Car Travel with the Kids
by Donna Thomson
My own family has done a few long car trips with the kids so I thought I'd share some tips. It really does help to be well prepared to save you hearing the renowned "Are we there yet?" every two minutes.
It's a great idea to set up travel activity packs for each of the kids based on things they individually like to do. Also, presenting them with things that are new to them will hold their attention much better than bringing along their 'usual' toys. This doesn't have to cost much - a quick trip to the $2 shop will see the activity packs filled in no time. Here are some suggestions:
Activity Pack
- Food and drinks - e.g. water bottles, tetra juice packs, spill-proof cups for toddlers, snack bars, pre-made sandwiches, fresh fruit, dried fruit, crackers and cheese, and so on.
- Activity books - dot-to-dot, word puzzles, mazes, colouring-in, etc.
- Books - depending on the age, these might be board books, picture books, comic books, chapter books, etc.
- Blank notebooks for writing and drawing
- Pens, pencils, crayons
- Mini travel games
- Toy binoculars
Particularly useful for babies:
- Rattles and toys you can give them one at a time to prevent boredom.
- A mirror set up where your baby or toddler can see themselves.
- Hang a mobile above the baby seat.
Other ideas for older children:
- Let them have a map they can follow along with as you travel.
- If you're so inclined, they could take their portable game systems.
- A portable CD player with earphones and an assortment of CDs keeps kids with varying tastes from squabbling.
- If you are game enough you can simply play the CDs through the car for everyone to hear - anything from general music to narrated books to the kids' favourites.
For young ones, make sure you have all the supplies you might need such as nappies, wipes, teether, dummy/pacifier, creams and lotions, bottles, formula, baby food, spoons, favourite blankie or toy, and so on. Keeping travel packs of tissues and wipes with the adults in the front of the car is a great idea for cleaning up sticky hands or other emergencies while driving. We found first-hand that it's a great idea to keep a towel handy in the car for cleaning up after upset tummies! If your children are old enough to recognise when they are feeling sick, take along an old ice-cream container or 'sick bags' just in case. Empty plastic bags are great for soiled towels, clothes and nappies and allocate one for general rubbish too.
Oh and don't forget the sunscreen, insect repellent, liquid paracetamol for littlies and the general first aid kit.
Planning the trip
If you can time your travel with baby's nap time this can be very useful (and quiet) for mum and dad. Often I've found baby is asleep before leaving then wide awake and bored in the car because that is usually activity time for them. So if you can manage to coordinate at least part of your trip to have baby asleep it'll be less painful all 'round.
Plan to stop at least every two hours for around 10-20 minutes. Find a park or other area to stop to stretch the legs, have something to eat, and to let the kids to burn off some excess energy. Have a ball, bubbles, balloons etc handy for those stops and make sure everyone visits the toilet before getting back into the car! The last thing you want to hear is "I'm busting!" five minutes down the road. For mum and dad, you might like to have a flask of hot water to make a tea or coffee when you stop or do as we do and take along a small gas burner and kettle!
Get creative
Refresh your memory on all those old favourites and think up some new ones to entertain the kids. Some you may need to lead but others the children can play without your help, depending on their ages.
Singing - sing nursery rhymes and other children's songs (especially those with actions).
"I spy with my little eye..." - you can adjust this to suit younger children by using a phonetic sound rather than alphabetic letter. You could change it up by saying 'rhyming with...', 'the colour...', and so on.
Spot the ... (windmill, cow, yellow house, sheep, etc.)
ABC - each person picks an item starting with next letter in the alphabet.
Guessing game - give clues until someone guesses what your animal, person or thing is.
"I'm going ________ and I will bring ..." - relate this to your destination. Each person picks an item to bring to the travel destination and each subsequent person must recite the entire list and add their own item. The first person who forgets an item on the list is out.
Hangman (need pencil and paper)
Noughts and crosses/ Tic-tac-toe (need pencil and paper)
Car Tally - this was a favourite for my sister and I. Each child has a pencil and notebook. They then choose between one and three car colours each and keep a tally of how many cars of those colours they spot. When they've had enough they can compare which colour cars were most popular. I had no idea how much maths was involved as a child, but from a parent's perspective this game is a great learning activity!
Travel Bingo - either mum and dad or the kids can set up the bingo playing sheets. It might be an idea for mum and dad to make the first 'round' to give the kids an idea of how to set it up, then have plenty of blank paper on stand-by so they can create their own. Divide a piece of paper into 9 squares. In those squares you list a variety of things that might be seen along the trip (bridge, train, church, horse, boat, plane, telephone box, windmill, dog, etc) making sure each person's playing sheet is at least slightly different. As the children spot each thing they cross it off as you do in bingo. Set the rules such as three-in-a-row to win, or the whole sheet filled. First to do so shouts 'BINGO' and is the winner.
Finally, have a pillow or cushion for each of the kids so they can have a rest or nap - they may surprise you! Enjoy your trip!