Travel Games to Keep Your Kids Occupied Without Screens
Traveling with kids can be overwhelming, and screens have become a very normal go-to tool to keep them busy during car trips or flights. Instead of jumping straight to more shows or games on a tablet, here are some travel games and activities to try that are also great for your brain!
Screen-Free Travel Games and Activities:
Travel Memory Game
This game is perfect for independent play or playing with siblings or parents. It helps exercise memory skills and even younger kids will enjoy opening the “doors” to see what’s underneath.
Hidden Pictures or Where’s Waldo
These activities are great for building focus, visual discrimination, and other cognitive processes. There are different levels to choose from, making them suitable for kids of all ages.
Word Search
A classic game that can help build spelling skills, visual processing, and focus.
Newspaper or Magazine Spot-It (DIY Game)
Grab a newspaper or magazine and have your kids circle as many occurrences of a single letter or word as they can, as fast as possible!
Rubik’s Cube
This classic toy is not just for fidgeting, but also for strengthening the brain. You can choose from different sizes for a bigger challenge.
Travel Games
There are plenty of independent travel games available that are perfect for car trips or boredom-busters at home. Games like Rush Hour and SmartGames XOXO strengthen problem-solving and logic skills in a fun and easily contained way.
Reading or Audiobooks
Car trips are a great opportunity to stretch your kids’ reading or listening skills. Whether they’re reading independently or listening to an audiobook, filling travel time with rich stories and language is always a good idea.
Family Road Trip Games (No Materials Necessary)
Playing games like the “alphabet game” or other road trip games are a great way to connect, build skills like attention and memory, and fill time without screens or extra equipment. Here are a few other ideas as well:
- Song Line String (one player sings a line from a song, the next person has to start singing a different song beginning with the same word the last player ended on)
- Letter List Memory (decide on a letter and go around saying a word that begins with that letter. Each player has to list all the words that came before—in order—as well as adding their own new word to the list)
- 20 Questions (the rest of the car has 20 questions to guess what 1 player is thinking of. Give it a theme like animals, superheroes, actors, etc. or let it be wide open!)
- Triple Tale (give a player 3 words that they have to weave together as key elements of a story. Make it harder by requiring it to be a poem!)
- Name the Most (give a 10 second time limit and see who can name the most things in that category. It could be princesses, types of airplanes, actors, colors, or anything else that’s relevant for your family)
Get More Brain Training Games to Try at Home This Summer!
Click here to download our game pack with at-home activities based off of our brain training procedures. These are great tools to keep your child’s brain active during summer break!
