Tips for Traveling With Children on a Road Trip
A road trip with children can be fun and challenging at the same time. In order to capitalize on the "fun," plan a few surprises for the children.
Observation Games
When traveling a long distance in a car, scenery can offer an opportunity to view God's creation and have fun at the same time. The best way to do this is to engage everyone in the car in an observation game. Create your own or use one of these suggestions. Encourage participants to call out the first things with a letter: a for apple tree, b for bridge, c for car, etc. Or look for numbered items: 1 gate, 2 crows, 3 horses, etc. Colors are also a good choice, searching for a red truck, a house painted green, an airplane with blue paint, etc.
If you chose, you can keep track of the children who "score" the most observations and be prepared with a small prize.
Surprise Bag of Goodies
Prepare a small bag of inexpensive toys for each child. A dollar store or end of season sales at department stores are great places to stock up on these items. Have a storage spot in your home where you collect the toys a little at a time. That way you will spread even the minor expense over a period of time. If you take a road trip each summer, for instance, be on the lookout all year for items that will work on the trip: coloring books, puzzles, small games, etc.
Do not give them the entire bag at the beginning of the trip, but parcel out each toy as the trip progresses. Judge the time to give them out by restlessness, or miles traveled, but try to stretch the contents of the gift bag out over the entire trip. At the end of the trip, give them the bag itself so they will have something to carry their toys in when they reach the hotel.
Walkie Talkies
Pack a set of walkie talkies when you take a road trip. They come in handy if someone has to get out of the car to go to the bathroom or you separate to buy snacks, etc. If you are sight-seeing and your children go a different direction, make a game of it and have them keep talking to you even when you are separated. For safety's sake, tell them that they cannot go further than you can talk to them on the walkie talkie.
Maps
From the internet, print out a map to your destination for each child. Have them follow along as you travel. Using your own map, ask them questions during the drive. This will not only keep your children occupied, but will help them develop their own map reading abilities.
With a little planning and a lot of love, your family can reach your destination one step ahead of the game: you all had fun on the road.
Stephanie and her husband, Richard, serve the Lord through Xtend Ministries International. To find out more about Stephanie and her ministry, please visit http://www.onefocusministries.com.
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