Entertaining Kids On Long Drives
 

My granddaughter just visited for eight days, and then we drove her back to New England. She is six years old, and her favorite thing to do in the car was playing "What Animal Am I?" Other passengers in the car had 10 questions to guess what animal you were. It was a silly little game but she loved playing it endlessly.

What do you play to entertain your little ones? (She'll be visiting again in late summer, and we'll have another roadtrip so I love ideas!)

Elmo, Thomas the Tank, or whatever other DVD will occupy them for a bit.

Bonniebroad, you are lightyears more patient and prone to bubble-headedness than me. I could no more play that game on a long drive with my young son at that age than I could play bridge.

But girls are different from boys. We used to stop at a reststop when it seemed it was time (judging by my son's restlessness) and we'd let him race against himself, using a stopwatch to time him. He'd try to break his time from the previous run. He'd run himself silly and then we'd get back in the car and he'd go to sleep.

And so would I.

Tandoori Girl, what a hoot!!! My granddaughter is the fastest runner in her class, glories that she beats all the little boys..... Geesh, maybe that's an idea for her next roadtrip with us!

Yes, congratulate me on my patience.;-) And when we weren't playing "What Animal Am I?", we were playing "I Spy"............ It was real nice when she took a nap!:-)

Well the good news is that she'll be seven this year!

Another game kids like is the alphabet license plate game...you have to find A-Z in order from license plates, calling out the letters as you see them. First one to z wins.

There are some great road trip game books these days...Some have items that they have to spot and cross off, some have daily journals designed for young kids to fill out (lots of fill in the blanks, rather than just lined pages) and other amuzing activites. We also had some magnetic board games--checkers, bingo, and another I Spy type one.

The "Sing around" line of cassettes or cDs are great too. They are filled with simple campfire and folk songs and come with a song book. You'll recognize lots of the songs from your childhood, and they are in easy arrangements so even totally tone deafies can join in!

We loved playing a game I invented called the "Slug Bug" game. Since we love the VW Beetles, it's about that car.

Each color "slug bug" has a me and when you see that color, you yell it out. Example: Red- Lady Bug!!!!!
Yellow- Lemon Drop!!!!!
Green- Kiwi bug!!!
White- Snowflake!!!
Blue- Bluebird!!!

Well, you get the picture..... my husband & I still play that game, even when they're aren't any kids in the car. (Shhhh) ***kim***

We always played "In my grandmothers Chest" Start with the letter "A" and Say in my grandmothers chest there is and apple, the next person has to pick something that starts with the letter "B" and say "In my grandmothers chest there is an Apple and a Ball" etc. This was alway fun and took alot of time.

Oh, Golfwi, love that idea! Just the kind of game my sweetie will love.......Grandmother's Chest!:-) Thank you, all, for the great ideas. Keep 'em coming!

One bottle of Baileys can go a long way...

We used to play a game called "Buzz" that my grandpa had made up for my mother when she was a kid. It's a simple variation on the "I Spy" type game. A list of objects and points is created. Every time you spot something on the list, you yell "Buzz" and get the amount of points specified. The first person to 500 (or 1000, etc.) wins.

For example, in our version a white horse was worth 25 points, and a semi-white horse was worth 10. Motorcycles were 15 and red cars were 5. Basically, you can put anything on the list and change it, depending on the drive and scenery. The good thing about this game is that it keeps kids occupied looking outside instead of fighting. There can also be long periods of silence before someone finally yells "Buzz". I'm sure that's why my grandpa made it up. ;)

FainaAgain...
Who is the Bailey's for...???? The entertainer or the entertainee? (just kidding, please don't take seriously)! LOL

These people are idiots. Please go to the library and seek out books on tape that are appropiate for her age groop. being read to is wonderful for all involved.
Good luck!!!

"appropiate for her age groop"?

Thanks for that rather erudite contribution, peggym. It said so much.

Reading in the car makes me quite sick, and would not be a pleasant experience for my GD!;-)

Thanks again for all the lovely ideas, people....... I think you're quite the wise ones!:-)

Books on tape (Harry Potter for instance);
trinkets from the dollar store
the-quiet-game: see how long you can keep quiet with a parent trying to make you talk (works better with a bunch of kids fighting in the backseat)
And, not my own idea: Who can keep their eyes closed the longest (not the driver, again you need a bunch of kids)
Another game my kids love(d): country, city, body of water, animal, profession, name. You may have to change the categories (food, girl/boy name, whatever). You pick a letter and write down items that begin with this letter. Then you compare answers: if you have the same as someone else, you get 5 points, 10 for unique items, 20 if you're the only one who found one. Letter can be picked by someone saying the alphabet silently and another saying stop. Or you can let her pick the letter.

