Every parent knows the feeling. Twenty minutes into a three-hour drive, someone in the backseat says "I'm bored." The easiest answer is a screen. But there's a better one — and it's a lot more fun.
Here's how to pack for a screen-free road trip that actually works.
Start with the right tools
The YOLA Kids LCD tablet is built for exactly this. It's lightweight, fits easily in a backpack or car door pocket, requires no Wi-Fi, no charging cable, and has a one-button erase. For kids ages 3–10, it's the single most useful thing you can pack. Bring the activity cards too — they give kids a structured starting point when "draw whatever you want" feels overwhelming.
Drawing games that make the kilometres fly by
The Alphabet Game: Take turns drawing something that starts with each letter of the alphabet. A is for airplane, B is for butterfly, C is for castle... kids are deeply competitive about this one.
I Spy & Draw: One person says "I spy something yellow" and everyone else has to draw what they think it is. Compare drawings. Laugh a lot.
The Story Chain: One person draws the first panel of a story (a character, a setting). The next person adds the next scene. Keep going until you've built a whole comic strip together. The weirder it gets, the better.
Copy the Road: Ask your child to draw what they see out the window. Bridges, cows, mountains, a funny-shaped cloud. This is quiet, focused, and genuinely beautiful — you'll want to keep some of their "landscapes."
When you stop: the Drawing Challenge
At every rest stop, give a 5-minute drawing challenge tied to where you are. A gas station becomes "draw the biggest truck you can see." A rest area becomes "draw a map of this parking lot." It turns boring stops into little adventures.
Managing the "are we there yet" energy
The key is transitions. Don't wait until kids are melting down to pull out the tablet — introduce it early and rotate activities every 20–30 minutes. Mix drawing with audiobooks, car bingo, and simple conversation games. The tablet is an anchor, not the whole plan.
And when you arrive? Your kids will have a tablet full of drawings that tell the story of the journey. That's a travel journal no app can replicate.
— Léa, Family & Travel Writer