5 of the Best Toddler Toys for Car Rides

I am the mom who leaves the house with her toddlers every day.

Every. Day.

Some might think I’m crazy, but honestly, it makes our day go so much smoother. It does take finding some sense of routine and rhythm with your kids. My kids are used to being in the car, going places, walking the store, doing things, etc. now that we’ve done it for so long.

One thing I’ve had to figure out are things for my kids to do in the car that keep them busy, so I keep a car bin of toys that are exclusive to car rides (for the most part). I mostly keep our toys inside the house to more open-ended play and things to keep them playing for a while. Car toys can be a bit more of a “busy toy” and be more noisy.

Here are some we keep in the car at all times that my kids love…

Water Wow

These coloring pads are amazing! Basically, the pen just needs water and the kids color to see the picture appear and then after a few minutes, when the water has dried, the picture goes away and they can recolor it! So as long as the pen has water in it, they can color over and over. My 1 and 2 year old both love these!

Wooden Busy Board

We have two versions of these & my kids are obsessed! They love pushing the buttons, turning the knobs, & see the lights come on! This is also teaching them how various kinds of switches and keys work, so that’s awesome too!

Books

We always have a couple books in the car for the kids. My one-year-old especially is in a stage of loving turning pages of books. Books with flaps and things to touch especially make for a good car “toy.”

LCD Writing Tablet

We are not the kind of parents who have iPads and excessive electronics for our toddlers- NOPE! But this pad!! This is under $15 and kids can draw on it and press the bottom button to erase it all to start over. This is a wonderful toy that keeps both my kids busy and entertained in the car. We currently have one of these but will be buying another one before our next family trip.

I am all for setting yourself up for success before leaving the house and having a toy bin for the car has been something that helps us in that way!

Tia Marie