WritingThoughts

It’s summertime! Some of us will be making trips with the kids for vacation. Some of those trips will be made by car.

One of the difficulties with long car trips is keeping the kids amused. If planned properly, a car trip can bring a positive element to the entire vacation. Without planning, a car trip with kids can become an ordeal to endure.

This post is designed to help you head off those cries of “how long until we get there” and “I’m bored.” If you can keep your kids occupied you can also keep them from fighting in the car.

Car Survival Kit

Here are some things that you absolutely don’t want to forget to bring if you want a peaceful drive:

• Snacks
• Drinks
• Pillows
• Blanket
• Crayons
• Coloring book
• Pencils
• Pad of paper

You will have to plan on at least one potty break (more if your children are smaller), but with these items on hand you shouldn’t have to face cries of “I’m hungry,” “I’m thirsty,” “I’m cold,” and so on.

Car Games

Finding a car game that can hold your kid’s attention is a lot better than listening to them fuss or fight. Here are some games that have held the attention of my kids over the years.

• Rhyme-it. I list this one first because it can even hold the attention of my teenagers. They love cracking up over the silly “poems” that this game produces. The first player says a sentence. The next player must say a sentence that rhymes with it. The second sentence need be in context with the first one. The game continues until no one can think of a rhyming sentence. The “poem” is complete.
• I Spy. This is a classic children’s car game. The first player starts the game with the words “I spy something” and names the color of the object that they see. “I spy something red” could be a car or a barn on the side of the road. The other players must guess the object. If they guess correctly, they get to “spy” the next object.
• Road Sign ABCs. This game is played by looking for road signs that begin with the letters in the alphabet. The first player looks for a road sign that begins with “A.” When they find the sign, they call it out. Then the next player looks for a different road sign that begins with “A” and calls it out. When each player has found a road sign that begins with that letter, the players move on to the next letter. The game continues until each player has found a road sign for each letter of the alphabet.

Singing 

If you can stand it, turn your car into a traveling karaoke bar. Either allow the kids to sing a capella, or put a CD without words in the CD player.

Laura’s Final Rule of the Road! 

If there’s fighting or fussing, the fun stops and everyone must be quiet.

What are your survival tips for traveling with kids? Leave a note and let me know. 

Don’t forget to stop by my new site, OpinionMom. We’re having Wordless Wednesday over there (complete with MisterLinky). 

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.