Back seat technology the secret to staying sane on holiday road trips

Got a school holiday road trip coming up? You’ll probably forego old-fashioned car games in favour of smart phones and tablets to keep the kids happy.

RAA road safety - generic shot of family keeping busy in the car and not distracting the driver while on driving holiday (no...

It’s bye-bye I Spy and hello iPhone.

When holidaying families embark on their road trips home this week, old-fashioned car games like I Spy and punch buggy are likely to be replaced with back-seat smart phones, tablets and mobile broadband devices, according to research from Telstra.

The communications company quizzed 710 parents with young and teenage children who planned to travel in the July school holidays and found the vast majority (89 per cent) thought an internet-connected device made long car journeys easier.

Highway to hell ... long car trips with children can tax everyone’s patience. Illustration by JOE BENKE

Parents said using internet-enabled devices while travelling allowed children to entertain themselves (69 per cent), kept kids happy and quiet (55 per cent) and meant they could offer different entertainment options for different family members (27 per cent).

In other findings:

● 69 per cent of parents surveyed said the two best things about using internet-enabled devices when travelling was that kids could entertain themselves, followed by keeping kids happy and quiet (55%) and allowing parents to cater to different entertainment options for different members of the family (27%).

● 45 per cent of parents said long car trips with kids were OK as long as activities were planned, although 11 per cent said the experience was stressful, regardless of planning.

Take a tablet ... iPads and other tablets can keep children in the back seat entertained on holiday car journeys. Picture: SUPPLIED

● Dads were more relaxed about long trips than mums

● Smartphones were the screen of choice, with 73 per cent of respondents with children between three and 16 saying their phones would be in the back seat, followed by tablets (70 per cent) and laptops (29 per cent).

● The most popular activities for kids using internet-enabled devices when travelling are watching movies (55 per cent) and playing games (77 per cent), followed by streaming music (23 per cent).

Grizzling Griswolds ... how different would National Lampoon’s <i>Vacation</i> be if the kids had iPhones? Picture: SUPPLIED

Screen savers ... parents say iPods, iPhones and iPads can help save their sanity on long road trips. Picture: SUPPLIED

Maryanne Tsiatsias, Telstra’s director of prepaid mobile, said it wasn’t just parents who found the internet a welcome travelling companion.

“Our research shows three quarters (74 per cent) of Australians connect to the internet while on holidays. Gen Ys find it particularly essential to connect, with 87 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds saying they log on,” Ms Tsiatsias said.

“More than half of us bring our own mobile broadband devices to connected when away, with 56 per cent saying they pack a tablet, dongle or Wi-Fi hotspot.”