How to set up kids coloring for a road trip or flight

To set up coloring for a road trip or flight, pack a small paper kit, choose a coloring app and test it in Airplane Mode at home, block in-app purchases, set a time limit and charge everything the night before. The most common travel problem is an app that needs internet to load pictures, and you only find out at 10,000 meters. Testing offline first avoids that.

1. Pack a paper kit first

Paper never runs out of battery. For travel:

• A small coloring book or a few printed pages in a folder
• Chunky crayons for younger children
• A clipboard or a hard book to press on
• A zip bag to keep everything together

Hand over paper first and keep the tablet for later in the trip. Many children color on paper longer when the screen is not an option yet.

2. Choose an app and test it in Airplane Mode

At home, a day or two before you leave:

1. Open the coloring app once while online so any first-run setup finishes.
2. Turn on Airplane Mode.
3. Force-close the app and open it again.
4. Try several pages or pictures, including ones your child has not opened yet.

If pictures fail to load or the app asks you to connect, choose a different app or download content while you still have Wi-Fi. Some apps download pages on demand even though they work offline once a page is saved.

3. Block purchases before you leave

A bored child on a long trip will find every locked page. Block purchases on the device:

• On a shared iPhone or iPad, use Screen Time to set In-app Purchases to Don't Allow. Apple explains the steps in Use Screen Time to turn off in-app purchases.
• If your child has their own Apple Account in Family Sharing, use Ask to Buy so requests come to you.

4. Keep your child inside the app

On iPhone and iPad, Guided Access keeps the device locked to one app and can end the session after a set time. Apple's guide: Use Guided Access on iPhone or iPad. We also walk through it in How to lock an iPhone or iPad to one app for a toddler.

A time limit helps on long trips: 20 minutes of coloring, then a snack, a window game or paper.

5. Charge, stand and sound

• Charge the device fully and bring a cable or power bank.
• A cheap headrest mount or a case with a stand keeps the tablet off your child's lap in the car.
• If the app makes sounds, decide whether you want child headphones or muted sound for the trip.

6. Pick pages for the destination

Children often enjoy coloring something connected to the trip: animals for a farm visit, vehicles for an airport day. Choose a few pages in advance and suggest them when the novelty wears off.

Where Painto fits

Painto is a coloring app for ages 2 to 8 that works fully offline, with no internet connection needed, so it passes the Airplane Mode test by design. Still run the test with your own device before you leave.

What your child can do in it on the road:

• Paint a 3D character, spin it around and watch it dance when finished
• Color 2D pages with tap-to-fill (big targets for ages 2 to 4) or use color by number (ages 5 to 8)
• Draw freely with a pencil, eraser and zoom

Painto has no ads, no third-party trackers and no pop-ups, and a parental gate protects every purchase, link and setting. It is free to download; more content needs a Weekly ($6.99), Yearly ($24.99) or one-time Lifetime ($29.99) purchase (US App Store, Nov 2026). It runs on iPhone and iPad only and is a small download (8.3 MB).

For more options, see Best coloring apps for kids or Paint My Cat alternatives.

Travel checklist

• Paper kit packed
• App tested in Airplane Mode after a force-close
• In-app purchases blocked
• Guided Access set up with a passcode
• Device charged, cable or power bank packed
• A few pages picked for the trip