When you go on a long car trip with kids, you’ve got to be flexible—and creative! Here are some tips for keeping elementary school-aged children happy in the car.
Always bring food! Snacks can keep kids happy for at least 5 minutes at a time. When they have something good in their mouths, they concentrate on that instead of their boredom.
Shop ahead of time for small toys or treats. Then, ration them out according to how much time the trip will take. For example, if the trip will take 10 hours, have 9 toys per child, and give them out every hour. These don’t have to b expensive—usually the surprise factor and knowing that they’ll get something new every hour, works in your favor.
Make frequent stops, but short ones. If you stop too often, it will seem like it takes forever to get there!
Play some simple games together. There are many travel games available for kids, but you can also come up with your own. Try the alphabet one—My name is Alice, my mother’s name is Ann, we come from Abilene and we sell apples. The next person does the letter B and so on. Another game might be “Name That Tune,” or singing the next line in a song.
Do some simple crafts—coloring, magnetic paper dolls, potholder weaving—whatever holds their attention, but is not too messy.
Try some word games—crossword puzzles, Mad Libs, etc.
Read.
Last, but not least, if you have a portable DVD player, watch a movie. This wouldn’t be my first choice, but obviously we are trying to keep everybody happy while being confined together for a long period of time! Likewise, some iPod games would come in handy.
The important thing to remember is that your family is on their way to a fun vacation, but a little discomfort and boredom is necessary to get there. Try to make it as pleasant as possible, vary the activities, and hopefully everyone will arrive at your destination in good shape. Have a great trip!
When you go on a long car trip with kids, you’ve got to be flexible—and creative! Here are some tips for keeping elementary school-aged children happy in the car.
Always bring food! Snacks can keep kids happy for at least 5 minutes at a time. When they have something good in their mouths, they concentrate on that instead of their boredom.
Shop ahead of time for small toys or treats. Then, ration them out according to how much time the trip will take. For example, if the trip will take 10 hours, have 9 toys per child, and give them out every hour. These don’t have to b expensive—usually the surprise factor and knowing that they’ll get something new every hour, works in your favor.
Make frequent stops, but short ones. If you stop too often, it will seem like it takes forever to get there!
Play some simple games together. There are many travel games available for kids, but you can also come up with your own. Try the alphabet one—My name is Alice, my mother’s name is Ann, we come from Abilene and we sell apples. The next person does the letter B and so on. Another game might be “Name That Tune,” or singing the next line in a song. Anything to get you by on the way to your timeshare!
Do some simple crafts—coloring, magnetic paper dolls, potholder weaving—whatever holds their attention, but is not too messy.
Try some word games—crossword puzzles, Mad Libs, etc.
Read.
Last, but not least, if you have a portable DVD player, watch a movie. This wouldn’t be my first choice, but obviously we are trying to keep everybody happy while being confined together for a long period of time! Likewise, some iPod games would come in handy.
The important thing to remember is that your family is on their way to a fun vacation, but a little discomfort and boredom is necessary to get there. Try to make it as pleasant as possible, vary the activities, and hopefully everyone will arrive at your destination in good shape. Have a great trip!
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