There is nothing scarier for parents than taking a long road trip with children who get bored in the car. Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations are one of the many occasions in which families travel to celebrate with their families who live abroad. The first alarm signal sounds when you hear “Are we there yet?” for the first time from the back seat. The good news is that there is a very simple way to solve it and turn the journey, no matter how long, into a pleasant and fun experience for the whole family. How? By playing.
To start, a classic: I Spy. With all the landscapes that can be covered on a road trip, the possibilities for challenging children and adults to guess what you are seeing are endless. Just say the first letter of the word you want them to guess. Of course, it is not advisable to make it too long, because it ends up being boring. But that’s what imagination is for and many variations can be applied. What if we try to guess which cartoon character we are thinking of?
This is another fun challenge for the little ones. Someone says a first word, for example, table, and the next player must say another that begins with the final syllable of the previous one: blessing. And so on. In addition to being entertaining, it is educational, because it will test kids’ vocabulary.
And since we have started with challenges, here is another one: in this game it is not allowed to answer “yes” or “no”, so players will have to look for other ways to answer questions that require that type of response. For example, if someone asks, “Do you want a jelly bean?”, the player can only respond with something like “Of course” or “I’d prefer licorice.” Whoever answers yes or no loses their turn.
Imagine that you come across a traffic jam on the road. How to turn a traffic jam into something fun and challenging? Get your children to build sentences with the letters that make up the license plates of the surrounding vehicles. It doesn’t matter if they don’t make sense, the crazier the better. For example, a license plate that ends in FSC could give rise to phrases like “Fran Smells Like Cardboard.” Try it! You will have a great time.
In this game we have to use our imagination. We will propose to the participants to fill an imaginary backpack with different objects. The first player says: “I’m going to fill this backpack with… a pack of tissues.” The next person will have to add their object, but repeating what is already inside: “I am going to fill this backpack with a pack of tissues and a pen.” And so on… Not only will they have fun, but they will also test their memory.
When games are no longer enough, it is possible to keep the little ones entertained with other types of resources. If they don’t get carsick, offering them notebooks to color in or a story to read is a possibility. If we have been proactive, filling a bag with some of their favorite (and transportable) toys so that they can entertain themselves during the trip is also a good idea. Or you can reward their patience with something they like, like a sweet or a treat or let them watch a movie on the family tablet.
Surely your next trip with children will be more fun if you all play together.
