|
|
Family Road Trip Fun: How Best To
Travel With Kids
by Sherrie Le Masurier
Family Travel is meant to be fun and relaxing and with a little road
trip planning, you can organize your car travel to make this year's road
trip your best family vacation ever.
When it comes to road trip planning it's important to expect the
unexpected and be prepared. Turn to creative solutions like pre-planned
snacks and car games to counter "I'm hungry" screams and "Are We There
Yet?" questions. Every time you travel with kids you can count on the
need for both creative solutions and a ton of car games to keep the
kid's busy.
Following are some of my favorite ways to make a family vacation car
trip not only bearable but fun.
Activity Boxes
A plastic tote with a flat lid works best as it holds both your child's
activity supplies (paper, markers, cards etc.) and doubles as a play
surface.
Bottled Water
Bring a whole case for drinking and quick wash ups.
Paper Towels
These are indispensable when eating and make short work of cleaning up.
Blankets or Coats
The warmth of a blanket or coat comes in handy for nap time.
Pillows
To a tired and cranky child, a pillow can be a real lifesaver.
Plastic Bags
Various sized plastic zipper-type, grocery and garbage bags are handy
for everything from storing crayons and leftover crackers to separating
wet bathing suits and collecting trash.
Drinks
Place a small cooler filled with beverages in a central location where
everyone can reach.
Snacks
Consider individual boxes of cereal, packages of crackers, cups of
fruit, applesauce and yogurt. Don't forget the spoons.
Okay, so now your kids are well nourished and have their activity box
before them. But with a day or two of traveling still ahead, your kids'
short attention span may yet get the better of them. Ward off sibling
battles and screams like "She's looking at me again!" with the following
car travel solutions.
As a child one of my favorite family travel games was to create a story
together. Dad would start the first sentence, then mom, then my brother
and I would add to it. Each of us would take a turn adding a sentence as
the story unfolded.
Another favorite road trip car game was "I'm going on a trip and I'm
bringing..." Here someone starts the game off by naming an item that
starts with the letter "A". After "A", the next player will say the same
thing but with the letter "B", and so on.
If you're looking for creative verbal games that will help build your
kid's vocabulary, check out 101 Word Games at
http://familysanitysavers.com/cargames.
Finally, countdown the distance to go, with a bunch of Cheerios or Fruit
Loops pre-thread on shoestring licorice. Your kids can enjoy one with
every passing kilometer.
Want more Family Sanity Saving Ideas? Visit
http://www.familysanitysavers.com today!
Written by Sherrie Le Masurier, Lifestyle Columnist, Professional
Organizer and Co-Owner of Family Sanity Savers.com - Copyright 2005
|
|
