I'm after suggestions to design an ice solution for the kids entertainment on longer journeys in the back of the car.
Until now we stick a few films from Netflix/Amazon/iPlayer on my phone and the kids use that, however despite being told not to rest it on their laps they do and I'm fairly sure the head down position that ensues contributes to motion sickness and puking. TBF the 6 yo has a bit of a puke tendency, but it's been much better and all recent episodes involve using the phone. I'm aware concentrating on any screen for long is going to lead to a clean up for me, but if the screen were up higher I'm sure it would help. It would also reduce arguements with the 4 yo over who holds it/I can't see it etc. Now I could get some sort of holder that hangs on the front seat backs I'm sure, but thinking ahead a bit the 1 yo will grow and a centrally positioned screen would be good for all 3. Yes I can and do fit the 3 across the back seat... It takes a while to get belts fastened but they do fit.
So while I've not ruled out a couple of tablets and holders on both front seat backs I'm also considering a centrally mounted screen and ways to drive it....dvd player tucked somewhere? Games console perhaps for gaming too? Or dumb screen and cast from phones etc. I'm not sure really, hence I'm after suggestions and ideas.
Ta.
Prior to us buying the kids an iPad each (to stop the constant bickering about what they wanted to watch) we solved this by lodging an Ipad in one of those bulky kid friendly cases between the two front seats and a splitter that allowed two sets of headphones from one output that meant they could each have them on and adults could listen to whatever we wanted in the front. Used my phone as a wifi hotspot and streamed videos from my plex server (or your provider of choice). Worked well for a year or two on the drives to France from Scotland.
Used the rear cigarette lighter to power it and job was jobbed.
Eye spy?
One of these and a tablet with a knackered battery, plugged in
That would be a solution only the seats are sort of semi bucket things with fully integral head rests. They are a pain in that the one seat cover/pouch thing I've tried hanging on them just slips off as the strap rides up and off due to the seat shape. I'm sure I'll find one that works but could take a bit of hunting.
https://images.app.goo.gl/dU32hMwXDTFyb1uS8
That's what I'm seeking with. Found that just now googling. Probably ought to look at the Briskoda thread to see if there are better solutions
Pair of these. They link so both screens can display the same DVD or they can watch separate discs. They mount to the headrest legs.
DVD’s are peanuts and kids love physically owning movies and choosing which one to watch on a long journey.
Have two kids with varying degrees of susceptibility to car sickness.
A higher up screen did help but wasn’t infallible.
We ended up just making them turn off screens every 30 mins or so. Then we got them to focus on stuff out the windows - ideally the windscreen. Most effective distraction was coutning Minis - there are loads and they get competitive with who could count the most. In fact, they often stopped watching screens altogether once they got into the Mini game.
Anyway, since we’ve adopted ‘screen time’ we’ve not had any recurrences.
Good luck.
We went through this. Ended up with cheap Amazon Fire tablets and a mobile plan with 150Gb data on my phone. I set up a hotspot, they can Netflix the miles away. Stuff can also be pre-downloaded, but don't get the cheapest model with naff all storage 🙂
Thanks tall Paul, but as I said there are no legged headrests (see the photo I linked)
Andrew yes we too limit screen time but it seems even 10 mins has triggered the arrival of the exorcist a couple of times. My wife thought she was clever, preparing and giving the 6yo a bag to be sick in.... Great except the bag had a hole 😕
I'm thinking maybe something like this
https://xtrons.co.uk/17-3-android-9-0-octa-core-2gb-ram-16gb-rom-car-roof-multimedia-player-cm179a
Although probably a smaller version ... Although I suspect with any roof mounted screen the driver's rear view will be totally blocked and side mirrors have to do. Having found that is actually a lot cheaper than I'd expected.
We had (still have) Nextbase DVD players, probably much like the link to Halfords above.
You could either link them together or play separately.
They hooked around the headrest so might not work for you.
The amount of movies I've heard and not seen on car journeys....
I'm in Central Scotland if you fancied trying them!
A couple of loops of cord round both seats so you have them spanning the gap and can hook am iPad on the upper one with the lower one for support to stop it swinging about.
Have seen it in use and works well. Also easy for an adult to grab it to turn off/change the show.
