‘Old school’ games rule during family driving holidays to Europe

31 July 2014

‘I Spy’ beats iPad – and education wins hands down

Mobile technology may be an increasingly common way of keeping children entertained in the car, but parents driving to Europe with their children are more likely to use ‘I Spy’ than an iPad to keep boredom at bay.

More than two thirds (68%) of the nearly 900¹ parents with school-aged children who were surveyed for the RAC’s Driving Abroad Report 2014 said interactive family games were top of the list of ways to pass the time when driving to Europe. Of those who played them, the favourite choices included:

Games that involved other cars on the road (61%), such as the ‘Banana Game’
Naming games (60%), such as ‘I Spy’
Alphabet-related games, such as ‘The Animal Name Game’ (49%)

Conversely, only 46% of the parents surveyed said computer games would be played and 40% said watching DVDs would feature.

While games may be a key part of the road trip itself, parents overwhelmingly (70%) felt that the experience of driving in Europe is educationally beneficial for children and young people.

In particular, the areas of education they think it enhances are:

Knowledge of geography – 68%
European history – 54%
Language skills – 51%

The RAC’s Driving Abroad Report 2014 found that three in five (60%) journeys to EU destinations are for a family holiday. For those parents with school-aged children, either mum or dad will take on the mantle of planning the holiday (24% dads, 21% mums) but mostly the holiday is organised jointly (44%) and three out of five (58%) parents involve their children in the decision-making process.

Pete Williams, RAC head of external affairs, said: “Family driving holidays abroad can be quite an undertaking, often requiring lots of patience and resourcefulness for some of the more fraught moments on the journey.

“So, for those of us who grew up with nothing more than a Beano annual and a Walkman for company on long family drives, the advent of mobile technology for children may seem like a luxury.

“But looking back on those trips there is a real sense of family nostalgia and great memories, so it’s refreshing to see that many families are still ‘old school’ and choose not to depend too heavily on technology.

“It’s also great to see that parents and children alike feel they are still experiencing both the joy of spending time together as well as the wider educational benefits that seeing a country up close by car can bring.”

Going on a long journey soon? Read our top 10 driving games for kids for inspiration.

Ends
If you are a journalist and would like further information, please contact:

RAC@brayleino.co.uk / 0117 906 4557
Simon Williams: 0161 452 4242 / 07725 822107 / simon.williams@rac.co.uk

Notes to Editors

*Research conducted on www.rac.co.uk w/c 07.04.14 with 2,000 respondents.
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