With the Holidays vastly approaching travel is inevitable, and along with travel comes the travel torture. We all know it, even if you have been blessed with the best little traveler in the world eventually tormenting repetitive comments cometh.
Some of the classic tormenting chatter we hear in the car:
•Are we there yet?
•I have to go potty?
•How much longer?
•I am hungry!
•Done…Done…Done (my husband’s favorite, our son yelled this after only two hours into a 15 hour journey).
This is when mommy needs to pull out her fun bags…no, not those fun bags (where is your mind?) – bags filled with fun activities for the kiddos. These will vary depending on the age of your children but it is wise to have a small tub with a lid for each child that contains activities they will enjoy.
Items to include in the car for toddlers & preschoolers:
•Books
•Coloring books (only 3 crayons & watch them in extreme heat)
•Quiet toys- doll or action figure
•Stickers (might end up on car- vinegar & baby oil will get off any adhesive left behind. Sometimes ten minutes silence is worth the clean up later.).
•Legos
•Movie (If you have DVD player in car- if not, get one. Movies are perfect for long car rides. Must have strict rules, only watch movies during long trips, that way it is a special treat, and not the norm.).
•Car bingo
•Snacks
•Encourage older children to play additional car games together (20 questions, what animal am I, Name the healthy food- see hybrid time)
You could also make a fun scavenger hunt for the kiddos to occupy their time in the car. I made one for a trip we took to Cinncinatti and the kiddos had so much fun, click here to read more.
I suggest packing in your luggage new time filling activities for the journey home. This way they are not already bored when they get in the car to go home.
Also, for those of you traveling with toddlers who might be potty training, remember, you can
Travel While You Train (Potty Train)
You are now prepared for travel. Happy trails!
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some brilliant tips!
love this topic! I am just like you and loved to plan for the long car rides. I hope you don’t mind me butting in with my ideas again (it is so hard to resist when I have already been down this path!!) On a very long drive I would have a ‘surprise bag’ that I pulled out after so many hours in the car (usually a paper lunch bag) I would put in some little dollar store surprise, or fun treat. My kids looked forward to getting the surprise and you know how kids are always happy to play with something new for awhile longer 🙂 Oh and I also used to borrow movies and books from my sister-in-law so we had something new to watch and read on the trip.
Mary, you know I don’t mind. In fact I love all your tips, I am taking notes. In fact, I have shared your advice with my girlfriends and we all say thank you, please keep the advice coming! I think having a bag of goodies from the dollar store is genius! You are so right, anything new is sure to peak their interest and occupy them during the drive which means mommy and daddy can enjoy their sanity, lol! Next time we travel I am going to see if a girlfriend would mind swapping a few movies and books. Thanks Mary!
I am glad you were happy to hear my tips! Sometimes I feel like the old Mother hen butting in, but it is nice to be able to pass down my ideas to newer Moms!