Keeping Kids Busy on a Long Family Road Trip

Kids nowadays have it all. Built in DVD players, handheld game systems, unlimited text messaging, etc., etc. But what do you do when your child no longer is entertained by these things? Say you've run through a dead zone and your child can't send out his 100th text-will you panic or are you prepared? Growing up my parents took us all over the country on road trips each summer to visit all of the great American landmarks and national parks. We had no portable movie players, no cell phones, and we didn't even had a handheld game system until late in the game and even then there was only one for the three of us to share. This has given me the knowledge I need to write this article about how to keep your kids entertained on that long road trip this summer without the use of modern day technology. Yes, it is possible. Kids are still kids even though the times have changed and technology has started ruling the world.

Magnets

Magnets can be great fun to play with. Did you know that you can make your own personal magnets at home? You can find a tutorial here. You could also cover up business magnets with stickers your kids have made themselves using a sticker making kit. Or of course you can buy premade magnets in many different stores. For educational fun you can buy number and letter magnets. Bring all of the magnets along in a tote bag preferably with a zipper closure and an old baking sheet (or new cheap one if you don't have an old one) and your kids will have a blast arranging scenes with their magnets on the baking sheet. You could decorate the baking sheet with sticky contact paper to make them more personalized and fun to look at.

Find the Orange Car

Yes orange cars do exist though they are rare and "hard to find". Get where I am going with this? Give each child a specific color of car to find and if you make it a rare color they can be busy for a long time. Though don't give them too hard of a color, such as orange, as you don't want them to become bored and quit playing. But to make it harder to find a colored vehicle you can make it more specific like a "blue truck" or "red convertible". You could also have the kids count how many of a certain color they can find. If you have more than one child this game could go on for longer as they compete to see who can find the most of their chosen color.

Alphabet Game

This one is a favorite of my own children. It was actually something I didn't start playing until I had kids. One day on a trip out of town my children and I came up with this game to help pass time. There are many ways to play which helps to keep it from getting old and tiring. The first way to play is to have each person take turns coming up with a word that starts with each letter of the alphabet. For example, your first child comes up with "acorn" then your second child comes up with "alphabet" then the first one comes up with "bacon" and the second "beauty" and so on and so forth. They keep doing this until they have gone through the entire alphabet. To make the game more challenging and fun you can have specific categories that the words must fall under. Some examples would be animals, food, or names. Now one other game to play involves words but does not go off the alphabet order. The first child comes up with a word. It can be any word. For this example we will use the word "enthusiastic". The next child will have to come up with a word that starts with the last letter of the word "enthusiastic" or in other words a "C" word. So let's say they come up with "cucumber" the next child will have to now come up with an "R" word. This game can go on for as long as the child wants without getting bored.

Old Fashioned Conversation

When all else fails you can turn to old fashioned conversations with your children. Turn down the ole iPod, yes Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" can wait for later, and actually talk with your children. You can talk about favorite memories of each one as toddlers or babies. You can talk about some of your funny stories from your childhood. I mean the ones about how you laughed so hard a noodle came out of your nose. But please refrain from telling them how much snow you had to walk through just to get to school each winter. Well wait, if you want them to fall asleep...

The Staring Game

The staring game is a classic and is sure to bring out some giggles. Though if your children are competitive it may bring on some fighting and mom or dad (whoever isn't driving) should referee. You have each child close their eyes while you count to three. Then at three they will both open their eyes and stare at each other until one of them blinks. Another way to play is to have them stare at each other, funny faces allowed as long as they don't smile, until one of them laughs.

Mad Libs

Mad Libs are so much fun to play. If you don't want to put any money down on buying the booklets you could always make your own. Simply type them up and print them out. You will have to write under each blank line whether it needs to be an adjective, noun, place, name, etc. If you laminate the sheets and use dry erase markers the stories can be replayed over and over again. To use them just place them in a clipboard.

Story Time

Do your children have a favorite book? You can make a recording of your voice reading the book (great for toddlers) or have the child record their own voice reading the book. Of course you will need to bring the book along for your child to hold and read along to the story. Or you can buy a new book, record your voice reading the book, and then surprise the kids with it when you are becoming truly desperate for a way to keep them entertained. Another idea is to make your own book with a fictional, or non fictional, story about your child. You can include pictures that you have printed out at home or got for free when you sign up for different digital photo printing sites such as Shutterfly. Your kids will be thrilled to get the book, make it a surprise, and find out it is a story about them. You can choose stories that pertain to things they like such as princesses, cars, balloons, etc.

Drawing Faces

Have each child take turns drawing a specific feature of a face on the same piece of paper. One could draw a square head and the other could draw a surprised eye. Let them keep doing this until the drawing is done. They can go for an entire body to make the game last longer. You could also have them draw a scene such as a grassy field, a kid, a kite, a bee, etc. Each child takes turns drawing a new object into the scene. You can always buy Color Wonder marker and papers if you are worried about your kids drawing on the upholstery in your car.

Toddler Tamers

All of these games are great for child who are a little older and who know how to draw and write. But what about the toddlers? This group of children can be the hardest to entertain on a road trip. You should leave armed with a bag of goodies to keep them occupied. Just what should you bring? How about a kaleidoscope. You should get the kind that is like a window on the other end so that it turns the objects around you into beautiful patterns. As you are driving along on your road trip they will have the chance to look at many different things through their kaleidoscope. Sing-Along tapes make great entertainment for your toddler. Color Wonder drawing pad and markers are great for letting their imaginations run wild. You can tear the papers out of the drawing pad and slip them into a clipboard so that your child can easily pull out the paper when they are done drawing and find a new one. The above suggestion of bringing a book and a voice recording of the book would also work great for toddlers. Magnetic sticker books can be great fun as they work as stickers and your toddler can put them anywhere on the magnetic surface. I recently picked one up for my three year old that shows a train track on a map and includes train magnets as well as magnets of people and various railroad signs. I-Spy pillows can be great fun and is like a treasure hunt within a pillow. You can find really cute ones for sale on Etsy or if you have sewing skills you can look up a pattern and make your own. These pillows are filled with rice and various small objects and allows your child to mush the pillow to make the various objects appear in the window of the pillow.

Taking a family road trip is sure to create memories to last a lifetime. Make sure that your trip goes smoothly by keeping your kids entertained and mom and dad sane.