Reading this, I'm glad my kids are older now (11 and 13). How did I ever make it through traveling in those younger years? It's interesting how you can handle only what you are given at different points in life. I am better at talking and reasoning and being more parental (which is what they need now, they don't need me to be their friend, they have freinds, they need a parent) now that they are older. Now we travel so easily together. When they were young we just strapped them in the car seats, put the stupid dumb silly songs tapes in the tape player and sang along like a bunch of ninnies. ("There's a hole in my bucket, dear Goofy, dear Goofy" is etched in my brain at some deep subliminal level.)
If she can add, we played that adding up numbers on the license plate game when I was a kid and we had road trips. Add up the numbers on all the license plates you can see til you get to 100 or 200 or whatever. The problem is, I still do it without even realizing it. I will be at a stoplight and realize I have been adding up all the license plates, so be careful- this stuff stays with you.

I'm 25 and I love being read to.

I have my boyfriend prop the book up on the dashboard and he does a fine job.

I spy another "idiot",
roxy

The 11yr old soon loses interest after a few rounds of I Spy and other song/rhyme games. There is nothing as wonderful as the silence that comes from a kid playing with a Game Boy. I am purchasing a few new games that will be handed out during the long drives of our July vacation. There is only so much Britney and Beyonce that I can listen to without having a fit.

PeggyM,
Might I suggest a book on tape age appropriate for you - "How to win friends and influence people." Seem to recall something in there about calling people idiots.

There's a game you can buy - the name escapes me - something akin to I Spy, but cards are drawn, and each person has to find certain things (bird on a wire) or do something ("Get the diver of a car to wave to you"). First one to finish all on their card wins. My daughter loves it - We've had the game for about 4 years - she just turned 14. She and friends even play it during trips around town.

marigross: OK, here's my real secret. I splurged and got a car that has a rear entertainment system. So I can listen to a CD in the front seat, and the kids can either watch a DVD or listen to the radio WITH THE HEADPHONES ON (that part is key). So no more listening to Dropkick Murphies or Avril for me. I deserve to listen to what I want, and now they get to also. The headphones are great- only work in back seat. Keeps them from bickering, which is the big deal w/11 yr old girl and 13 yr old boy (only so much "stupid" and "fartface" that I can take hearing from the backseat while driving before I explode). The cost was worth it- I wish I had done this years ago. I can't "entertain" anyone while driving- I have to concentrate on the road, and neither of my kids can read, they get carsick.

Have played most of the games listed as my kids were growing up.

Here is another idea that may be a bit advanced for a 6 year old but...

On lengthly trips everyone in the car would choose 5 states that we would NOT see on the road during the trip. Last one standing wins.

Lots of time is killed taking turns picking your states, making the list and debating the rules. Examples: What is the order of state picking? Does a car in tow count? How about the plate on a U-Haul trailer? What if you see cars plates in parking lots, gas stations, etc. or do they have to be ON the road? What about car carriers with multiple cars on it? Does Hawaii count? Should we add in Provinces? You get the idea.

On a trip to Mt. Rushmore and back to Chicago we eventually cataloged every state. Oddly enough (to me) the last state we saw was Kentucky.

Every time we go on our annual vacation, my girls get a new cutesy bag or backpack filled with new stuff. When they were younger it was crayons, mini coloring books, a new beannie baby. Now that they're older its a new book, maybe a new gameboy game, a silly pen and journal. Plus a few snacks and candies. They look forward to them.

Our upcoming trip to DC/Williamsburg will be the first try with books on tape. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkerban. (Can't wait for the movie!). Hopefully this will reduce the bickering that has increased as they get older.

Also play what we call the sign game. Its getting all the letter of the alphabet in the right order but only from road signs. We collect license plates also. Have a list from each trip.

I love road trips.

Austin-the name of the game is Rubber Neckers. There's also a RubberNeckers Jr for younger kids. You do what the card says and play to 100 pts: 5 pts for a police car with an extra 5 if its' lights are flashing, 5 pts for a baseball field, 5 pts if you can get a person in another vehicle to make a peace sign. I played with a group of adults on a tour bus and ended up with half the bus involved. It's available at Amazon.com.

They make travel games like Uno and Battleship now which are great to take along. Go to Amazon and do a search on travel games.Or a travel magna doodle or hand held computer game.Books on tape are great, but a 6 year old has a short attention span. We have a tv/vcr/dvd combo in our new conversion van and it's great on trips. A portable dvd player would be great also.

I like the Bailey's idea. ;-)

Wow, I'm gonna print this thread out for future excursions with GD.

She does have her own portable DVD player so we did watch "Brother Bear" and the first Harry Potter movie enroute! That is a great invention.......... thank you, Lord! But she'd RATHER do word-games with Granny, of course, until Granny is GA-GA!!!!!!!!!

Her parents tried the audio-books, and she didn't take to that idea too much. She was a very early and (is a) voracious reader, so likes to do it herself, I gather!

She's also the kind of child who will just take a "rest" for a couple of hours now and then........ but only for a couple!;-)

Thank you all for your wonderful responses, and please feel free to keep them coming!

P.S. The funniest response in this thread is, I think, from Tandoori_Girl........ the thought of them "racing themselves" into exhaustion at rest-stops is hysterical! Why didn't we all think of that???????? ;-)

My parents used the "race" technique to wear we 8 kids out on all our family excursions. When we grew up we all were on the high school track team. Two brothers went to college on track scholarships. No wonder!