Thread: In Car Entertainment

Originally Posted by loanrangie

I agree about not watching endless movies but just for that last 30-60 mins when the novelty wears of being in the car wears thin and the screaming begins, will also have a 4 month old in the car as well .

Yep, i'm with you mate, been thinking of doing it myself as I have a 3.5 y/old, 21 month old and 3 week old Never had gadgets like this when I was a kid (wish they had) but as long as it is used in moderation it can be a healthy break from monotony and from endless games of I spy etc For me, depending on trip length, it would be a case of "behave, don't stab your new born sister in the eye with the crayon, or throw her teddy out of the window, or fight over who's trun it is for the drawing board, or empty your water bottle over your brother, or scream at the top of your voice for 3 straight ks.......................and then you can watch a dvd when we get closer" Well, that is how I imagine it to work....but either way, 9 hours for kids in the car is a big ask and I'm fairly sure with some responsible parenting in other areas as well, the kids are not going to turn into square eyed vegetables.....time and a place for technology and IMO, this is the time and the place

Keen to hear what you go for loanrangie and also keen to hear how it goes on your trip Good luck and enjoy.

Aye, Mick

P.S. Although some may say or elude otherwise this does not make you a bad parent

No parenting issues from me - mine have now outgrown the "entertain me" years and I haven't had to do 9 hours of driving with them - just lucky I guess. I'm OK with mine getting an hour or two on weekends at home, can't see that driving is really any different, except there's nowhere to run around in a car

Those little tv/dvd units are an exellent idea. We have one we use on long trips. I have lost count of the number if times we have driven from Alice Springs to Townsville or Brisbane and back. (8 to 16 hour driving days)

Generally we would not use it until after midday, the morning was taken up with the usual "i-spy" games etc, and the kids were set up with activity packs (paper crayons, stickers etc), but by the afternoon both the kids and the parents are a little tired and grumpy, thats when the movies would come on.

After a few trips you get the know the entire soundtrack to all the kids movies, although you have never seen one!

Well worth the money!

Cheers

a mate has a system for his car..from dick smith..good choice out there
approx $350 comes with two screens (each kid has own) and a player..
He's really happy with them..

I agree with CraigE, best thing since sliced bread!
We bought it because our youngest (now 9) gets car sick so reading, doing puzzles etc are out.
Both can watch a DVD or listen to a CD with headphones on - good for us, or one can play the computer games (25 of them) while the other uses the DVD/CD.
Once the novelty wore off, they now take breaks on their own without having to be told by us.

It doesn't stay in the car all the time, only on longer trips

A trip without "I'm bored" or "how long to go" or "she's on my side of the car" makes the mood at the end of the day better for everyone.

Larry.

Larry

The portable DVD players are excellent, and cheap to buy. Make sure it has a case if they are to hold it in their lap, as they do tend to get warm after a while. Did a trip from Melbourne, to Whyalla to see Tombraider in November, and even with the entertainment, I don't know how many hours I spent playing I-spy with my 5 year old son. You would be suprised at how many black things there are inside a Defender. (we had to divide I-spy into outside, and inside things) Headphones are also a plus, so you don't have to listen to "Shrek" over and over.

Enjoy your trip,

Ken

I agree with Larry.
Do the Nullabor 25 odd times and the scenery wears off. We do not use ours all the time, stiil play games and stop etc, but when you are trying to cover mega miles in the shortest possible time, they are great. We swap drivers and watch movies with the kids sometimes.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

How many million points did that set you back ? I could use my laptop and make some kind of mount to hold it on the centre console, already have the power adapter but something portable will be good for other uses as well.

May be a bit rough but I used electrical tape to tape the portable DVD player to the lid of the console in the defender, tape is cheap.