional development?

Your children will learn social and emotional skills through a variety of play. Some more specific ideas include:

• play peekaboo

• reading

• storytelling

• art

• pretend play

• dramatic play

• social play (playing with other kids and adults)

• Play games

Physical Development Through Play

Physical development is your child's ability to:

• use gross motor skills, examples include:

  • rolling over

  • sitting up

  • crawling

  • standing

  • walking

  • running

  • jumping

• use fine motor skills, examples include:

  • picking up and grasping small objects

  • holding crayons

  • using buttons

  • writing

Your child will naturally develop physical skills as they play. Encouraging active play helps your child build a healthy and strong body. Physically activity can start from a very young age, but should be through fun and play. Active play should be encouraged both inside and outside (if possible and safe).

What kind of play promotes physical development:

All types of play promotes physical development, but some specific ideas include:

• Free play both inside and outside

• Tummy time

• Bike rides

• Family Walks

• Visiting playgrounds

• Active games (example: red light/green light)

• Playing with balls

• Dance party

• Musical chairs

• Playing with instruments

• Playing with toys

The key is to just let your little ones have fun!

Communication and Language Development Through Play

Communication and language development is your child's ability to:

• Understand language and communication

• Express language and communication

Play gives your child to practice speech and communication and their ability to listen and focus (which is needed to communicate back and forth). It is a great opportunity or the to build on their vocabulary and refine their speech sounds. Play (both inside and outside) is the best learning environment for children, and gives them a space to experiment and explore safely.

What kind of play promotes communication and language development?

There are many different types of play that promotes language and communication development. Some specific ideas include:

• Talking through play (even if your child is too young to respond)

• Singing and dancing

• Pretend Play

• Block Play

• Storytelling

• Reading

• Sensory play

• Matching/sorting games

Encouraging Play

The simplest answer to how to encourage play is to give children time, space, and freedom to play. My husband and I have often joked that our son will find a way to play wherever we are, even if there are no toys. So provide a safe environment, give them time (at least 30 minutes) and then let them play however feels best for them. Let them direct the play when possible.

Tips for promoting play in your house:

• Give your child time for free play everyday

• Let your child direct the play as much as possible

• Reduce screen time

• Let your child play independently sometimes and other times engage with them

• Give your child opportunities for active play both inside and outside to promote healthy bodies

• Provide mostly "true toys" or simple toys that require your child to use their imagination and make them work rather than a toy that required limited imagination or activity

• Have unstructured spontaneous time with your children - remember you are being productive when you do this as it is so important for child development!

• Provide opportunities for the family to spend time together, to listen to one another, to talk to one another

• Have fun with your child

• Read with your child from birth

• Provide opportunities for children to play with others, especially starting around the age of 2.5/3

• Remember to provide a balanced schedule for your child

• Look for childcare that provides opportunities for play and development in all domains of brain development and is not just academically focused

Summary

Play is vital to healthy development in children. Children should be given plenty of opportunities for play from birth through adolescence. Child-directed play in particular has many benefits including promoting development in all brain development domains: cognitive, physical, speech and communication, and social and emotional.

When possible, it is important to let your child direct the play. You can then choose your level of engagement as they play. Through play, you will develop a lifelong bond with your child and learn a great deal about them including their interests, passions, and stressors.

In today's busy world, children are often constantly busy and engaged in structured activities. While this has it's benefits, it is also important to leave time for free play. Enjoy the time with your children!

Remember Mama, you are doing a great job! You got this!

Resources for More Information/ Sources:

• The American Academy of Pediatrics - Importance of Play

• NAEYC - 10 Things Every Parent Should Know About Play

• Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development - Play

• Play Scotland - What is Play?

• Raising Children - Play & Cognitive Development

• Center for Inclusive Child Care - Play Promotes Cognitive Development

• Trying Together - Social-Emotional Development Through Play

• NAEYC - Social and Emotional Skills at Home

• Raising Children - Physical Activity for Young Children

• Early Years Careers - Speech Development Through Play

• UNICEF - Speech and Language Development

Tips for Road Trips with Toddlers

Traveling with young children can be tough. Check out these ideas for making your family road trip developmentally appropriate so it goes as smoothly as possible.

