How To Keep Kids Amused
| Travel : Travel Tips Keeping young children amused in the car on a long journey can be a real challenge, so here are some ideas which will hopefully save your sanity by distracting them from the familiar call of "are we there yet?" almost as soon as you leave the house! 1. The number plate game - starting at the beginning of the alphabet, the children try to spot a car with a registration plate beginning with each letter in turn. For younger children who cannot read, this game can be easily adapted, by telling them to spot first a blue car, then red etc. 2. When you stop at a service station, let them run about a bit and if there is a play area let them use that for a while. This will refresh them more than just a 2 minute stop for the toilet. 3. Many children get carsick if they read in the car, so get round this by recording some of their favourite books onto tape, (or buying them if its quicker). They can then listen at their own pace on a walkman, and tapes can be swapped about, providing lots of (quiet!!) entertainment. A tape of their favourite songs is also good, as singing passes the time too. 4. For older kids, you could try giving them their own map with the route mapped out, so that they can mark off certain spots as you go along, and also see for themselves how much longer there is to go. 5. Colouring books are always popular, and bring along lots of plain paper for drawing too. If you can fit them in, they can lean on small trays on their knees - these are flat and can simply be put under the seat or packed tidily away in the boot later on. These also help to prevent spillages when eating and drinking in the car. 6. Gameboys and other electronic hand held games will keep kids amused in the car. Magnetic versions of old favourites like scrabble, draughts, chess, backgammon etc and many others for younger children are also available. 7. "What Am I" - each person takes a turn in saying they are a person, place or thing and the others have to guess what by asking questions like "can you be eaten?", "can people sit on you?".." and so on - first person to guess correctly goes next. 8. "Shopping List" - one person begins by saying "I went to the shops and bought..." and then each person adds another item to the list, but must remember exactly what came before. If you forget an item you are out, the winner is the last one remaining. Can be especially amusing if each item is described using more than one adjective! 9. This is a game which can be adapted accordingly - one person names an animal, country or city (or any other category you think would suit) and then the next person must name another one beginning with the same letter the last one ended with eg. "rabbiT - TigeR - Rat.." etc. 10. If possible, try and change the seating in the car after each stop, sometimes if the parents can take turns driving while the other sits in the back, this will prove a novelty for the kids, especially as you can join in their games properly. 11. Another simple yet fun game is where each person takes turns in thinking of a name, telling the others if it's a boy or a girl's name and the first letter of the name. The other players then try to guess the name by calling out all the names they can think of beginning with that letter.
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