What Everyone Should Know About Car Travel with Kids
Before you ever leave for your trip, involve your child in the packing. You will want to pack a special bag with activities your child can do in the car. Things with small pieces are usually not the best choices, unless they are magnetic or attach in some way. Even then, be careful because pieces inevitably still get lost. But, do be sure to get your child involved in picking out the things he will play with.
Kids seem to get whiny when they get tired or bored. So, the key is to be sure that the kids are either very tired so that they will fall asleep or well rested with lots to do. If you want the kids to sleep in the car, it is probably best to plan long car trips when kids will be sleepiest, either during regular naptimes or at night when it is dark and kids are used to sleeping.
But, if your kids don’t nap anymore and you don’t want to drive at night, the best defense is to be sure that they never get bored. Each kid should have a backpack with items of interest to that child. Something new is always a good idea and a nice surprise because new things usually keep attention the longest. One idea is to let the child pick out the new item but put it away until you leave on the trip. Another idea is to purchase something that you know your child will enjoy but do not tell them about it until you are in the car. You may even want to wait until they become really bored and then surprise them with it. Some suggestions are small puzzle toys (think Rubik’s cube but there are many other similar puzzlers out there now too) or specialized car games among others. Or, you may have certain items that you only take with you on trips so that they are special. Or, you may just take along old favorites that are sure to entertain.
Car activities can range from a personal DVD player and a favorite movie or two to coloring books and everything in between. Some other really good items that kids may enjoy are video games such as Gameboy or for younger children, Pixter or Leapster. A pair of headphones may come in handy if everyone else in the car doesn’t want to hear the beeps and blips of the games. The headphones can also be used in a portable tape or CD player. Kids can listen to books on tape or music. My daughter likes to pick out books on tape from the library and since our library lets us borrow these for up to 3 weeks, it is always more than enough time to get them back when we return from our trip.
Children may also enjoy travel versions of classic games. These are most often made in such a way that small pieces are less likely to get lost than with the original games so it makes them perfect for car travel. Children may also really like “invisible ink” type books. There are ones where you color and a picture appears and there are ones that are games such as hangman or bingo that can be played. Check out Lee Publications at http://www.leemagicpen.com for a complete list of books that they carry.
Magnet games are also very popular. They have scenes such as a farm or a city and small magnet pieces that you can arrange on the scene and tell stories. They are similar to the felt boards that are used to tell stories in schools except they are smaller and more useful for travel since the magnets stick so well. If your child is imaginative, there are countless combinations for hours of play. Dolls and stuffed toys also lend to imaginative play as well.
Then, of course, there are the typical family games such as the “alphabet game” where you sing “A my name is A____ and my husband’s name is A_____. We come from A____ and we sell A_____ and continue with the rest of the alphabet. There are many group games like this that can make for fun family time. Of course, you can also play the license plate game where you list all the different license plates that you see out the car window and the one with the longest list wins. The first person to spot each license plate gets to write it down. Or, your family can have a sing-a-long where you sing all the songs you know together. You can borrow a book from the library that has popular group games and learn some new ones together as a family.
You can purchase such games as Travel Bingo where there are squares with pictures of things you might see along the trip and little windows to close over the squares when you’ve seen that item. If you can’t find such games, you could always make your own ahead of time. Then, as you drive along you are looking for things such as stop signs or a school or a firehouse. Depending on whether your travel is mostly highways or city roads, the things that you see will differ.
In addition to finding all the right things to entertain your child, you should also have lots of snacks packed. Healthy snacks are always the best choice but a few “fun” snacks are always a treat! Healthy snacks might include fresh fruit or individual fruit cups packed in natural juices, individual applesauce cups, raisins, carrot sticks, rice cakes or air popped popcorn, to name a few. “Treats” can be anything your child especially enjoys but that is not too messy. If it is going to be a hot summer trip, chocolate is not the best choice. And, don’t forget the drinks because all the snacks will surely make your child thirsty. Bottled water is the least messy choice but juice boxes or sippy cups may also fill the need well. Of course you will have to be prepared to stop at rest areas for the bathrooms if your children drink a lot.
Despite all the snacks and activities you pack, children will still need a chance to move around a little bit. Once per hour is optimal but if the children seem content, stopping for 15 minutes every two hours might be acceptable. At rest stops, let children take bathroom breaks but also give them a chance to walk or run around a bit to get out some of their pent up energy. Some rest areas have playground areas and a little while playing should help get out some of your child’s pent up energies. If there is no play area, a walk around or even running around in a safe area outside may help.
Above all, make travel fun and relaxed by being prepared. A little preparation goes a long way to keeping everyone happy.
