Entertaining your kids on long car journeys

When driving around the UK to visit friends and family or explore a different part of the country, it's important to consider the needs of your passengers – especially children.

Keeping them entertained is crucial, not just for the sanity of all involved, but to ensure the driver doesn’t get distracted by too many grumbles and moans from the back seat.

Tablets and phones are the go-to distraction these days, but we’ve taken a look at the tried and tested entertainment methods of the past instead.

Put these into practice and see if they can keep the kids busy while you keep your eyes on the road.

Carpool karaoke

Take turns playing the kids’ and adults’ favourite songs while trying to sing along. It's a fun and engaging way to pass the time on a long trip.

Who knows, you may find deeper meaning in Ariana Grande’s lyrics than you thought possible, and the kids might find that Bohemian Rhapsody is the perfect tune for rocking out.

I spy

This reliable favourite might seem old-fashioned these days, but it’s a great way to get younger kids to engage with their surroundings. As an added bonus, the driver remains focused on their surroundings too.

Who am I / 20 questions

This is another game that bridges the generational divide and is really simple to play. One person in the car chooses a famous person, be that a modern film star or a historical figure.

Everyone else takes it in turns to ask a question (‘am I a woman’ or ‘am I alive’, for example) until the identity of the mysterious person is revealed. The catch is you only have 20 questions to do it!

Complete the story

Start a story with a simple statement (for instance, there once was a farmer who lost all his sheep) and encourage your kids to provide the next sentence. The story then goes around all the passengers. Who knows where it will take you, or indeed if it will ever end!

Competitive car counting

Finally, another old favourite is counting the different colours of cars on the road. Give the kids a particular colour to find and get them competing to find the most red, white, blue or yellow vehicles.

If you do join in, you can still keep your eyes on the road while making sure the kids are entertained during a longer trip.

With a little imagination and creativity, your journey could end up being as memorable as the holiday itself.

Whatever games you go for, you can enjoy them knowing that you have the protection of Co-op Car Insurance.