Summer is here and for many people that means traveling. Sitting in a car for hours with a toddler may not sound appealing, but with some preparation, lots of patience, and a good plan it can be fun.

We started this summer with a 10-hour each-way (Google Maps time) road trip. (As you can imagine, it was not completed in 10 hours.) At the last minute, my husband had to stay behind for work. I panicked bought a tablet for my son when I found out I would be alone driving with a two-year-old for so long. However, with some preparation, I actually allowed very little screen time to get us through.

Since that trip, we did another shorter 5.5 hour each way trip as well and my initial research served me well in this trip as well. So I am sharing some of the things that worked for us to help your summer trips run smoothly!

What is developmentally appropriate

Let's be honest, sitting still in the car for long periods can be challenging even for many adults, let alone small children. To start planning a road trip, understanding your child's development can be helpful in setting your expectations.

Sitting still in a car seat is not a natural state for little ones. According to understood.org, children ages 3 -5 should only be expected to sit still for 5 - 10 minutes. Obviously, you are not going to be able to stop and let your kids out every 10 minutes, but understanding this can be helpful in being empathetic towards kids as they are forced to be still for hours at a time.

Additionally, without parental support, your child's attention span is only 2 - 10 minutes. So you will likely need a lot of activities to keep your child entertained for long periods of time. This is especially true if you are going to be sitting in the front seat while your child(ren) is in the back. If you plan to sit in the backseat and be engaged with them, their attention span may be longer.

If your child is potty trained, your child generally needs to use the potty 4 - 8 times per day, so you can expect to stop every couple of hours for them to use the bathroom, unless you decide they will wear a diaper. If they are not in a diaper, be sure to have a plan for accidents!

If you would like to learn a bit more about your child's brain development (helpful in setting expectations), check out my post on the Domains of Child Development and Brain Development Stages in Early Childhood.

Tips for Road Tripping with a Toddler

If you are anything like me, you will want any helpful information to make the trip go smoothly, check out my tips below from my research and personal experience:

Making a plan

Planning and preparation are key. I like having a plan, but I think some level of planning is needed when traveling with your toddler even if that is not your natural state.

Some things to consider when planning (be sure to read the whole post for more information on some of these points):

• When will you be leaving?

• What route are you taking?

• What will you do if that route needs or would be faster to change? (There is a backup and Google Maps tells you there is a faster route.)

• How often do you plan to stop?

• How often do you plan to travel each day (if applicable)?

• What toys will be engaging in the car?

• How many toys do you plan to bring?

• Will you stop at restaurants for food or do you plan to bring food?

• What are your boundaries around food and screen time during travel?

• What will you do if your child has a meltdown?

• How will you prepare your little ones for travel?

• How will your little ones be seated? (If you have more than one kid, consider they may need separation if possible!)

Having a plan may be helpful in making sure the ride runs smoothly and how will you respond to things along the way. That being said, you cannot plan for everything so you still need to be flexible.

When to travel

Personally, I believe this is very much dependent on your family and your children. When my little guy was an infant he slept just fine in the car, so we preferred to leave at bedtime or wake up super early (3 AMish) to start our drive. Now as a toddler, he does not sleep for long in the car.

We have tried leaving at bedtime, leaving super early in the morning, leaving at nap time, and leaving just after a nap. As a toddler, I find leaving at nap time works best for us. Why? My two-year-old seems to only sleep for about 30 minutes in the car before waking up and not going back to sleep. So leaving at bedtime or very early are not effective for us because he is awake and loses out on sleep. Personally, I try very hard to maintain his sleep schedule as much as possible when traveling.

Leaving after nap means we generally arrive well after bedtime, so his sleep schedule is off. Additionally, he is energized and ready to go. He has been still for a couple of hours and he wants to play.

Leaving right before nap means he is tired and we may get a 20 - 30 minute nap or he may stay awake the whole time, but he is not as energized. When possible I try to give him lots of time for play and physical activity before we leave. I have found this method leads to the calmest road trip and then we try to stop before or close to bedtime to get him to sleep on time (or close) for night sleep.

To be honest, this may take some trial and error on your part to know when is best for your kids.

