Family road trips provide a useful bonding opportunity so don’t be tempted to always give your children an iPad to keep them quiet in the back.
Here are 10 ways you can keep the nippers comfortable, entertained, maybe cram in a little learning and still enjoy the drive. After all, it’s not just about the destination, it’s about the journey too. Right?
1. All together now
Singing is good for the soul and a family singalong will always rouse the spirits. Nursery rhymes are perfect staples or call and response songs such as Boom Chicka Boom. There are also some fun songs that involve memorising items. Try The Shopping Song, in which each person buys an item from the store going from A-Z while remembering to list all the other items already purchased.
2. Who am I?
Twenty Questions never fails. Think of a person then everyone has to work out who it is by narrowing the options down through careful questioning – to which the answer must only ever be yes or no: male/female, sportsman, footballer, defender etc... To make it easier for young ones you can reduce the category to animals.
3. Backseat bingo
This involves a little preparation – either find a website to print off the cards or make your own with pictures of objects such as motorbikes, cranes, cows and numbers. Everyone marks their own card and calls out the object when they see it (no cheating that way). Try adding a few items specific to your itinerary like a monument or an airport.
4. Riot breaks
Kids get irritable and fidgety if they don’t have a chance to stretch their legs every few hours so take regular short breaks. A service station with a play area is the ideal place for them to let off steam. And, when they’ve worn themselves out, they can doze off in the car.
5. Maps not apps
Give your children a colour photocopy of the route and some stickers. Show them where you’re going and highlight interesting places and landmarks. Learn a few facts about the route you’re following, point them out as you reach them and encourage the kids to put the stickers in the right place. Tip: don’t get stressed if you take a wrong turn. It’s all part of the fun.
6. It’s not cricket
A classic spin on the great game: allocate scores for certain vehicles coming the other way depending on the sort of road you’re on – say, one for a red car, two for a lorry, four for a coach, six for a tanker… then pick a vehicle that counts as “out” – maybe a blue van. Everyone takes a turn to bat and hopefully scores more than Alastair Cook.
7. Snack attack
We don’t want to encourage junk food gorging, but hungry kids are grumpy kids so a bag full of goodies including their favourite sweets helps everything along if they’re doled out at intervals. If you want to keep it healthy, chop up raw carrots and celery and keep them in a Tupperware container, likewise bits of cheese, nuts and salami. Snack packs of bite-size fruit such as grapes and apple slices counteract sweet cravings.
8. Not the same old story
Reading aloud in the car isn’t practical for an adult in the front passenger seat but an audiobook with a great story will help the journey fly by and everyone will be engrossed, including the adults. Choose from classics such as To Kill A Mockingbird read by Sissy Spacek or Dr Seuss stories read by the likes of Kelsey Grammar and the late Rik Mayall.
9. Comfort zones
The air conditioning might be on but the sun can still be blasting UVs through the side windows, so keep some suction sunscreens handy. Wet wipes and a small water diffuser help everyone stay cool. Small pillows are always comforting. Keep the liquids handy but be prepared for the inevitable: “I need the toilet.”
10. Surprise and delight
Kids like nothing better than unwrapping presents so prepare several mini gifts ahead of the journey and hand them out – perhaps for spotting something or winning a game. The presents needn’t be expensive – quid gifts are perfect: cuddly toys, crayons, bubbles, minibars or toy figurines do the job.
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