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Planning a Family Roadtrip - Eat, Play, Plan
Filed under: Activities: Babies, Places To Go, Behavior: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Activities: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Behavior: Big Kids, Expert Advice: Family Time, Family Time
Plan to bring books or games to make long car trips easier. Credit: Getty Images
Games and activities: The driver is busy driving, and the other adult passengers are either sleeping, fiddling with the radio or helping to keep the driver awake. Your kids won't be doing any of these things. So, unless you enjoy hearing "Are we there yet?" every 14 seconds, here are few ways to keep the back seat brigade busy.
- Babies/toddlers: Visit your local dollar store and pick up a few cheap items that you think will hold their attention, even if just for a little while. Keep everything hidden until you get in the car -- that way it's all new stuff.
- Grade schoolers: For long excursions, a new Nintendo DS game is always a hit. Or download the Family Car Games iPhone app, with 100 games for the entire family. Mad Libs are a pleasant nonelectronic diversion, and, to get the whole car involved, playing I Spy or 20 Questions can help pass the time and require nothing but your eyes and ears.
- Tweens/teens: Portable DVD player, anyone? Books on tape are a good choice that everyone can share. Just be careful to pick something appropriate for all ages.
Snacks: Get them something they like. Now is not the time to institute in a change in eating habits. That doesn't mean the family car should turn into Willy Wonka on Wheels. But the idea is that if the kids are happy, you'll be happy. And while you may be tempted to stop for some roadside fast food, don't bring it into the car unless you like greasy upholstery. Think little bags of grapes, or single-serving packs of crackers. For long trips, a full picnic lunch works, just go easy on the mayo, especially in the summer.
Plan ahead. Picture the scene: It's midnight. You want to hit the road at 8 a.m. You haven't packed. And (cue scary music) -- you have NO SNACKS FOR THE KIDS. Late-night packing is a ritual in many households, but in order to load up the car, you have to have the right stuff. Make a list, check it twice, and don't wait until all the stores are closed to figure out what you need. This handy checklist will help you get organized.
Related: Airplane Jitters When Traveling With Kids? Just Relax
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-28-2010 @ 11:53AM
BluZBunny said...What ever happened to opening you kids eyes to the beautiful scenery OUTSIDE the car? My Mom used to take us 6 kids on two month camping trips, through the National Parks. She must have drivien 10K each trip. Our ages ranged 3-9 years-old. We played car games, looking out the sindows, and commented on what we all saw. If we read, it was REAL books, not having someone read them to us on tape. GET REAL! Kids can watch DVD's at home, and play vieos games anywhere. A vacation is a vacation from that crap. You may as well fly there on a jet, if you don't plan on looking out the car window, and seeling our country.
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3-28-2010 @ 12:55PM
john motto said...As unpopular as our opinion will be, I agree with you wholeheartedly . . .
3-28-2010 @ 3:05PM
Momof4 said...must be so nice to be perfect!
For those of us who live in the real world, or drive along the real highways - with today's interstates, there is very little of interest for our children to see mile after mile after mile. How many trees can one look at. With the backroads of yesterday, there was a lot more to look at... but the roads of today, there are only so many tress you find interesting, so the DVD's and snacks keep them content until we get to our destinations.
3-28-2010 @ 12:29PM
nsnasty3006 said...Wow, chill out and how about YOU get real! Do you have kids? I have two boys and after the third cow, horse, tree, mountain etc. they get pretty bored of scenery. And reading a REAL book in the car is fine except for people like me who get car sick reading in the car. Man, just lay off--these are tips for parents of today and obviously since you are knocking the suggestions you either don't have kids or your kids, who are as perfect as you were as a kid, are grown up.
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3-28-2010 @ 4:12PM
BluZBunny said...Easy there nasty. We all got car sick. Imagine one kid pukes, and the rest all follow? We eren't perfect kids. My two brothers fought like crazy. Are you driving with another adult? You can take turns playing tour guide. My Dad stayed at home, to work, to pay for our trip. You're all together. Have fun. Sing songs. My Mom was cool. AM radio was all that was available, and we got to listen to pop tunes of the day. You can play CD's of your choice. You parents got it so easy now. Kids act up, give them their Ridilin, and they're good for the trip. Just because I don't have kids doesn't mean I can't have an opinion. I cherish the long rides, and every minute i got to see the world around me. I think it would have been boring NOT to see anything more than the interior of the family car.
I would rather remember seeing a prairie dog town in Wyoming than watch a DVD of UP for the 10th time.
3-28-2010 @ 2:01PM
Randi Sue Mcdowell said...And your kids spend hours upon hours in daycare too. I know your one of those Moms whose day consists of getting the kid out of bed, stuffing a half toasted bagel down his throat OR buzzing Mc'd's drive thru on your way to unload the kid at daycare. THEN, 8 hours later ( or longer depending if you go out with the gang from work for cocktail hour) you pick up that kid, buzz Burger King's drive thru and stuff a Whopper down the kids throat before either going home and giving the kid a bath before shoving him in bed. OR unloading the kid in some sort of after school activity, that you find so worth while that they MUST do. Yeah we ALL need to play the violin or take tap dancing lessons because every kid is a prodigy. Then after hours of doing that, you pick up Jr. give him a bath help him with his homwork ( for about a half an hour maybe an hour IF Jr. is lucky) then send him off to bed, so you can have some quality time alone with either Jr's Daddy or some other guy. Maybe your kids are fine with being mindless and staring blankly at a t.ve. And, maybe your good with that because your the type of parent I just described. Maybe kids need to be stimulated beyond a video game or a cartoon. Maybe YOU as a parent could make that thrid cow a little more intresting by telling the kids about a cow or make up a story about a cow etc. MOST parent's of today should have thought twice about becoming parents/ Let's face it, they don't have time for their kids or the kids are just in the way. I see it ALL the time. To actually see a good parent is rare. Most are as I described above.
3-28-2010 @ 12:41PM
jeff said...When we head out in our conestoga wagon for a summer vacation I just turn the reins over to my 4 year old son. He just loves that. He's such a trooper!
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3-28-2010 @ 4:06PM
Stewart Smalley said...Yes, now that I think about it, I am perfect now and I was perfect then, and doggone-it, people like me.
Reply
5-26-2010 @ 11:48AM
Ruth said...Actually, the iPhone app Family Car Games gives instructions for 100 different games that can be played anywhere and are played WITHOUT the iPhone...talking, singing, guessing, and storytelling games that may result in happier, closer, laughing, engaged families...and almost no extra air time! It describes the games, gives rules and suggestions, but you don't need the iPhone to actually play. This way, even the driver can get in on the fun!
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5-26-2010 @ 11:45AM
FCG said...BTW, most of the Fam Car Games app was created by our family of four while on a 10-day roadtrip going on factory tours, exploring 1000-year-old Indian mounds, and learning about lots of places. We did a little research before we left, to compile some new games to play (we're old Geography, GHOST, Who Am I, and I Spy players), but also dreamed up our own. Pica Firma Nada is a word guessing game my daughter developed out of a game she played in Spanish class, and Love is Like a Shovel is a collaborative thinking game that asks different players to choose an abstract concept, like Honor, and a physical object, like a shoe, and then answer, "Why is Honor like a shoe?" Leads to some great discussions. We're all singers and writers and interested in science and history...and also very silly at times...and very close.
So you can't assume....
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