5 Top Tips on Keeping the Kids Happy While Traveling

No one loves a long car ride, least of all kids. An unhappy child can make the trip seem twice as long for everyone involved. Since my family doesn't fly we have spent many, many hours in a car with young kids including quite a few trips to Disney World which is a two day car ride. Here are my top five tips for keeping the kids happy while traveling.

1.Portable DVD Player
I can't say enough good things about our portable DVD player. We simply plug it in, strap it to the seat, and don't hear a word from our kids for at least and hour or longer. They don't even want to stop for a break! So we've heard the same movie a zillion times, it beats hearing the kids fighting and sometimes they even fall asleep! We just tell the kids that they need to take turns choosing which movie is put in and that it needs to be age appropriate for both.

2.Game System
Our kids love their portable game systems. Since they are limited at home to a small amount of playing time they take full advantage of the extra time that they are given. There are no time limits during a car trip for gaming. The only rule is that if they get frustrated and we hear them complaining about the game being unfair it gets turned off. For younger kids a Leapfrog Learning Gaming System is great and can easily be found on www.amazon.com for $48. There are also other types of Leapfrog systems available so you choose which one is best for your child. For an older child there is the ever popular Nintendo DSi (www.amazon.com $169.99). With a lot of fun games for all ages, this system also has a chat feature that enables them to link up with anyone else that has a DSi so if you have two kids they can play the same game together.

3.Eat Meals in Cars
We have some relatives that insist that everyone eat before starting on a trip. We do just the opposite. When the kids are eating they are paying attention to their food and not fighting or whining. We start out on our trip and when the kids start to get restless we go through a drive thru and buy them their breakfast/lunch/supper. This usually keeps them entertained for a least a 1/2 hour or longer. We also make sure to keep it to foods that won't be too messy which means chicken nuggets with no sauce or a plain cheeseburger or popcorn chicken. If your kids won't eat without ketchup you can take along small Tupperware containers that you can squeeze ketchup into and then put the lid on them when they are done eating. Just watch that they aren't falling asleep while eating.

4.Recorded Books
When my kids were younger we made them their own recorded books. We took their favorite books and read them into a digital recorder. We added a bell so they would know when to turn the page. The kids thought it was funny hearing our voices and especially loved the sound effects their father added.

5.I Spy
In my family we make a list of items to find during the trip. Whichever child finds them all first gets a small prize such as a bag of fritos, some oreos, or some stickers. The amount of items on the list is dependent on how many hours we will be in the car. Each find needs to be confirmed by a parent or older child that isn't playing so they have learned to be specific as to where each item is located. We look for things such as license plates, different animals, a type of car, amusement parks and even a sign for a specific city.

Hopefully this will help relieve some of the boredom that kids experience during long trips. I found that older kids normally spend the entire trip plugged into their ipods and texting and don't cause much trouble. Happy Traveling!!