Any tips for surviving a long car journey with 3 small children?

Question

We are going on holiday over Christmas, the journey is about 6 hours, but of course we will be stopping quite a bit as I'm 6 months pregnant (I'm not driving so presumably its me that has to sort out the fighting at the back). We have 3 children aged 3, 6 and 8 in the back of the car - it is a bit squashed, waiting till January to get a people carrier! The cassette player has just broken so I can't use it to drown out the screams, dvd players sound great but we don't have one, any ideas for keeping sane?
Unfortunately we can't travel at night as check in is 4pm.

Answer 1

Here's a variation on I spy, You say 'My shepherd spied something that goes, and then you make the sound. Is it a cow or a vacuum player that you are imitating? And you needn't stop at things, there are also people that you can imitate.

Kids love to be by the window. So before you go teach the kids how to change round the booster seats so everyone has a turn at sitting in the middle.

Singing can pass a few miles, but a good repetoire of songs is needed.

The counting songs such as this old man he played one, and one man went to mow, ten green bottles. Of course the twelve days of Christmas and green grow the rushes o. Just make sure you have someone who knows the words

Then there are endless possiblities with the wheels on the bus, like the fishes on the bus go swim, swam swim, the elephant on the bus goes swish swash swish, the crocodile goes snap snap snap, and the lift on the bus is out of order.

Vary your route. Don't just keep to the dual carriageways, and look out for landmarks that will show your porgress, so that you are not nearly there until you have seen such and such

A toned down version of twenty questions is good. Basically you think of an object and the others have to guess it but you can only answer yes or no, You don't worry too much about the number of questions and you may have to give a hint, like 'You could ask Am I wearing one now? or, Is there one in the kitchen? The catagories can be man made, natural, edible, as well as the more traditional animal mineral vegetable.

Find your name with number plates. Pub cricket. You get a run if the pub sign involves legs and out if it doesn't

If you are determined to enjoy rather than endure the journey it will rub off on the kids. If you are going to have fun they will want to be in on the action.

Answer 2

There are a few other things you can do to pass the time in the car and make the trip go smoother. From personal experience, my suggestions are listed below. 1. Take along small toys or trinkets that the children can play with. Avoid taking anything that requires intense concentration (such as coloring books or gaming systems) because the kids might become car sick. This can quickly turn into a mess and make for a very long car ride. Small toys from McDonalds or the dollar store are great, inexpensive investments. 2. Play a game of "I Spy" with the older child. It will encourage looking out the window and prevent car sickness while entertaining at the same time. You can look for certain road signs, license plate, colored cars, or flowers. It's actually fun to do with older children; even teenagers enjoy the game! 3. Plan some activities that you want to do once you arrive at the destination and meet your family members. It's fun to plan different places to visit, restaurants, and evening activities. It allows the children to help plan the vacation as well and have input on the daily events. 4. Frequent rest stops are a definite must but try to stop at places that aren't just for a bathroom or food break. Choose interesting locations on the trip to stop at such as a tourist attraction (monument, particular store, etc) that will provide an educational experience for the older child. It will give them something to do when you stop as well in order to forget about the long car ride. It provides for a little more time to stretch and move around before jumping back into the car. Sometimes a simple bathroom break isn't a long enough rest, especially for younger children. Best of luck on the journey! Traveling with children is never easy, but I think you will be just fine.

Answer 3

Get some travel games any toy shop sells a huge selection. Play silly eye spy games and counting cars of the same colour. If you're having regular stops at service stations promise them one go on the arcade machines there if they can get on.

Another good thing to do but might be a bit difficult on you is to keep the all up for most of the night before, all if possible then they will sleep in the car on the way. And you will be able to too!

Answer 4

Can you borrow a DVD player from a friend? These are lifesavers for peace and quiet! If not, get ahold of some CD walkmans or MP3s and stick them on 'em... this is mesmorizing for kids - especially little ones... if you can get the CD storybooks they are great [local library should have lots to pick from and they would be "new" and FREE!].

