Car Rides: Audiobooks for Kids

Kids can get antsy in the car. Some kids are totally fine sitting in the car doing nothing. If your child is still a baby, and you haven’t started giving them a phone or tablet in the car, do not start. Once you start down the road of having a screen in the car, your child will have a tough time going without one. If you’re looking for new ways to entertain your child in the car, consider playing audiobooks for them.

There is no reason that your child has to constantly have something to do in the car. A child can be totally content to just sit and look out the window - what do you think kids did before there were phones and portable media devices? It’s not like those things have always existed. As a parent, this is the ideal scenario for your child - they can simply sit in the car while you drive around town without needing anything.

However, many kids have grown accustomed to having something to entertain them in the car. Whether it’s a phone or something else, they are not great just sitting in their seats. If you’re looking to remove these items, but your child isn’t having any of it, then you should look at audiobooks as an alternative for them. You might be surprised what your kids will enjoy listening to in the car.

Obviously, you could just turn on the same music that they listen to at home, but most parents are sick of listening to the same thing over and over and over again as it is. The great thing about an audiobook is that they are often enjoyable to listen to for parents as well. Sure, it may not be your first choice of book, but it’s far better than “Baby Shark” for the millionth time. You’ll keep your sanity.

Kids audiobooks can actually be excellent. Often they’ll have people reading that will do all kinds of different voices and try to engage the reader even more than your standard audiobooks. The narrators are often top quality, especially for popular books. Some of the best audiobooks that I’ve ever listened to are books that were targeted at kids and young adults - they’re just well done.

Audiobooks are pretty easy to get ahold of these days as well - you can get an audiobook without leaving your home. For the best selection of new books, Audible is really the only choice out there. However, for kids, you can often simply rely on your local library for audiobooks. Since they don’t need the latest book (at least to start), your library should have a large enough selection. 

Audiobooks are great for riding around town as well as for longer drives. While we generally allow a screen for drives over two hours, it’s only after the two hours have passed that the screens would come out, and only if needed. To start, we’ll listen to audiobooks or other activities for the kids. Short drives work well with audiobooks as well - you don’t need to listen for a long time to enjoy it.

If you’re not sure about audiobooks, then give it a try. Your child may surprise you with what they’ll sit and listen to in the car.