Thursday, June 9, 2011

tech thursday: 5 apps to tame road trips with toddlers

Summer road trip season is upon us. Luckily for all you tech-savvy parents out there, your smart phone will give you a few tricks to hide up your virtual sleeve that makes road travel with toddlers just a wee bit easier. Here are five apps I'm currently loving (and you will too!).

Road Trip Bingo
Get your kids looking out the window! Sure, you can play the low-tech version of this game, but you gotta admit, it's kinda fun to shake the phone to create your bingo card. The app contains more than 40 items to find and displays them in image format. Perfect for toddlers! Note, there is mildly annoying music with this app. Don't worry - you can turn it off. Developed by Bright Bunny, you can play this app on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. (99 cents)

Where Do Kids Eat Free Today?
Yeah, you heard me. An app that uses your current location to find the nearest restaurants hosting 'kids eat free' nights. Save a little green on your road trip, too! You can also submit restaurants with kids eat free nights via the app, which helps expand the database. Available for iPhone and Android, from Youniversal Apps. Don't want the app? You can use your phone's web browser to search their website database by zip code. (99 cents)

My Little Suitcase
The last time we went on a trip, the Bug put three t-shirts and her blanket in a suitcase and said she was ready to go. My Little Suitcase begins with a bright menu of choices for a beach trip, snow trip, camp trip, or sleepover. Kids get to pack their own mittens, camping lanterns and beach balls. One by one, they choose items into the suitcase until packing is complete. Designed for kids ages 2-6, this is a great app to start teaching your kids about travel. So when they arrive at their destination, they're ready to PLAY. Available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad from My Busy Kit. (99 cents)

Sunday Drive Scenic Route
Wanna travel 'like a local?' Download this FREE app, which highlights ideal tours for families, adventurers and explorers featuring the best of America's back roads and hidden treasures. Simple & easy to use, just click ‘Options’ at the to right side of the screen. Click Drives to view a listing of routes sorted by distance from your location. Impromptu road trip or need to make an unscheduled pit stop? You're covered. You can even suggest routes/destinations within the app using the 'share' button. (FREE)

Sit or Squat
You betcha. It's exactly what you think it is. An app to help you find the nearest restroom. As a mom about to embark on my first potty training adventure, this is going to be super handy. There isn't too much more to say about this one. Developed by Densebrain and 100% FREE. (FREE).

What apps are you swearing by? Would love to hear about them! Just leave a comment.

Tech Thursday is a join project of (cool) progeny and Classic Play. Each week, both blogs will take on a family-tech related topic. Want to read a past tech thursday post? Just visit either blog and search 'tech thursday.'

1 comments:

rose said...

Those are some really good apps. My favorite app is the TV Everywhere app I have through my employer DISH Network. The kids can watch TV live from anywhere we are at. I just had to buy the Sling Adapter for $99.00 and the app was free to download. Right now DISH is giving a $99 rebate back when you purchase the Adapter, so it’s basically free. I have access to all my subscription channels right from my iPad. Go to this link for all the details of the promotion. http://goo.gl/Qsggz It’s like having the TV with us on the road. They love being able to watch their favorite shows on the road.