Pros of leaving at night:

• Your child will hopefully sleep the majority of the ride

• Less traffic

• Less need for stopping

Cons of leaving at night:

• If your child doesn't sleep, it can be pretty miserable and throw off the next day too

• You have to drive in the dark

• Not as many places to stop late at night

• In the summer months it stays light so late it may be harder for your child to get to sleep

Pros to leaving super early:

• Your child may sleep the first few hours

• You may be able to get more driving hours in

• Less traffic (at least for the first couple of hours)

Cons to leaving super early:

• You have to wake up super early

• If your child doesn't go back to sleep they are missing hours of sleep and may still be energized in those first hours

• Natural light may start filtering in and wake them up before their normal wake up

Pros to leaving before nap:

• Your child is tired and will hopefully take a nap in the car

• Less energy

• Have had an opportunity to move around and be active in the morning.

• Driving during daylight

• Can drive for several hours before bedtime

Cons to leaving before nap:

• Your child may not nap and be tired/cranky

• More traffic

• You arrive later in the day

Pros to leaving after a nap:

• Your child is well rested

• Driving during daylight

• Depending on how far you plan to travel can stick to their sleep schedule

Cons to leaving after a nap:

• More energy

• More traffic

• If you are trying to drive further than a few hours, you may arrive after bedtime.

These pros and cons are all based on my personal experience and your experiences may differ as every child and family are different.

Breaks From Driving

Before I had kids, my husband and I would try to take as few breaks as possible to get to our destination as quickly as possible. It has been a mindset shift to plan more and longer breaks into our travel and to only plan on driving for a few hours per day. If I am being honest, it has been challenging to shift my thinking on this. But it is so necessary.

Plan for breaks and expect unplanned breaks

Young children are not meant to sit still for so long. Plan to take breaks (I recommend every couple of hours) and when possible plan breaks where your little ones can stretch their legs and get some energy out.

I used Chat GPT to find playgrounds along my route. It was pretty accurate, but I recommend double checking because Chat GPT is not always correct. It gave me a great place to start though. I made a list of possible playgrounds to stop at along the way, so we could start if needed.

I also made a list of all the rest stops along the route because I find rest stops are easier stops than businesses because there is often more green space for some movement. I tried looking this up on Chat GPT as well, but it was totally wrong. A quick Google search found the correct information though.

We actually stopped at two really amazing playgrounds on our trip. They were very impressive and my two-year-old had an absolute blast. Limiting the time we spent at the playground and the transition back to the car was a little tough for him. He does pretty well with time warnings (You have 5 minutes left; you have 2 minutes left) and I also recommend just talking through that it will be a relatively brief stop at the playground to mentally prepare them.

For rest stops, taking a little walk or playing a game was helpful. I have also heard from other moms that rest stop calisthenics are a great way to get kids moving.

Even with planned breaks there may be times you need to stop when you did not plan. During our trip, my son somehow got his arms out of his car seat harness and could not get them back in. So he was yelling that he was stuck and he was crying. My husband was not with me, so I could not help him while I was driving. We were not near anything, so I was low key panicking in the front seat looking for a safe place to pull over. I took the nearest exit and there was not a single business. I ended up pulling into a side road of someone's farm and putting my emergency lights on so I could get out calm him down and fix his car seat harness (and tighten it, so he couldn't get his arms out again). Just stay calm, stop when safe, and have lots of supplies in your car!

There also may be times when you need a break for you! I felt myself getting sleepy at one point. So I got off at an exit with a Starbucks and gave both of us a chance to stretch out and be ready for the road. It can be easy to only think about our kids during travel, but be sure to take care of yourself as well and of course always be safe!

How long should I drive each day?

It is really tough to know how long to drive each day. Some days your kids may be fine sitting longer than others. You could drive and stop when everyone has had enough at one of the many hotels that are off highway exits.

Personally, I am too much of a planner for this. Not having a sure place to stay would give me anxiety. Especially, because we were traveling during a holiday weekend and I worried that there may be no rooms available. For me, I booked a hotel for us to stay at what I felt was a reasonable drive for each day. The down side to this is that if everyone is having a tough time, you still have to keep driving until you get to your destination.

We never planned to drive more than five or six hours per day. However, in a couple of instances we did hit traffic that slowed us down. I personally would not plan for too much more as we all were ready to get out of the car every single time.

