Taking A Trip With Children – Car Traveling With Children
Posted by Admin at 25 February 2017, at 20 : 15 PM
Taking a trip with children in the car can be a harrowing experience, or a pleasant one, depending upon your preparation. You have certainly heard the old adage of children asking, “Are we there yet?” just a short distance into the trip. This is usually because of fatigue and boredom, or both, and with a little planning in advance, you can eliminate both.
When setting up your itinerary, be sure to allow for frequent stops, preferably every couple of hours. Try to pick a pleasant area where the children can get out of the car and run around or play, or a place of interest which will capture their imagination. If you have a dog with you, you or the children can walk the dog at the same time. Even if you don’t make as much time on the trip by stopping, the trip will be much more pleasant for all of you.
You should also bring age-appropriate toys or things of interest with you. Older children like I-pods, hand held games, electronic toys, magnetic checkers, etc. Younger ones would enjoy books, crayons, paper, coloring books, modeling clay, stuffed animals, etc. It is wise not to dole these out all at once, but one at a time until the child’s interest decreases. You can also purchase a Kidcase, which is a play table and carrying case which opens up into a generous surface and has storage compartments and cup holders.
Snacks should also be an important part of the trip, so it is advisable to bring a cooler. Sugary foods and drinks are not a good idea as they will promote hyper-activity, but such things as fruit, cheese, chips, cheese crackers, canned sausages. “Nibble type” things are fine. Also small bottles of bottled water or pure fruit juice. Just don’t let them eat so much they are full when lunchtime or dinnertime comes. If you don’t plan to stop at a restaurant, bring lots of sandwiches or cold chicken. Pack plenty of napkins and paper towels for possible spills, and a plastic bag for cleaning up the trash.
A lot of time children tend to sleep in a moving vehicle, so make this possible by packing small comfortable pillows or a favorite blanket for the smaller children. If your children start being overly rambunctious or are quarreling, be sure to have the driver pull off the road until the disturbance is settled. It is very important the driver not be distracted.
There are a number of games which work well in a car. Have the children count something from their own window such as cows, dogs, McDonalds, barns, people on bicycles. The whole family can participate in such games as “Twenty Questions” or “I Spy”. On longer trips, you can give each child a map and a marker so he can chart the progress, or a journal to jot down happenings so he can re-live the trip later. Use your creativity and plan in advance for a wonderful family experience.