Vacationing with Nintendo 3DS is a Sanity Saver

One of the first mistakes I made as a traveling parent was focus all of my efforts on the meat and potatoes of the vacation. My wife and I make sure suitcases are full of the proper attire for whatever weather our vacations call for. My children believe vacation starts as soon as we close the front door. But parents have a lot on their minds when they leave that door. The airport, gas stations, cost of the trip, and a myriad of other stresses consume our thoughts. Kids enjoy the meat and potatoes of the trip, but they also want an appetizer. Something to hold them over until the main course arrives.

After many stressful beginnings to our vacations, we make sure every kid has a backpack full of fun things for them to do on the plane or car ride. Each bag contains headphones, word search books, pens and pencils, and a Nintendo 3DS.

 

We like to limit the amount of video games played on our vacations, but there are those moments when video games are needed to bring peace to the family. Recently we went on two trips via plane and the 3DS helped all my kids have a wonderful time on the plane. I’m sure the people sitting around us appreciated our toddler being entertained with the lights and buttons on the 3DS.

Nintendo has always been a leader in handheld video game devices. Remember the Game Boy? Most people from my generation used the Game Boy to spare their own childhood sanity. The 3DS has come along way from the Game Boy. The 3D graphics are wild and amp up the game play. It loads quickly so you’re not waiting for a long time to play. Which is nice because many parents have needed to calm down an impatient kid waiting for their game to start.

Traveling with kids can be difficult. The kids have little say in what they are doing or where they are going. Having a 3DS in their backpacks helps during those moments when a distraction is needed. Also nice to have when there is nothing to do in the hotel room.

Disclosure: I received a Nintendo 3DS for review. The words in this post are my own.