Entertainment

So I drive a minivan and have one child, so I have a good amount of space in my car. I brought a lot of things for my little guy to do. I highly recommend bringing a wide variety of items if you can. Remember, your toddler's attention span is extremely brief.

I went to the dollar store and bought some new toys and some containers to keep all of the toys in. Something new is always exciting, so buying a few small items at the dollar store helped me affordably provide some new toys for my little one. He got some small construction trucks and stickers that were great in the car. They also have little books at the dollar store. So I bought a bunch of the books for $1.25 and these were a big hit. (Our dollar store had a lot of Sesame Street books that were a hit!)

I chose to keep the containers with toys in the front seat when I was driving without my husband, so I could easily hand him things. When my husband could drive, I moved the containers to the floor of the backseat. My son is rear facing, so he could not see or reach them. Then I could hand him toys one at a time to try to make them last as long as possible.

Some of the toys my little one enjoyed in the car:

• Wood lacing toys

My little guy loves the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," so I told him he needs to help the caterpillar eat through the fruit. He loved it and it's great fine motor practice.

• Suction Cup Spinner Toys

These can suction to the window, but my little one also just liked holding it and spinning it. They were also great to bring into restaurants along our travels.

• Choo Choo Magnetic Maze

My little guy loves a choo choo right now. This kept his attention and great fine motor practice and cognitive development.

• Elmo Pretend Play Phone

Pretend phones are a big favorite at our house. Recently, Elmo has also been a big deal recently, so combine those two things and there was a lot of joy when handed this toy.

Almost all of the toys ended up being tossed to the side eventually. So when we would stop, I would reset and put everything back in the containers. That way we could start over with all of the toys.

Okay, so even the toys above that he was loving just did not keep his attention for a super long period (which is developmentally appropriate). At some point, I did turn on the tablet for short periods (generally under 1 hour) to give us all a break.

For my family, we chose to do no screen time until age 2. So screen time is pretty new for my little one. If I am being honest, I feel a lot of mom guilt giving him screen time. But I have recently been working on modifying my thinking. 1. I am NOT a bad mom because I let my child watch a screen sometimes. 2. If I am using a screen as a tool to help me get regulated while he watches, so I can then be calmer and more helpful in co-regulation after the screen time, then screen time can be beneficial to everyone. Plus sometimes you have to do what you have to do when you are in a car that long. 🤪 For now, I am telling him that the tablet is only for trips that have us travelling more than two hours from home. As he grows, I may modify the boundaries we have for screen time, but in this moment this works for us.

I bought the Amazon Fire 8 Kids Tablet for Parker. Overall, I think it is a pretty good tablet for what I needed it for. It is not super easy to use, but it is fine for the basics. I didn't want to get a fancy tablet or spend a lot of money for a tablet for my two-year-old. Downloading anything off of Amazon, Disney +, or Netflix is really easy.

I do not believe my son is ready to have access to the tablet, so I used this tablet holder to attach it to the headrest, so he could not get to it but could still see it. (I attached it to the middle head rest). It worked really well for us.

Food

Planning food is completely up to what will work best for you and your family. You may want to stop and eat along the way or bring food to eat in the car or at a rest stop or at a park along the way.

I brought a small cooler along with healthy snacks and some food that would be sufficient if stopping to eat didn't work out. I am very glad I did this. My son has some food allergies, so it is not always super easy to just stop at any fast food. While I did plan to stop, on one leg of the journey there was no good place to stop. When we got there it was way past bedtime and I didn't want to go find a place, so I was so happy I had enough to eat with us.

Snacks, Snacks, Snacks!

Normally, I try to have some limits on snacks because my little guy loves snacks. However, in the car I gave us all a pass. He was happier and calmer with a snack and so I just went with it when he asked for one. I generally believe having all the snacks made everything go smoother for us. And I think it is okay to have different boundaries and rules when traveling. As always, you have to do what will work best for your child(ren) and family.

Food I packed for our road trip:

• Goldfish

• Cheese puffs (Trader Joes)

• Veggie straws

• Peanut butter sandwich crackers (Trader Joes)

• Apple sauce pouches

• Yumi bars (found at Target and they have no added sugar)

• Graham crackers

• Individual milk boxes

• Cheese sticks

• Apple slices

• Uncrustables

Preparing your family

I am a big believer in mental preparation for both adults and kids. I feel that it helps us process what is happening better and it setting expectations for everyone.

