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If you're planning on traveling anywhere with children in tow, you best be darn sure to be prepared. As a family, you want your time in transit and sleeping away from home to be a part of the adventure, not a traumatic series of tantrums.
Along with lots of patience, technology can assist you. We're highlighting 10 excellent gadgets that can help entertain, comfort and even inspire your little ones whether you're traveling by train, plane, or car.
1. Comfortable kids' headphones
Try CozyPhones, $18.97
Headphones are a no-brainer for most trips, since many kids will play games or watch movies or shows on a portable device and parents don’t want to hear it all. For kids, especially young ones, try a pair of CozyPhones.
Made of soft, fleecy material, they fold up for easy portability, there are no uncomfortable earbuds or bulky headphones to worry about and they don't get in the way of car seats. The company says the volume is limited to 85 decibels.
They come in adorable designs (check out the unicorn!) and are an incredibly practical solution for on-the-go audio. They are comfortable enough for children to fall asleep wearing them (if you get that lucky) and even work as a sleep mask.
2. A portable Wi-Fi hotspot
Try the Roaming Man Wi-Fi, from $7.99 per day
Whether it's for safety and security reasons, or because you don't want to be without "YouTube Kids", connectivity is important to all families. Ensure you can stay hooked up to the web with the portable Roaming Man solution.
With one of Roaming Man's G3 devices -- and buying into their 4G Wi-Fi plans -- you can switch off the mobile data capabilities of your cellphone and know exactly how much connectivity is going to cost you each day.
This is a great way to avoid any scary roaming charges when you get back while still making sure you can stay connected while you're abroad. So… the only worry is -- will it be Paw Patrolor Peppa Pig?
3. A headphone splitter
Try the Belkin RockStar 5-Jack 3.5 mm Audio Headphone Splitter, $14.99
If you've got one tablet and four little ears that want to hear it, a headphone splitter is a great way to let kids share one entertainment device -- without driving the rest of the car/train/plane crazy.
If you're on 3.5mm audio then Belkin's fun RockStar offers five jacks to plug in up to five sets of headphones. If you're an Apple family and need a Lightning Audio solution, Belkin also offers a dual Lightning Audio + Charge RockStaroption for $44.99.
The Jiobit location tracker clips to a belt loop or zipper and provides real-time location tracking for young children.Credit: courtesy jiobit4. A location tracker
Try the Jiobit Location Monitor,$129.99 plus monthly subscription plan
Hopefully more of a peace-of-mind solution than something you'll ever need to use, but a portable GPS tracker can be a valuable tool if you’re planning to let your kids out of sight, or be in a place with large crowds.
Once your child is wearing the tracker, you can see their location in real-time via the companion app. Alternatively if you're at a vacation resort, a campsite or hotel complex, you can create geofences around specific locations and get notification when the Jiobit leaves certain places, so you'd know if a child left the campsite, for example.
The Jiobit solution is especially kid-friendly. The small tracker can attach to shoelaces with the tracker's built-in loop, to waistbands via the hem-lock clip, to buttonholes or belt loops via a lockable loop.
It's shock- and waterproof, offers a week's battery life and data encryption.
5. An extra battery or power pack
Try the Griffin Survivor Rugged Power Bank, $59.99
Your flight has just been delayed another two hours and the iPad is on 2% battery. Nightmare, right? A portable power pack could save that situation from being a complete disaster.
There are tons of great options on the market, but we're suggesting Griffin Technology's Survivor Rugged Power Bank as it's drop-resistant, weather-proof and will give you up to four full recharges for an iPhone 7 or Samsung Galaxy S7 or can fully recharge your iPad or tablet.
You might nearly be out of power, but with a fully charged power pack to hand, you aren't out of options.
The JBL GO 2 portable bluetooth speaker.Credit: courtesy jbl6. A portable speaker
Try the JBL GO 2, $39.95
A portable speaker might not seem to be something for the essentials list, but it may surprise you how much you'll get out of having such a gadget on hand.
Whether it's for playing "Baby Shark" at the beach, "Summertime" by the pool, listening to an audio book around the campfire, or having handsfree Bluetooth calls with family and friends back home, a speaker will justify its weight in your suitcase.
Our recommendation is JBL's cheap and cheerful Go 2. It's a wireless Bluetooth speaker with noise cancelling speakerphone functionality that is completely waterproof and will give you five hours of out-and-about audio from one charge. Adding to its charm, it comes in 12 lovely colors that kids will adore.
7. A cozy nightlight
Try the AnanBros Remote Control Star Projector with Timer and Music Player, $29.99
Being away from home and sleeping in strange places can be a challenge for even the most laid back kids. A nightlight that also plays music can be a clever way to settle children in unfamiliar surroundings.
This option gives you star and moon projections with nine different lighting effects, perfect if where you're staying doesn't have lighting suitable for bedtime. There are 12 soothing tracks built in, as well as the ability to load music onto the bundled memory card.
A timer means you can set the gadget to turn off automatically, or the included remote control can be used from a very child-friendly 32 feet away for stealth switch-offs.
8. A kid-friendly camera
Try the VTech Kidizoom Duo Selfie Camera, $49.99
Encourage exploring kids to really notice and appreciate their new and different surroundings with a child-friendly camera.
In addition, photo challenges are a great way to liven up car journeys and make the time pass more quickly. Set a list of things they need to capture on camera, for example, a red car, a cow, a stop sign, etc, and those long hours on the road will fly by.
We're highlighting a camera designed for ages 3-9 – VTech's Kidizoom Duo Selfie Camera.
With a nice chunky design, this snapper is durable enough to survive the odd drop. It has a 2.4-inch color LCD screen and can take photos and video. There is also a built-in rear-facing camera that's perfect a few selfies.
9. A portable projector
Try the Acer C202i, $367.05
Traveling kids means tired kids, especially that time before bed when the day's activities are over. Recreate family TV time with a portable projector and you can play some comforting content wherever you're staying, even if you're camping.
Portable projectors aren't cheap, but if you can stretch to it, Acer's new C202i is a great option as it's lightweight, has wireless connectivity for cable-free content streaming and boasts a decent picture quality.
What's more, its five-hour battery life means you will definitely be able to watch an entire movie on a full charge. You could even watch Frozentwice. Joy!
10. A coffee maker
Try the Wacaco Minipresso NS, $40.53
Traveling with kids is almost always completely exhausting, even if the reason for the trip is a happy one, like a vacation.
Look after your needs too with this last gadget we're suggesting -- a portable espresso maker -- so you can have a quick caffeine hit anywhere without spending a fortune on coffee from stores and stands.
The Minipresso NS from Wacaco works with Nespresso coffee capsules to give you java on the run. It's travel-friendly too, weighing in at 350 grams and measuring less than seven inches. You owe it to yourself to find room in your hand luggage for one of these.
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