Coping With Kids on Road Trips
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As the odometer is clicking, there are countless traditional car games and other fun ways families can take advantage of this uninterrupted time together, from counting state license plates to singing silly songs and doing road-sign math. Also, don’t forget the power of reading and books on tape.
Dorothy Dowling, the mother of a 9-year-old and the senior vice president of marketing for Best Western Hotels-North America, says kids can even answer their own question of "Are we there yet ?" if parents provide them with a printed map highlighting their route. She suggests including a ruler to help them learn how to read the map’s scale.
Dowling also says families can create a bingo game: "Type a numbered list of roadside sights, and whenever your kids spot one, they can mark off the corresponding number on their bingo sheet. Also, bring pens and postage and pick up postcards at every stop so the kids can chronicle their journey and either send it back to themselves or to a relative not on the trip."
There are numerous books and travel sites — even one called www.momsminivan.com — that offer other roadgame suggestions.
If and when boredom sets in, Natt advises finding a safe place to pull over — from rest areas to parks and quaint downtowns. "With the Internet and today’s GPS systems, research your trip ahead of time and scope out the best places to stop," he says. "And when you do, even if for a meal, don’t just allow your kids to sit the entire break. Get up, run around the car, play tag, throw a ball around — just do something to get everyone’s hearts pumping and limbs moving. Everyone will be a lot happier while you’re driving."
Once you arrive at your destination, personalize and humanize the trip for your kids. Rather than the generic tours offered at tourist sites, opt to go off the beaten path and indulge everyone’s senses with real-life, handson experiences. The idea is to stimulate interest in the places you’re visiting, and make the vacation seem less like a lecturebased history class and more like an adventurous field trip.
When possible, allow children to make some choices and take some ownership in the vacation. Page 1 2 3
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