Keeping children entertained on car journeys 2

 in mini mads  tagged car journeys / entertained / parenting by

We have just come back from London, which for us is a five hour car journey each way.  We used to put portable DVD players in the car for these length of journeys, but at the moment we are working on reducing screen time, so we left them at home.

entertaining

I also am a great planner and in the boot of the car I have travel packs for journeys.  If you have ever been unlucky enough to have a flat tire or a breakdown with children in the car, you will understand just how much of a lifesaver having something they can do in the car is.

With this in mind I have we have activity packs in the boot of the car.  I have folders with everything they could need for a specific activity.  So if there is puzzle books, then I will make sure there is a couple of pens of different colours and also a highlighter for the wordsearches and a small dictionary for crosswords.
I tend to save all the crayons and pencils you get in restaurants and also all the little sticker packs and gift packs you get with children’s magazines.    The pound shop is also a perfect place to get things for this too.
Other things you could include in the packs are:
      • dot to dot books
      • puzzle books – maze, crosswords, word searches
      • Maths or english books
      • sticker books
      • Mess free painting
      • Plasticine
      • Small pots of playdough and a tray
      • Travel games such as battleship, connect four
      • A pack of cards

We also have other games that we play, that do not need anything at all and the boys current favorite is “I am thinking of…………..”.  This involves them thinking of something ie a country and then we have to ask questions to try and figure out what it might be.  I have learnt that their geography and knowledge of flags is way better than mine!

How do you keep your children entertained on car journeys?

This is an entry in to the Tots100 Jolly Journeys competition in conjunction with Travel Supermarket.  Take a look at their UK car hire , as this is where they will be displaying some of the best tips they receive.

2 thoughts on “Keeping children entertained on car journeys”

  • Julie

    One of our favourites is making up silly lyrics to songs! You have some great ideas here too. We have never had dvd players in the car and we do travel long distances fairly often e.g. down to Portsmouth, and this year we hope to go to France too. We’ve always felt that a little boredom and learning to deal with it by e.g. making things up in your head, is actually good for you- it is just part of life after all! Not that we let them be bored for hour after hour but just that sometimes they won’t have entertainment on tap! Juliex

  • Jill

    We have two family favourites to play on long car journeys, one is the alphabet game. we think of a destination for example the seaside and then each take it in turn to say something we would pack in our bag but it must begin with the next letter in the alphabet. Also you repeat the persons item before you as well. EG, I went to the beach and I took an … Apple, I went to the beach and I took an apple, and a … Ball! It helps with the alphabet and memory building!
    We also try and make up phrases using the letters on a number plate, the funniest wins! Eg, if the three letters on a number plate are BSE you could say Big Smelly Elephants!

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