Surviving (and Even Enjoying) Simple Car Trips w/ Young Kids

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Surving Simple Car TripsMy husband has a DVD player in his car and he uses it for virtually every car trip that is longer than 10 minutes.  I, however, do not have one.  Nor do I want one.  And here is why.

First, I believe that children need to be able to entertain and manage themselves without constant electronic entertainment.

Second, it is a great time to talk (and listen to) your kids and get to know them as little people a little better.  Some of my best conversations with my girls are in the car.

I ask them about their favorite parts of their day.  They ask me questions about what things are and the way things work in the world.  We point out cool things we see out the windows.  For the most part, they do just fine in the car with an engaged mother and no TV.

That being said, they have their days when they are tired and fussy or just tired of being in the car in general as we run around town on various errands.  These days have caused me to get a little more creative with them.

So, we play word games.  The current favorite is a much more simplified version of 20 questions.  It goes like this:

“I am thinking of a Sophia character.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?” – Boy

“Is it a person or an animal?” – Animal

“Is he nice or mean?” – Nice

“Does he live with Sophia?” – Yes

“Is it Clover?” YES!

We also use Disney princesses, where we often end up singing their “theme song” as one of the clues.  I imagine there are many different groups of characters that can be used in this game, so choose what interests your child.  The 20 questions game is my four year old’s favorite, but my three year old likes it too.  The problem with her is that she doesn’t really know who she is thinking of until she decides to just tell you, so asking her questions is somewhat pointless.

Another big favorite is playing “rock star”.  My girls are LOUD car singers and they love almost everything on my ipod from the latest hits, to the 80’s classics and the Disney favorites.  We have a great time singing along and doing silly car dancing.  Nora loves listing all of the people she thinks would come see our show.

I often ask my kids to play “I-Spy” and look for a certain letter to show up on a sign.  Or we pretend we are going on a road trip somewhere we have never been and imagine what kind of animals and flowers might be there.  I love that their imaginations know no boundaries and this gives me a new and younger look on life that I value.  Hands down, some of our best mom/daughter moments happen in the car.

How do you keep your children entertained in the car as you are running around town?

 

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Sarah
I am Mom to two beautiful, sassy little girls; Nora & Meredith. It was only after becoming a mother that I really started to appreciate how lucky we are to live in this Southwest Ohio, surrounded by amazing green space, culture, history, sports, and the arts. I love using all aspects of Cincinnati (Dayton and NKY too if I am being honest) as a playground for my kids and myself. I often drag my friends and family from the East side to the West side in search of another new and exciting adventure.

1 COMMENT

  1. We love to make up games. Even simple ones. My preschooler right now likes to play “what’s the opposite” (i.e. “What the opposite of stop?” –Go)

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