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When my children were little, we often took long car rides, six, twelve, twenty-four hours, to visit family and vacation destinations. As anyone with kids knows, more than one hour in a car can be torture. That's why it's essential to keep you and the little ones as happy as possible during time on the endless road.
Though my kids are older now and basically occupy themselves with books, toys, and those blessed electronic games, years ago I discovered a couple of tricks that helped make the time bearable for us all. Even during our 3 1/2 week homeschool/vacation vacation road trip. Here's some tips to help keep you and your kids sane on the road!
1. I packed paper lunch bags full of snack items, books and toys. I labeled the bags with each child's name or number (I- 4) and wrote the destination or check point where they got to open their surprise goodie bag. Most stuff I got at the dollar store. I also raided the bottom of the toy chest for those forgotten toys and discarded activity pads. The kids loved getting their bags and it kept them busy for a while. And they were always happy to find a snack or treat.
2. A long time ago, before car and portable DVDs, we purchased a 13 in. TV with a VCR. It has gone with us on many trips. Sometimes in the lunch bags, they found new movies to watch. If it was a short weekend trip, we rented videos from the video store or checked them out from the library. On one trip, I counted close to 20 videos in the video bag, so I started taping shows like the Magic School Bus, Liberty's Kids and Cyberchase. We got six hours worth of educational video on one tape which cut down on the videos we took. Also to answer that dreaded question of "how much longer?" we would tell them one more video. Or two videos. One caution is to avoid taking 30 minute videos. If your kids aren't able to switch them out it gets real tedious reaching back to change the tape for them.
If you do have a DVD unit in your car or want to bring a portable one, I suggest getting a DVD carrying case and leave all the individual covers at home. Having one case makes the favorite videos easy to locate.
3. During the week I don't let my kids play a lot of video games, but on a long drive I'm okay with gameboys and DSes as long as they don't play it the entire time. A few years ago they finally convinced me to let them bring a game system in the car. I didn't want to deal with Nintendo cartridges or Play Station CDs, so we found an inexpensive controller unit that had over 100 games and we only had to worry about plugging it in to the TV! That was a great investment and the kids look forward to it while they travel. I like it because there's no parts to lose. Though recently I have caved to bringing the PS2 game system along and use a separate DVD case holder to keep games intact. I do admit it helps pass the time for them and there's less fighting and bickering in the car, but if they ever ask if they could bring the Wii, I'll have to draw the line!
4. To keep me busy, I usually bring books or take craft projects. I've been working on a cross stitch for six years now! I only pull it out in the car, but when I do, I get a lot done. My husband likes to listen to books on tape when he drives. He uses a small tape recorder with head phones, though now there are enough digital books for Mp3s and iPods that you could stay well entertained. We also do a lot of brainstorming and planning on those long drives and keep a pen and paper handy! I've even taken my laptop in the car. Though certain times of the day it's hard to see the screen, I always get work done.
Nowadays, with all the digital devices, INTERNET connections, and gadgets to occupy our time, it's a wonder our kids get bored. But if they do, I hope some of these tips help make your long road trip a little more enjoyable.
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