Otherwise, some good old fashioned games like "I Spy" (something with the colour.... some thing that rhymes with ... something that starts with the letter...) depending on which kids are playing. Or with the 8 year old you could play licence plate games...

Good luck!!! Do you have a radio? Look for stations that carry shows like Adventures in Odyssey which is a GREAT program for kids (http://www.whitsend.org/kidsradio/findastation.cfm) and you should be able to find some talk radio stations with radio dramas this time of year. A little homework on the stations in the cities you are passing through should work to your benefit.

Answer 5

Luckily the radio will have lots of Christmas songs on to sing along with.
You might want to prepare lots of snacks for the journey - fruit like grapes and cut apples and bananas. Avoid sweets, as they'll get really cranky about an hour after they eat them (sugar crash!).
Lots of drinks - kids tend to get really thirsty on long trips, again, avoid high sugar drinks - makes them thirstier.
In-car games, like I spy, I'm going on my holidays, name this song, how many red cars can you count, cloud watching etc etc...
When the going gets really bad, that's the time to stop for no more than five minutes - then pick up at the last activity that was fun and try again.

If I were you, I'd aim to amuse them and keep driving with a maximum of one or two stops. I frequently go on seven hour trips with my kids to see the grandparents, and they don't need to stop except to go to the loo - once at most. They prefer to get there as early as possible.

You could get the eight year old to plot your route in a map while you're driving, get her to tell you the next town etc, as long as she doesn't get car-sick.

The three and six year olds are quite likely to nap for at least some of the journey - it's a good idea to have some furry or fleecy blankets for them to snuggle if they feel sleepy.

Good luck, I'm sure the holiday will be worth it!

Answer 6

Drive at night when the kids are used to sleeping. They will sleep more and you don't have to worry about keeping them entertained. Eye Spy is always a kid favourite. Also buy them one toy each (doesn't have to be big) and don't show them until they start to get rangy bring them out and the child has a brand new toy to play with....That should be good for at least an hr.....By a cheap Walkman and go to the library and get children's books on tape. That way you have one of them occupied and not bothering the other two.

Answer 7

For the 3 year old a selection of colouring books should do the trick and for the other two a Gameboy each. They wont even look up for the whole 6 hours.

If you havent got Gameboys then get on Ebay and grab a bargain.
Trust me as we have Triplets aged 8

Answer 8

I can't believe the sarcastic answers I just read in here, those people must not have any kids. I think if you just bring some cool car games along and proper healthy snack without sugar you will be OK. It is always wise to have an emergency game or 2 that they know nothing about until you absolutely need it. good luck and have a safe trip

Answer 9

Get some stickers and make up cards for them with things to watch out for. Keep in mind their age groups, when the see something on their card they get a sticker for it. eg. 3 red cars get one sticker. A windmill(wind farms count) gets another sticker. Keep it simple.
Get a road map and plot where you are going get them to look for things that are on the way.
Play car karaoke...make a list of songs they all know and give them all numbers, let them choose a number and they can sing for their supper. Use a banana as a microphone and the winner gets to eat it afterwards. The runners up get wee bananas. Plenty of drinks and toilet breaks, cool kids are happy kids. Get them to help with packed lunch for the trips and give them a few choices but keep it healthy. Let them eat them their way as long as they are happy the journey should be easier. Insist that there is a quiet time and even if it means mummy singing a gentle song for a few minutes to start of the quiet time. Remember you need a break too so let the driver have his/her break and then you get yours. Put the seat back and put your feet on the dashboard even for 10 minutes on your own before they come back to the car. Happy Christmas

Answer 10

I make up little bags ( 2 each for a 6 hour journey!) for mine, with little games, favorite toys and snacks - then give out the bags at intervals. there's loads of in-car games on the net - have a look at the english AA site - can download/print. the dvd player is excellent if you can afford it, and travelling at night is definately the best idea!
Good luck
Jx