Help Your Children Have an Enjoyable Car Trip

April 18, 2022

Long car rides can be a parent’s nightmare. Whether it’s a spring break trip to a favorite vacation spot, or a long ride to see the relatives at the holidays, hours together in the car can lead to frustration, exhaustion, and isolation.

Here are some tips to help your family avoid extremes on their next lengthy car trip. Instead of letting everyone tune out into their favorite screens, try these ideas to reduce everyone’s tension and actually enjoy the ride!

Pack some new individual activities

In the days and weeks leading up to the long trip, purchase a few new games, puzzles, activities and more for the kids. Include activities specifically designed for each of your children. Do you have a Lego lover? Pack a new small Lego kit. Does one of your children like to color? How about a brand new coloring book and a newly sharpened pack of colored pencils?

Try to include some activities or gifts that can be passed around and used again. Maybe  everyone gets to color one page in the coloring book.

Either way, packing individual gifts and projects for each child will help them have a better time during the trip. It might even help them look forward to the next one.

Play some group activities

It is a well-known fact in every car ride that not everyone likes the same music. So simply listening to the driver’s playlist won’t keep everyone entertained for hours.

Why not play some games that will engage everyone? Here are some:

• I-Spy: one person picks an object that everyone can see without telling others what it is. They answer yes/no questions about it until someone finally guesses what it is.
• Zobmondo: this irreverent game about impossible choices asks “Would You Rather …” and gives two apparently similar choices. Some of them are awful, and some of them are both delightful. There are no wrong answers, and giving everyone’s reasons is part of the fun.
• The license plate game: As other activities continue in the car, have your kids look for license plates from different states and try to collect all 50. Which is the most interesting plate? Which is ugliest?
• Click here for some more ideas from Parent Magazine.

Share the plan for the whole trip

We all travel better when we understand what is expected. If you know you will need to stop frequently, plan ahead and let everyone know.

If there is a long stretch between bathroom breaks at one point, then make sure everyone is ready by stopping just before then to take care of biological needs.

With a little bit of preparation the trip can be more fun for everyone. You might even arrive at your location with new happy memories.