Need Activities for Car Rides

We do a 10-13 hr drive several times a year with 3 young kids. It's not nearly as bad as most people assume. Kids don't need constant entertainment - let 'em stare out the window daydreaming for awhile. We look forward to the long drives and know it's a full day of fun we spend together as a family.

My kids love car bingo. You can buy an all-in-one cardboard board with little sliding red windows that cover the squares - no loose pieces. Even my soon-to-be-2-year-old likes playing with it. She doesn't play bingo, of course, but she loves playing with the little windows. We got ours at the teacher supply store in Castleton.

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId... -- we got one for each of the older kids and will soon get one for the youngest. It's a good way to contain coloring books and gives 'em a surface to draw on if they want. However, my kids rarely use it as a desk and prefer to just put the coloring books on their laps. We've had one for 5 years so they are sturdy and hold up well. One Step Ahead also has tray/table type things that sit on the lap. Check out their travel section for lots of neat ideas.

Sticker books, Color Wonder markers/books (crayons melt in the heat when left in car, regular markers are messy), colorforms (they stick to windows!), lacing cards, wooden beads with string, small box/bag of small plastic animals (some might be choking hazard but just keep an eye on the little one... last week our 1 year old spent hours playing with the animals during our all day drive), and of course, portable DVD player (with young kids it's best to hang from seatback so they dont' ruin it). We limit DVD viewing to just a couple hours during the all day drive... about an hour before lunch and then again once it gets dark out (and hard to see to play with toys).

Take a soccer ball and/or frisbee. Sometime in the early afternoon, we'll stop at a rest area for 30-45 minutes to let them run around in the grass burning off energy. They are all ready for a nap after that.

I found lots of neat toys at a teacher supply store (United Art & Education in Castleton) - lacing cards, bingo cards, colorforms, sticker books, slinkies, beading toys, small felt boards, chalk board books, etc.

We got a great car seat tray that is soft foam but still sturdy enough to hold food and toys through One Step Ahead. They have a website: http://www.onestepahead.com

What about paper dolls or those peel-n-restick stickers that make fun scenes? I usually take our DVD player, paper and crayons, peel-n-restick stickers, etc for my son. Have fun!

A.

we travel alot with our kids, our son is now 7yrs old and our daughter is 19mo. for our son we gave him crayons, coloring books, you can take a portable dvd player if your vehicle doesn't have one installed, toys. we also played 'eye spy". for the longer car rides we left no later than 6am to beat rush hour traffic, & by 9-10am is was nap time. we stopped about every 2 hours or so, so everyone could stretch their legs( i think that helped more than anything). we also take books that my son can read aloud to us. we took sing a long cd's as well. another thing is, you all want to drink water instead of juice or pop, it keeps you from getting bloated and cranky. also we didn't eat things with alot of salt. it cuts back on bathroom breaks. we also tried to stop at places that had wonderful views. it helps lift the spirits so to speak. hope this helps & good luck.

We are going on a long trip as well and my sister-in-law (who has three kids) recommended this travel tray :

http://www.familytravelgear.com/page/FTG/PROD/trays/car-s...

There are some other items on the site that I think I will purchase as well. I am willing to spend some money if it will make a 13-hour-trip more pleasant; I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to it, though! :) Good luck!

J.,

When my boys where that little I would give the a travel magna doodle and a travel etch a sketch. I would also bring some match box cars for them to play with. Since you have girls maybe you could get them a barbie to play with. I also wouldn't give it to them all at one time. I would spread it out so that they would have something new every couple of hours, or when they started to get board with what the were playing with. I also think that a DVD player is also a great idea. We are leaving this weekend for a 13 hour trip, and I know for sure that our DVD player will be coming with us. It will be a little bit easier for us, because our boys are 18 soon to be 19 years old, 15 years old, and 12 years old. Good luck with your trip, and I hope that you and your family have a really great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

M. S.

There are lots of great ideas here for sure. We just did a 5 hour trip with our 2-year-old. We travel with her quite a bit so she is used to it. Books are great and I agree with daydreaming out the window.

