How to keep your kids busy on a long car ride with a £4 hack

A Birmingham-based mother-of-two shared her simple tips with her followers that she uses to minimise distractions while driving and stop the endless 'are we there yet?' questions.

The TikToker, Emma Roberts, who goes by the handle @organisedbyem, creates 'activity packs' for her kids so that her car journeys can be as stress-free as possible. 

Emma packs in healthy snacks, small toys and gifts from the likes of Wilko, B&M, Home Bargains and more.

@organisedbyem Creating goody bags for the kids for our road trip! #mumhack #momhack #mumlife #goodybag #kids #fyp #foryou ♬ Dynamite - BTS

What keeps kids entertained in the car?

The activity packs are designed to keep kids busy and help them develop time management skills.

They also mean that they have responsibility for what they play with and eat during the journey - taking the stress out of their parents' hands.

Speaking with Scrap Car Comparison, Emma said: “For activities and gifts, I get items that are low cost, fun and different to the things they already have at home.

"Little handheld games like a pinball game are great, basically anything that doesn’t have lots of little pieces that they could drop or lose. I also think it’s good to be clear from the off with the children what snacks they can have during the journey.”

Emma also shared that her youngest used to get really car sick and would sometimes get a bit anxious ahead of long journeys but creating an activity pack for her ahead of time helped to keep her mind off it.

The content creator also noted how beneficial the activity packs have been for her kids' time management skills since they'll learn that if they eat all their snacks in the first 20 minutes then they’ll have nothing left for the rest of the journey!

In the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, it is reassuring for parents to know that these packs can be filled on a budget too.

The example journey packs featured in her videos were put together for less than £4 per pack.

Emma notes that her favourite stores to browse for activity pack fillers include Flying Tiger, Poundland, B&M, Home Bargains, Wilko and Primark.

She also suggests that parents head towards the party favours section for a "great starting point".

The TikToker recommended shopping the party section for activity pack fillers from the likes of Wilko, B&M and more. ( Getty Images) (Image: Getty Images)

How do I entertain my child in the car?

On top of her activity packs, Emma has shared her top five tips for making car journeys as straightforward and distraction-free as possible:

1. If you have siblings, try and keep their snacks and gifts the same or similar and make sure you give them the same number of items – nobody wants arguments!
2. Create an emergency kit for the kids that you keep in the car boot - you can include spare clothes, medical supplies and activities (such as games or colouring books) in case you break down or get stuck in traffic. 
3. Plan ahead and look at quieter journey times. We’ve done a couple of evening drives back home from holidays in the UK so that we could get the kids ready for bed in their PJs and let them fall asleep in the car. 
4. For younger kids, make sure you have a potty in the car boot. They’re super helpful if you have to make any impromptu roadside stops!
5.  Make sure everything is in reach so you don’t need to keep passing them things – having their own bag of goodies in the activity pack hack will make them feel more responsible.

Dan Gick, Managing Director of Scrap Car Comparison also commented: “Emma’s activity pack hack is a really great example of how we can be creative on a budget, to help avoid parents getting distracted while driving on long journeys with children.

"We can often be tempted to sit our kids in front of an iPad or movie during a journey, but these can often exacerbate travel sickness, which can create more distractions, and only keep young passengers entertained for so long. 

“When creating these packs, try to include a variety of activities, while also reducing the amount of input needed from parents by avoiding games with pieces that may be dropped, or things that children may need help with.

"This will help you to stay focused on the road, and travel from A to B safely. Trips away and long car journeys are part and parcel of the summer in the UK, and with many other holidaymakers also on the roads, we can all play our part to help look after the safety of ourselves and others.”