Going on vacation often rhymes with long hours of driving… and with the famous question from children: “When will we arrive?”. To keep the youngest occupied without turning the journey into a source of stress, parents seem to be changing their habits. This is what the OpinionWay study for tonies® reveals, carried out among 1,011 parents of children aged 3 to 10 in France.
Screens remain present, but their use is decreasing
Children’s boredom during travel is particularly difficult to manage when they are between 3 and 5 years old. Nearly 4 in 10 parents (39%) believe that this age group is the most complicated when it comes to long hours of transportation.
To make their children wait, families are using multiple strategies. Chatting with them (66%) comes first among the solutions cited, ahead of listening to music (60%), books and comics (49%), observing the landscape (48%), toys (45%) and family games (43%).
Screens remain in use, but their place is declining. Only 38% of parents say they use it among their most frequent solutions to keep their children occupied during summer trips. This is a drop of 11 points compared to 2025. In detail, 20% use a tablet, 17% a games console and 16% a smartphone.
Story boxes are increasingly appealing to families
Conversely, audio solutions are gaining ground. According to the study, 78% of parents now use storytellers, audiobooks or podcasts during summer travel.
Story boxes, like Tonies, are among these increasingly adopted alternatives. 27% of parents even indicate that it is one of their most used solutions during journeys, a figure up 5 points, a sign of a growing interest in screen-free activities.
Verbal games also remain a safe bet. Classics like the King of Silence, the “neither yes nor no”, the hanged man or the small bin are considered effective by 65% of parents, without requiring any equipment.
The gaze of other travelers also weighs on parents
Beyond the boredom of children, journeys are also a source of pressure for adults. 38% of parents admit that the gaze of other travelers pushes them to be stricter with their children. A third (33%) say they have felt shame about their children’s behavior while traveling.
This pressure even influences vacation plans. 36% of parents say they have already chosen a closer destination to avoid a long journey, 32% have already given up on certain means of transport and 26% have already abandoned a trip due to anticipated difficulties during the journey.
However, parents know that they are not alone in this situation: 73% believe that these difficulties are largely shared by other families.