A long drive or a flight with a 4- to 8-year-old goes better with a small bag of things to do. You don’t need much: a few printed puzzles, something to lean on, games that need nothing at all and, if you use screens, something that works without the internet. This guide covers all four, with free puzzles from this site to print before you leave.
Print a puzzle pack before you go
The puzzles on this site print on A4 or US Letter paper, free and with no sign-up. The web games need an internet connection to load, so print at home. No printer? The print window in most browsers can save a sheet as a PDF to print somewhere else.
- Mazes, with their answers. The garden, ocean, snow and space pages each have three mazes to print, one Easy, one Medium and one Hard. Each has an Answer button that prints its solution on a sheet of its own, so you can keep the answers in your bag.
- Dot to dots, with a picture to color. Each of the 12 dot to dot pictures prints three sheets: the dots numbered from 1, another way to count the same picture (letters, or by twos for the dinosaur), and a coloring page of the finished picture. That’s three activities from one picture, from the 10-dot star to the 28-dot dinosaur.
- Color by number, with its key. Each of the nine color by number pictures prints in three sizes. Easy sheets have 34 to 45 big spaces, and Hard sheets have 235 to 288 small ones. The key under each picture names every color and leaves a box to color in, so a black-and-white printer is fine.
Print a mix of levels: a tired child may want an Easy maze even if they usually do Hard ones. With two children of different ages, the same picture at two sizes lets them color “the same thing” side by side.
Our guides to mazes, dot to dots and color by number explain how to pick a level for each age.
Pack the back seat
- A clear plastic sleeve and a dry-erase marker. Slip a maze into the sleeve and it can be done, wiped clean and done again. It saves paper and keeps sheets from crumpling.
- Something firm and light to lean on. A stiff folder works on a lap or a plane’s tray table and keeps loose sheets together. Keep heavy, hard things packed away: anything loose in a car keeps moving in a sudden stop.
- Colored pencils as well as crayons. Pencils don’t dry out or leak, and they reach the small spaces on a Medium or Hard color by number. Crayons are easier for little hands, but wax crayons can melt in a car parked in the sun.
- A pencil case for each child, so fewer pencils end up under the seat.
- A few sheets at a time. Hand out one or two, not the whole stack. A new sheet later in the trip feels like a treat.
If your child gets carsick
A puzzle on a lap means looking down, much like reading. The NHS advice on motion sickness says not to read, watch films or use devices while traveling, and suggests looking straight ahead at a fixed point, such as the horizon. It also suggests fresh air from an open window, breaking up long journeys, and distracting children by talking, listening to music or singing songs.
So for a child who feels sick in the car, keep the paper puzzles for rest stops, waiting rooms and the table at the end of the day, and play talking games on the road. If you’re worried, a pharmacist or your pediatrician can help.
Games that need nothing
These work in the car, on a plane or in a queue:
- I spy. For younger children, spy colors instead of letters: “I spy something red.”
- Twenty questions. Think of an animal; everyone else asks yes-or-no questions to guess it. Little ones can have as many questions as they need.
- Story chain. Each person adds one sentence to a story. It tends to get silly fast, which is the point.
- The alphabet game. Find the letters A to Z, in order, on signs and trucks along the way.
- Counting games. Count cows, bridges or red cars, and see who spots the most.
- Sing. Songs with a chorus everyone knows, or ones you make up about the trip.
For a carsick child, choose the talking games, such as twenty questions and story chain. The NHS advice also says not to look at moving objects, such as passing cars.
Screens on the road, without the internet
Many families keep some screen time for long trips. Our screen time plan counts long journeys among the regular times for screens, and it has tips for planning the stop.
The Little Paper app for iPhone and iPad is coming soon to the App Store. Once it’s installed, it works without the internet: everything lives on the device, so it plays on a plane or in a car with no signal. Only buying Little Paper Pro needs a connection. It has no ads, and the few links out of the app sit behind a grown-up check. A few settings help on a trip:
- A break reminder. In Grown-ups › Play, you can pick a reminder after 10, 20 or 30 minutes. A gentle note then waits on the home shelf, without interrupting a drawing or a game.
- Sound. The speaker button turns the sound off, and Grown-ups › Play has separate levels for music and effects.
- Guided Access. Apple’s Guided Access keeps an iPhone or iPad in one app, and it can set a time limit too.
When you do have a connection, the web games on this site play in any browser, with sound off until your child turns it on.
A simple plan for a long day
- Start with the view and talking games, while everyone is fresh.
- Bring out the puzzle pack after the first stop.
- Keep a new sheet or two back for the last stretch, when everyone is tired.
- Use screens for a set stretch rather than all the way, and give a heads-up before they go away.
- Stop often. A walk and some fresh air are a good time to swap activities.
