In car entertainment for kids

dogbert27

Hi,

thinking about in car entertainment for the kids. On long journeys they currently use my phone to keep themselves occupied with Netflix or youtube.

What would be the best set up?

I was thinking a tab on a head rest mount or is there something better?

The Royal Scam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_spy

ironclaw

Not trying to be funny, but I'm not all that old and I had none of that to keep me busy. We regularly did trips to the Midlands and South East, easily pushing over 2 hours when the motorways didn't exist. Thinking back, I learned a good bit about the countryside and my family by chatting and just looking out the window. Kept myself occupied. Perhaps I sound daft, but there is a lot to be said to engage the mind of a younger person without external stimulus and remove technology from some facet of our lives.

dogbert27

The Royal Scam wrote: »

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_spy

Hilarious. Or not when you've had to play it 1095 days in a row.

dogbert27

This is a motoring thread. I've asked a question in relation to car entertainment systems which exist in the real world. I would have asked in the Parenting thread "is it okay to install an in car entertainment system for the kids" if I wanted opinions on the rights and wrongs of it.
I didn't come in to the motoring thread to ask for my parenting skills to be critiqued.

Atlantic Dawn

Your options in order of expense are...

1 - Go to the main dealer of the car you have and see if they have their own brand rear screen entertainment system, expect €1000 plus.
Advantage is will be custom fit to car and will be powered from the car so no hassle with charging them
Disadvantages are the expense and depending on what's available they may not play newer media files that you may have files downloaded as. Unlikely to be any games or apps that can be installed, will pretty much play video and music only.

2 - Tablets, probably looking at €250 odd a piece for cheapest sized decent brand.
Advantages would be you can play pretty much any video format, they can play games and use apps on them, you can also if your phone has mobile hotspot allow them to connect to it as WIFI and The tablets are mobile and can be removed from the car and used elsewhere.
Disadvantages are they could be fragile in their hands and dropped or broken easy, they will not be mounted on the rear of the front seats so with very young kids these are not an option. They will need to be charged so if you only have a single power outlet in the car it could be hassle keeping them powered up on long drives but they should last 6-8 hours on a single charge depending on use.

3 - Portable DVD Players that have velcro fittings to attach to rear of front seats.
Advantages would be cost, expect around €50-60 each so not a huge outlay.
Disadvantages would be no games or apps and you would need to keep a library of DVD's in the car for them to use. The battery life on these would be poor, expect around 2 hours or so.

biko

It depends on age etc but argos and Aldi often have those headrest with screens.

You could try just some books if they don't get carsick from reading while driving (a friend of mine cannot read in a car).

IrishZeus

What about something like this, OP? Looking at them myself too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Screen-Portable-Player-Rechargable-Remote/dp/B00PFXEUV2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1488991906&sr=8-2&keywords=car+dvd+players+for+kids

dogbert27

Thanks Atlantic Dawn.

I was thinking of option 2 alright.

I could use a 4 port usb charger to power the tabs and the phone being used as a hotspot.

dogbert27

IrishZeus wrote: »

What about something like this, OP? Looking at them myself too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Screen-Portable-Player-Rechargable-Remote/dp/B00PFXEUV2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1488991906&sr=8-2&keywords=car+dvd+players+for+kids

Something with a remote control would be handy. I guess for variety though a tab would be better as you can have both netflix and kids games to give options.

And books, and I spy :P:)

Shefwedfan

I use these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAFE-EASY-UNIVERSAL-DVD-IPAD-TABLET-CAR-BACKSEAT-HEADREST-MOUNT-STRAP-HOLDALL-x2-/151011156556?hash=item2328f7624c:g:WvMAAOxye2lSWrw3

SO I have ipad and android tablet. I have a 4g mobile wifi connection and can turn that on if required. But one of 2 films on tablet and that will do the job. I have only used 2-3 times for really long journeys....

dogbert27

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I use these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAFE-EASY-UNIVERSAL-DVD-IPAD-TABLET-CAR-BACKSEAT-HEADREST-MOUNT-STRAP-HOLDALL-x2-/151011156556?hash=item2328f7624c:g:WvMAAOxye2lSWrw3

SO I have ipad and android tablet. I have a 4g mobile wifi connection and can turn that on if required. But one of 2 films on tablet and that will do the job. I have only used 2-3 times for really long journeys....

How are they for when the kids want to access the touchscreen?

I was thinking of a holder like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EC-Technology-Adjustable-Rotating-Headrest-BLACK/dp/B01BTHOKLM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

JoyPad

Netflix now allows you to download movies and TV shows, so you don't need to waste bandwidth if you prepare the tablets beforehand.

dogbert27

JoyPad wrote: »

Netflix now allows you to download movies and TV shows, so you don't need to waste bandwidth if you prepare the tablets beforehand.

Except on windows devices! :mad:

Shefwedfan

dogbert27 wrote: »

How are they for when the kids want to access the touchscreen?

I was thinking of a holder like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EC-Technology-Adjustable-Rotating-Headrest-BLACK/dp/B01BTHOKLM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

I got one of them, pain in ass it was and ended up one of kids got there paws out and grabbed tablet and pulled it, smashed to pieces

Even if kids get hold of tablet on the one I am using, it just pulls off the velcro so you can just stick back up again

I have SMAX and they are far enough back they can't touch it....

Shefwedfan

JoyPad wrote: »

Netflix now allows you to download movies and TV shows, so you don't need to waste bandwidth if you prepare the tablets beforehand.

You tube is handy for littlebabybum which keeps them all quiet

pa990

Saw the thread title, and instantly thought of I spy,

But that was mentioned very early on.

Your kids are only kids for a short while.
Let them look out the window, let them be creative with their imagination and entertain themselves, or God forbid, actually interact with them.



Failing all that, pick up some cheap android tablets, and let them entertain themselves.

the_syco

ironclaw wrote: »

easily pushing over 2 hours when the motorways didn't exist

But now that they do exist, there's not much there to point out.

Me, I listened to music, the radio, etc (I got carsick, so didn't read, or watch TV series). Or heck, just slept.

Shefwedfan

pa990 wrote: »

Your kids are only kids for a short while.
Let them look out the window, let them be creative with their imagination and entertain themselves, or God forbid, actually interact with them.

I agree but when travelling from Dublin to Southampton via car/boat after a few hours of keeping them amused I found the tablets brill

Two hours of a film while they relax worked perfect

Standard road trips for hour or so they keep themselves amused looking for cows/sheep/tractor/lorry etc

ironclaw

the_syco wrote: »

But now that they do exist, there's not much there to point out.

True. Suppose it depends how far you are going. I don't have kids, won't for a while, but its actually heart breaking when you see a kid collected from the creche and the parent has their phone wedged on their shoulder and they fling them an iPad to keep them happy on the way home. Or the few cars I meet on the M50 every couple of nights which join around the N7 and leave at Bray, kids once again glued to a DVD of Peppa Pig or on an iPad, again the parent on the phone with ear buds in. Is it that hard to talk to your kids for a few mins per day?

My job is wall to wall tech and I feel sorry for the upcoming generation who will have no idea how to keep themselves occupied without a screen and internet connection.