I am also a Discovery Toys group manager and my customer's favorites for travel are below. You can find more info on them at www.toyladyjanet.com or send me a note and I'll be happy to help.

#1 by far is It's a Match set. A travel board with lots of matching activities. The self checking feature keeps kids engaged and parents swearing they wouldn't travel without it.

- Once Upon a Time and Ahoy Pirate Pete are interactive books where they get to choose what happens. Great for that, "I need to be in control" ages.

- Shapes and Laces - Bright colors and fun shapes make lacing a great way to pass the miles.

- Rainfall Rattle is one of my daughter's favorites. She could twist and tip it watching the colorful beads fall for quite a long time. Very soothing...

- Counting With Animals and Colors on the Farm are two books with gate fold flaps for peek a boo fun and vivid colors full or details to enjoy exploring.

- CDs...would never leave my house without music for Lily! Our two best sellers are Sounds Like Fun for calm, quiet travel and Spanish/English CD for bilingual salsa dancing down the road.

HOpe that helps!

We take a 16 hour trip several times a year and do most of the things that Deb T suggested. The Crayloa Color Wonder markers are really great because they actually color on the special papers a nowhere else. We also purchased some Aquadoodle products. There are several different "pen" types and small activity/coloring pads...everything is reusable because you fill the pen with water, doodle with it, and then it dries and disappears...again no mess. I do think that buying or borrowing a DVD player for limited time is a nice break/treat, but not necessary if your kids aren't used to it. Just have a plan for when it gets dark (a much bigger issue in the winter with shorter days). Music CD's that you can sing along to or lullabies are a good alternative. Small (dim) children's flashlights can pass time at night, but might distract the driver so you have to be firm with rules.

I also usually buy some special snacks for the ride and also some favorites. I put some string cheese, sliced apples, etc. in a small cooler and bring some other snacks (dry cereal, pretzels) along. Depending on how much you like fast food, you might want to make some sandwiches as well and eliminate an extra meal on the road. It is nice to stop for a "picnic" and to let the kids run a bit if you have time.

Enjoy your time together and have fun!

i would borrow a portable dvd player from someone - seriously - at least just for parts of the trip.

HI J.,

I usually have a DVD player for long trips, as well as leapfrog with games, but if your girls like to draw, maybe some coloring books will help.
As for the lap seat, just yesterday I was in Babies R Us and saw a soft lap table that you can strap to the car seat; it was in the area of car seats, where the accessories are (like mirrors,seat covers,etc).
The other thing I've seen in like Target or Walmart are travel kits with coloring books and such, but they come with like a folding table that hangs from the back of the seat; I don't know if they're sturdy enough for anything but coloring books and crayons, but you can check them out.
Good luck in your trip!

Some great suggestions already listed here.

As for a lap board, we bought a plastic one at Michael's for $7 and it didn't quite fit over/around/under the arm rests on my son's car seat but might be worth a try for yours. My Dad, who is retired and handy, had time to make a lap board for him out of a 1 x 2 foot scrap of wood (sanded the edges and corners and painted it though you can buy pre-sanded (and maybe even painted boards) at home fix-it stores) and some scrap bendable plastic he had (that he measured to match up with and go around the arm rests). You could use a long length of velcro tape to strap the board on- staple it to the bottom of the board and then run the straps over the arm rests. Anyhow, all told that would cost less than $20 I think and shipping wouldn't be an isuse if you're under a time crunch.

For my almost 4yo I've made a bingo board for long trips. I draw pictures of things I know we'll see (easy things like a bridge, a McDonalds, a semi truck, etc) and I give him a sticker to put on a picture once he finds it. You could make a few of these pretty quickly and on the cheap and if you're holding the stickers, hopefully it wouldn't get too messy.

As others have posted, it's really not so bad, especially if you start small (with surprises) and slow (don't give them anything at first and see how long they last- it might surprise you).