Preparing Kids

I think my little one is better prepared when we have talked about a big event coming up extensively before hand. Before our trip we talked a lot about going on a long car ride. I also made up stories about a family trip to help him process it. Once I found out my husband was not coming, I built that into our conversations and stories. It can be helpful to read books, watch shows, or find other story telling methods to help kids process.

There is a Daniel Tiger "Movie" about a family trip that I played in the car on the first day of our journey. We could then talk about Daniel's family car trip too.

Preparing the Adults

Planning and packing help me with mental preparation. But I think the biggest thing needed to prepare is to set realistic expectations. Since I did a lot of research, I knew to expect more breaks, short attention spans, etc. I also told myself that even if the car trip was terrible, say my little yelled a majority of the way, it would only last a few hours each day and I could get through it. Then when things went well, it was a pleasant surprise. My personal opinion is that it is important to make sure all the grown ups have realistic expectations about the trip.

Other Helpful Things

Water Bottles

Is my child the only one who constantly wants a water bottle in the car? However, he regularly throws them over the side of his car seat and then is upset that he doesn't have it. I was a bit worried about this, especially on the trip where I was the only other person in the car. So I brought about 5 water bottles. This way when he tossed one, I could hand him another one. Then I would reset when we stopped and bring them all back to the front of the car.

If you are looking for a great water bottle for toddlers, I highly recommend the Contigo water bottles. We have tried a bunch of different water bottles. Before the Contigo ones, we were using Camelbak water bottles. We still use them when we can help him with those, but he needs help opening them. The Contigo ones have a button to open, which he loves. So far (it's been a couple of months since we bought them) we have not had a problem with them leaking. Additionally, while the straw comes apart for washing the bottle, it stays attached. Plus they are dishwasher safe. Check out the Contigo water bottles on Amazon.

Music

My son loves music. He specially loves toddler music that he can sing to. While normally I do not mind toddler music, I cannot listen to it for five or six hours straight. I had a Spotify playlist of toddler music ready to go, but I started with my music. Then if Parker was starting to get dysregulated or upset I would ask him if he wanted his music on. Then we would listen and sing to that until our next stop. A lot of his music includes movement, so it was nice to get him moving (while still being strapped in) a bit in the car. It often helped turn his mood around.

Other Items I Recommend Having in the Car:

Having a well stocked car helped me be prepared for things I maybe did not plan. For us, it was helpful to have:

• Paper towel roll

• Grocery bags (good for dirty diapers, dirty clothes, excess trash, etc.)

• Extra clothes for kids and adults

• A towel (can be helpful for clean up situations)

• Window sunshades (my son does not like the sun in his eyes)

• Changing Pad - made car diaper changes so much more pleasant for both of us

• Plenty of diapers and wipes

• Easily accessible sunscreen (for stops) and if you have room so outdoor play (I keep a couple of balls, chalk, and bubbles in my car pretty much all of the time.)

Have Fun!

As much as you possibly can, try to enjoy the journey. Don't stress stopping a lot or the increased time to get to your destination. Maybe even plan breaks that include some fun activities for the whole family if there are good stopping points along the way. If you have fun, it is more likely your children will have fun as well.

Summary

Going on a road trip with a toddler can be daunting. But with plenty of preparation, it can be opportunity to slow down and enjoy the ride.

When you decide to go on a road trip with a toddler (or any kids), first set realistic expectations for them (and for you) for the travel. Then make a plan and be sure to include plenty of stops and opportunities to get out of the car. Lots of different items for entertainment and all of the snacks will make the journey a little more enjoyable for the kids (and thus for you). Be sure to pack to plan for the unexpected. And most of all, have fun!

Remember Mama, you are doing a great job! You got this!

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links and I may earn from qualifying purchases. As an Amazon affiliate, I only have linked products that I have actually used and recommend.

Resources for More Information/Sources

• Understood - When do kids sit still?

• Ready Kids - Attention Span

• Child Development Institute - Potty Training Guidelines