Tweens — roughly ages 9 to 12 — are in an awkward spot on family road trips. They are too old for the toddler entertainment that kept them busy a few years ago, but they are not yet teenagers with the independence to entertain themselves for hours on end. The key to a good road trip with a tween is respecting their growing need for autonomy while keeping them engaged enough that boredom does not turn into backseat misery. Here are 15 activities and strategies that work well for the tween age group.
Before You Leave
Let Your Tween Help Plan the Route
Tweens are old enough to have real opinions about what they want to see and do. Before the trip, show them the route on a map and ask if there is anything along the way they would like to stop for — a specific museum, a state or national park, a notable landmark, an unusual restaurant, or a shop they have been wanting to visit. Giving them one or two stops that are genuinely their choice makes the whole trip feel less like something that is being done to them and more like something they are part of.
Have Them Make a Packing List
Rather than packing for your tween, give them a checklist and let them handle their own bag. This builds responsibility and avoids the inevitable complaint that you forgot something they wanted. Suggest they include a small backpack of car entertainment — headphones, a book, a sketchpad, snacks, a water bottle, and a charger — that stays at their feet rather than buried in the trunk.
Audio Entertainment
Take Turns with Playlists
Let each family member create a playlist of 10 to 15 songs. Take turns playing each person’s list without criticism. This gives your tween a sense of ownership over the car’s atmosphere and exposes the whole family to each other’s music. Shorter playlists work better than hour-long ones — it keeps the rotation moving and prevents anyone from getting stuck listening to something they dislike for too long.
Try an Audiobook Everyone Can Enjoy
Audiobooks can turn dead highway hours into shared storytelling. For mixed-age families, series that grow in complexity work well — the Harry Potter series, Percy Jackson, or Artemis Fowl all appeal to tweens while remaining engaging for adults. Let your tween suggest titles and pick one together before the trip. Many libraries offer free audiobook downloads through apps like Libby, so you do not need to buy anything.
Listen to a Podcast Together
Podcasts designed for families or older kids can spark surprisingly good conversation. Shows like “Smash Boom Best” (debate-style comparisons), “Brains On!” (science), “But Why” (questions kids ask), or “Wow in the World” are tween-friendly and give you something to talk about after the episode ends. If your tween listens to podcasts on their own, ask them to pick one to share with the car — and listen without judgment.
Non-Screen Activities
Word Games and Car Games
Classic car games still work at this age, especially in short bursts. The license plate game (spotting plates from all 50 states), 20 Questions, “Would You Rather,” and Mad Libs are all good choices. For a tween twist, try “Wikipedia Game” — pick two unrelated topics and see who can connect them in the fewest logical steps. Or play “Two Truths and a Lie” where each person shares three facts about themselves and the others guess the lie.
Bring Activity Books (Not Just Coloring Books)
Tweens may feel too old for basic coloring books, but activity books designed for their age group — puzzle books, brain teasers, drawing prompt books, or fandom-specific activity books — can hold their attention for surprising stretches. A fresh set of colored pencils or gel pens adds to the novelty. Look for options tied to something they already like: a specific movie franchise, animals, science, or art styles.
Start a Travel Journal
Give your tween a blank notebook and encourage them to document the trip in whatever way appeals to them — writing, drawing, taping in receipts and ticket stubs, rating restaurants, or making lists. Some tweens who would never “write in a diary” will happily rank every gas station snack on a scale of 1 to 10 or sketch funny things they see from the car window. No rules, no grades — just a record of the trip in their own style.
Have Real Conversations
A road trip is one of the few times you have your tween as a genuinely captive audience. Take advantage of it — but time it right. When the mood is relaxed (not when everyone is tired and hungry), ask an open-ended question, tell a story from your own childhood, or bring up a “would you rather” scenario that leads to real discussion. Tweens are forming their identities and opinions. If they share something you find surprising or do not agree with, resist the urge to correct them immediately. A car is not the place for a lecture — it is a place to listen.
Screen Time
Relax the Rules (a Little)
Every family has its own screen time policies, and a road trip does not have to mean abandoning them entirely. But consider that being confined in a car for hours is genuinely hard for a tween who is used to moving around and socializing. Allowing some personal screen time — with headphones — gives everyone a break and prevents the tension that builds when a 10-year-old and a 6-year-old are forced to share the same entertainment for six straight hours. Download movies, shows, or games in advance so you are not dependent on cell signal.
Photo Challenges
If your tween has a phone or camera, give them a photo scavenger hunt: a red barn, a funny bumper sticker, a cloud shaped like an animal, a state sign, something that starts with every letter of the alphabet. This gives them a reason to look out the window instead of at a screen and produces a fun record of the trip. At rest stops and scenic overlooks, let them take charge of family photos — tweens often have a surprisingly good eye for composition, and they will enjoy the responsibility.
At Stops and Overnight
Give Them Small Choices
At rest stops, let your tween pick where to eat or choose a snack. At hotels, let them decide the sleeping arrangement or pick what to watch before bed. These are small decisions, but they add up to a feeling of being consulted rather than just dragged along. When booking hotels, look for places with a pool — after a long day in the car, a swim is free entertainment that exhausts energy in the best possible way.
Rotate Seating
If your family has multiple kids, rotate who sits where. Nobody wants to be stuck in the same spot for the entire trip. Letting your tween sit in the front seat occasionally (when legal and safe — typically age 13 or older depending on state law and airbag considerations) can feel like a meaningful upgrade and gives you one-on-one conversation time.
Do Not Use Your Tween as a Babysitter
It can be tempting after a long day of driving to leave the younger kids with your oldest while you and your partner go out for the evening. Resist this. Your tween is on vacation too, and being assigned unpaid childcare duty is a fast way to make them resent family trips. If you want an evening out, find an actual solution — take turns, or plan a special outing with your tween on a different day as a fair trade.
Plan a Stop That Is Just for Them
If most of your trip is geared toward the whole family or younger siblings, plan at least one stop that is specifically chosen for your tween’s interests. A science museum, a rock climbing gym, a specific hiking trail, an ice cream shop they researched, or even an hour at a bookstore. One stop that is unambiguously theirs goes a long way toward keeping a tween positive about the overall trip.
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