Borrow a DVD player if you don't have one. WE found it was amazing how quiet things could be if you had one with a movie playing. You don't have to use it the whole trip, but it is helpful. Note, if you have a child that gets carsick, movies, reading, and coloring won't work.
We always planned on stopping every 2-3 hours, even if just for 15 minutes to let everyone run around and go potty. Helps with the emergency pull-overs because someone has to go potty. Also, lunch and dinner time were planned to be about 1 hour stops, to let kids really run around. Stopping at a rest stop for one meal, and then fast food with a playland, or someplace kids could run around. Good luck. This may make your 11 hour car ride longer, but it will be worth it in the end. And if you and your husband are planning these stops, it won't make it so annoying to you. Traveling with young kids is different than with all adults, for sure.
R.

Hi,

You could get a dual monitor DVD set that has a tv for the back of each headrest. Then maybe your kids can watch movies. Also, I saw a great lap table in the One Step Ahead catalog...but you can buy them on their website too. Maybe an etch-a-scetch would be fun as well.

Good luck...that's a long ride! :)

Jeez, woman, I do not envy you! lol You're brave. :)

Okay, so activities...that's the assignment...well....I would definitely say take pens/crayons and paper. (if you can't find a lapboard, get clipboards instead) If you have one, a portable DVD player may occupy them for a few hours at least....You can have the find only red cars, or blue cars, or whatever and count them. Or, my favorite game when I was a kid and traveling between Newark, OH and Lafayette, IN was to count Semi trucks. I know for kids that age it won't hold their attention for LONG...but it may work for a little while. Um.....learn some fun car songs, or buy a kids song CD to listen to on the drive and sing along...and you can probably count on the fact that they will sleep for awhile, too. Hope that helps, good luck!

i save all the "trinket" toys that we get from restaurants, fairs, school parties etc that don't go with anything else and hide them away in goodie bags for a trip. sometimes i can stretch and hour out of repeatedly handing them something new or just giving them each their own bag to rummage through. things that are normally "off limits" can steal you some hours also, such as flashlights, bracelets and necklaces, old cell phones and remote controls, etc.

also good to have things like this if you ever visit family like greatgrandmas where there may be nothing to play with but you want to visit for a while.

Try www.onestepahead.com for car seat trays...invest in a portable dvd player...new books and small toys are a hit with my kids! We also always split our 10 hours trip up if we can with a stay in a hotel room. If you can swing it, it makes things much easier!!! Good luck!

Michael's craft store has lap trays for the car, I think they are about $7 a piece and at least then you wouldn't have to online order and pay shipping...good luck, we just did a 12 hour trip with a 3 and almost 2 year old and it went well, DVD players are my friend : )

I have traveled with young children of all ages so my advice is to sit near them if you can.
Today, a DVD player is great for keeping them entertained.
I used to shop at yard sales for small toys to take along, things that can get lost and you won't care, and that are new to them.
Dole them out from a box or bag that you have prepared before the trip.
I have used a cafeteria-type tray or a cookie sheet....make sure it comes up on the sides so things won't fall off easily.
Also a clip board sideways could work for drawing paper or pages from a coloring book.
Of course you can look at books and/or read to them.
Electronic toys that are for these ages might be ok too.
Just be interactive with the girls and let them play with one thing or set of things at a time.
Hope this helps.

hi,We went to disney 2yrs ago with 5yr,2yr old girls..i feel your pain lol luckily we had portable dvd players ..that is always helpful... but you can get trays like that at Toys r us..my girls had princess lol we brought ALOT of coloring books and crayons..snacks,and just some of their favortie little toys.. kids are pretty amazing with the the mind.. they played with the dolls,etch a sketch thing,we listened to alot of music , played the who can find what first game lol just make up alot of lil games that seem stupid to us but not to them lol we also brought a ball so when we stopped to for them to potty they got to run off some energy..i hope this was helpful ;) have fun on the trip!