Yay! Winter is over, even if it doesn’t feel like it. But the signs of warmer weather are already visible. We have already sprung forward to Daylight Savings Time, though the clock on the car radio might not have the correct time again for the next six months. Best of all though, we are planning vacations. More specifically, summer vacations!
While vacations are supposed to be exciting, fun and relaxing, the relaxing part can be more elusive if traveling with children, especially more than one who easily grows restless or bored. Traveling to that special vacation spot is not without challenges as you try to provide entertaining activities to eliminate or at least cut down on the back-seat squabbles or endless questions of “are we there yet”?
Sure, there are iPads, online games, and in-car movies. However, even if you leave with fully charged batteries, these only last so long when you’re taking hours-long trips. Sometimes, you can time your trip to drive while they’re sleeping. OK, some of the way; at least that’s the plan! No, that didn’t work so well for us, either. Besides, part of the fun of the trip is showing the kids new parts of the country and things they have never seen before, right?
To make your trip more enjoyable and to help relieve some stress naturally encountered while traveling involves some preparation prior to leaving home. Even minimal preparation can bring big results for happiness during the drive. There’s the given of starting out with some snacks and drinks, favorite blankets and small toys. Stopping along the way to replenish edibles can just feel good for everyone to get out of the car, stretch, move around and run off some energy.
Some tried-but-still-true car games are the license plate game, except now you can print off a sheet online for each child to color or mark the states. You can also do this with travel-map pages for each child to follow the route you are taking. There is a print-out page for a Travel Bingo game, which is kind of like the license plate game, but with more objects to find. There’s always the “I Spy With My Little Eye…” that even little children can enjoy.
A personalized activity bag for each child with favorite activities not only will help entertain, but keep items together so they can easily be found. Here is a list of other activities you can try:
• Make a travel-souvenir journal (each child)
• Paper maps to follow their journey (each child)
• Art supplies (coloring pages/books, colored pencils, crayons, water-soluble markers)
• Favorite books or small toys
• Volume-safe headphones and music
• Music to listen to together with some of everyone’s favorites
• Scavenger hunt (can be homemade list)
• Word puzzle books
• Mad Libs (yes, you can still get these)
• Games from home that travel well
Be mindful of the last one, especially if the game makes sounds. When the game “Simon” was a big hit — you know, the one shaped like an electronic disk — we listened to all its beeps and sounds all the way from St. Louis to Oklahoma City. Listening to that as much as we did about put us over the edge, but it was still way better than back-seat fighting or whining.
Of course, stopping for meals, whether they are at a restaurant or a picnic in a rest area is a welcome break from riding. No matter the time of day or night or the weather, stopping for a walk through a Wal-Mart can help with pent-up energy. It can also be used as a small reward for good behavior and a chance to replenish your drinks and snacks or a small treat. This is especially helpful in getting little ones out of car seats just for a chance to stretch.
If time allows, don’t forget the short, interesting sites along the way that not only help break up travel time, but make the trip more interesting as they learn and see something new. Not all of these take much time and often are free, such as the world’s largest McDonald’s on the Oklahoma Turnpike or the view from the top of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It’s vacation time! Most of all, have fun making memories traveling and definitely while you’re there!
Teresa Holland is a writer, photographer, quilter and an advanced-practice registered nurse. You may reach her at [email protected].
