On The Road Again Tips For Traveling With Kids

A RE WE THERE YET?                 are a couple of our "standards".                                   Play the A to Z Animal game        If I had a dollar for every     where, starting with letter A,     time my 8 year-old said this in       everyone tries to name as many     the course of his life, I could       animals as they can that begin     probably fill up my car with          with that letter. When no more     gasoline for a year. It is a          can be named, move on to the next  question my son constantly asks,      letter. Another variation of this  and it is one I asked my parents      is the A to Z Sign game. Starting  more times than I'd like to           with letter A, each person         admit. And, while there is a          searches for a sign with that      valuable lesson to learn on           letter. Once a sign is found,      patience here, teaching that to       move on to the next letter.        an 8 year-old when in the midst                                          of a multi-state trip is not the      2. Bury Your Animals - this game   most ideal time to do it. So,         works great for long, country      distraction tactics are               road trips.                        necessary.                                                                                                     Each person (or team if everyone   So, on a quest to at least curb       is playing) keeps up with the      this question that, when asked,       number of animals seen out their   sounds like the proverbial            side of the car. But, when a       fingernails on a chalkboard, I        cemetery is passed (or a sign      found a few nuggets of wisdom to      indicating a cemetery), all        use with my son that allow him to     animals counted for that person    enjoy the trip as well as myself.     have to be "buried" and counting                                         starts over at 1 again.            1. The Alphabet Game - this is,                                          by far, our favorite game. There      3. I Spy - a timeless classic in   are multiple variations, but here     the travel game world, there are   many variations on this. You can      exactly how far along on the trip  spy by color, by shape, by            you are.                           amount, by clues.                                                                                              5. Pull Out The Paper - We are     My younger son LOVES this game -      notorious for our mail during      it is one we play quite often, no     trips, so have the kids make       matter how long or short the          cards along the way to send to     trip!                                 themselves! They will get a                                              thrill creating their own mail,    4. Map It - State maps can be         and imagine their surprise when    found relatively inexpensively        they receive it in the mailbox     (or even free at state visitor        after coming back home!            centers). Acquire one for your                                           young traveler, and have him or       While these ideas haven't          her map out their route as you        eliminated the "are we there yet"  travel. As you pass landmarks on      syndrome, they have significantly  the map (highways and roadside        reduced it. Now I get to hear,     parks), move your "track" from a      "Let's do that again!" which is a  pencil or pen along the route to      lovely melody compared to the      indicate your position. This is       other.                             an awesome visual for seeing           About the Author: Judy Griscom, a frequent traveller and busy mom, recommends travel toys to keep kids' minds engaged on trips. Published At: www.Isnare.com