What entertains your little ones in the car?

[jacksmom0902]

I'm just wondering what other kids do while riding in the car. Jackson used to really be into looking at board books in the car and in stores while I shopped. What an easy time that was! Now we sing and go over animal sounds, colors, body parts and all that, but what do your kids do to entertain themselves while riding in the car? Any toys in particular that your kids like for car rides? Do you have special toys that are for car rides only? It seems like if he's playing with a toy that he eventually ends up dropping it anyway. We're gearing up for a trip to Atlanta in a couple of weeks for the Peachtree and I'm just wondering if anyone has suggestions.

Thanks!

Karla
Mom to Jackson 9.16.02

[hjdong]

O.K., this will probably sound stupid, but Jamie LOVES to put straws in and out of cups. So I keep one of those kids cups in the car with a straw in it and it occupies him for a disturbingly long period of time.

He also sings to himself. I play the same cd over and over (annoying for me) but now he's gotten to know the songs and he sings parts of them. It's also a lot of fum for me when we;re not in the car and I can sing parts and stop and he'll fill in the words. Wait, perhaps I'm as easily amused as him!

Things I plan on taking on our longer car trip - his magnadoodle, a felt play set, styrofoam trays (used meat trays - not poultry that I put in the dishwasher) to color on, put his cup on, break into pieces, whatever amuses him. That's all I've thought of so far.

HTH

[Karenn]

We also listen to the same CD over and over again and that entertains him. Lately we've been taking a lot of hour long car trips and on those trips, we spend a fair amount of time looking for trucks, trains and airplanes. Watching for the next vehicle keeps him engaged for an impressive amount of time!

[August Mom]

DS likes the Magna Doodle, looking for trucks and Leapfrog's Baby Tad. Baby Tad stays in the car. We also have board books. One other thing that DS likes (although this would only work if your son is still rearfacing), is to throw a ball against the back seat. It bounces back to him and he throws it again. Also, sticker books occupy him. DS can't always get the stickers out originally, but once they are on the page, he can generally take them off and put them somewhere else.

[Hallie_D]

LOL--Elijah is the same way. All we have to say is "Look, a big truck!" and it will distract him for at least 20 minutes as he looks for others.

[jacksmom0902]

The straw thing is actually a good idea. Jackson loves to pull the straws in and out on fast-food lids and then eventually destroy the lid. I'll have to put that in our stash of car toys. We have a small magnadoodle that we haven't played with in a while. Maybe I'll take that out and try it again. We don't have any felt sets so I think I'll be looking for those this weekend. Thanks so much for the suggestions!

Karla
Mom to Jackson 9.16.02

[jacksmom0902]

Okay, we have Tad's Counting Farm which Jackson really enjoys. Is this the same as Baby Tad? I don't know much about the Leapfrog stuff.

Thanks!

Karla
Mom to Jackson 9.16.02

[August Mom]

I'm pretty sure they aren't the same as Baby Tad doesn't do any counting. He sings, plays music and identifies colors and shapes. He's stuffed. Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B00005BHK7/qid=1088003328/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-3529647-9610330

I don't know if I'd go out and buy him or not. He was a gift. DS seems to like him, but I don't know that I'd put Baby Tad on my essentials list. Maybe you could see if Jackson likes him in the store? If you squeeze his feet or hands, music starts. There's "daytime" music and "nighttime" music. Then, Baby Tad will play a game where a shape is blinking. When your child pushes it, it will say "that's the purple triangle" or whatever. Quality wise, we have been very pleased with the Leapfrog toys, FWIW.

[Sarah1]

I was going to suggest the Magna-Doodle, too (the smaller one). I keep it in Audrey's stroller, and it *almost* always keeps her entertained when the ride gets too long for her. :)

The sticker books sound great, too--what are those? Where can I find one? Audrey is into peeling off labels lately, so she would probably like one of those.

[jacksmom0902]

Thanks! We brought out the Magna-Doodle this past week and it's working much better this time around. He's old enough now that he can draw and then erase over and over.

I'm sure someone can clarify on the sticker books they use but I bought a Colorforms set this past week and he's really enjoying that. Granted, I do have various Wiggles from the set scattered around the backseat by the end of the trip but he enjoys pulling them out of a cup I store them in and placing them on the board. I'm also going to get a felt playset for the trip this week.

Thanks for all the great ideas.

[August Mom]

I'm intrigued with the colorforms. We got sticker books at Barnes & Noble oddly enough. I never thought of that, but my mom did. After I found out which types he liked (mostly free form without the need to find the sticker to put on a specific outline), I ordered some for less from buy.com.

[August Mom]

One other thought along the lines of colorforms and sticker books is a magnetic book. DS has Snappy Travel: A Magnetic Fun Book and LOVES it! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/157145912X/ref%3Dnosim/booknu3-20/102-9967362-9657759 It comes with magnets that you can put on pages of the book wherever you want. There's a magnet storage area on the cover of the book.

[jacksmom0902]

What a neat idea! I'm going to see if our local kid's toy store has this so we can have it for the weekend. If not, I'm sure we could find it in Atlanta for the trip home. You're a great baby gear info source! Thanks!

[jacksmom0902]

Okay, I checked out the sticker books at Barnes & Noble yesterday and I have one question. Do the stickers really come back off the pages once they're applied? Most seemed to say that they would. Do you have the books with the laminated pages or the pages that are just a little thicker than regular book pages? Thanks!