Comics, I-Spy books, Pocketeers
Surely the correct STW solution to suggest is change your car??
That google image you linked to up there is just a piece of string looped around with a folding tablet case hooked over it isn't it?
As MarkyG82 says - just do the same, either a long one over both seats or a chain of loops with the middle one between the seats - then they can't slide to far in to the middle.
We used to do similar - one webbing strap around both headrests so the tablet hung between the front seats, then the bottom end could be wedged between the seat to stop it swinging about.
Tablets, string and gaffer tape.
Give them a diazepam each, tie them in their chairs and tape their mouths shut, they'll be no bother until you get there.
I'm looking for neater solutions then the string or gadget tape type. I'm not ruling out string and tape but I'm looking for neater alternatives if they exist
That's interesting ots, ta.
I just thought, magnets, maybe some strong magnets to stick a mount like that to the roof, or even to stick screens to the seat backs. Hmmm, would be nice to be a non invasive and removable solution of if it worked. May need to invest in some neobidium and do some testing.
Magnets would certainly work, right up until a crash turns your ipad into a missile.
I like the Amazon Fire HD8. Slow to switch menus and stuff, but cheap, good screen, bluetooth and headphone jack make it pretty good once a video is started.
I don't crash, I'm a stw driving God?
Seriously though if the screen is mounted on the seat back where's it going? If it's mounted between the seats it could go out the front screen but I think I'll have more to worry about, as would anyone in front of the car.
Seriously though if the screen is mounted on the seat back where’s it going?
A child's face?
Having been rear ended and seen where all the coins and random stuff in dashboard cubbyholes went, I wouldn't want heavier stuff unsecured.
Unsecured seems key in they sentence. Since single dinky size neodymium magnets can't have a pull off force of 8kg and I may be able to use several or several larger ones, or seems a more secure solution than string and gaffer tape.
Audiobooks work amazingly on our kids. I'm pretty sure that they'd vom if they stared at screens, so I'm not keen on that.
You’ve tried drugs right?
When our children went through a ‘I feel sick…🤮’ phase we plied them with the typical ant-travel sickness products and they worked well.
This was before they got screens when they were about 8 or so. They still were 🤢🤮 without drugs but they also quickly got the connection between head down + screen and 🤮 and moderated their own use, switching to music, sleeping, or looking out of the windows.
My kids had a dual dvd screen like the halfords one above. Worked well, then they got a playstation from my wife, so one would watch dvd, other would use playstation.
They friggin loved it.
I had normal headrests though, easy to secure.
I had this problem, and bought a Gaggia Classic.
Can you get him a bigger booster seat so that he can see out of the window? Motion sickness is caused by a conflict between the vision and vestibular senses, so watching a screen might just make it worse.
When we were kids my brother had a lot* of success with the anti-nausea bands which you wear on your wrists. Ginger is also proven to work.
* Admittedly not always, as the guy in the open-top car on the M5 who was showered in projectile vomit from my brother will testify.
Surely the correct STW solution to suggest is change your car??
But he already has an Octavia VRS so he would have to change to the same car and then the cycle would start again and risk ending up in some kind of endless loop that would rip a hole in the space-time continuum.
Lol! I have considered a van. For point 2 Milli seconds.
I found comments that some of the headrest holders, ones with big fat elastic straps, can be secure on the skoda seats, so I've paid bezos to send me one to try out. Fingers crossed. If it works I'll get a second and a pair of screens that link, play dvd, WiFi, Bluetooth and hdmi.... And probably still get caught out in a year or two by a new input type.
Comics, I-Spy books, Pocketeers
Reading in a car always made me nauseous as a kid, which is part of the OP’s problem. I still prefer looking out of the window and listening to music as a passenger, although I have read ebooks on my phone in a coach or on a train, possibly because there’s less micro-movements going on.
Best entertainment we had on multiple 12 hour drives across America was a vehicle spotting game. My wife made sheets with cars and trucks in a range of colours and we had to tick them off as we saw them. Only she let the kids choose the colours which included purple and pink. Do you know how many pink trucks there are in central and western US? Not many. We did eventually see a pink truck on the way home.having driven thousands of miles. Even now, years later I get excited if I see one again.
