tips for traveling with kids?

[Sara Noel]

Looking for tips/suggestions/ideas for car travel with young children (under age 12) to keep them happy. (excluding packing a cooler or gameboys)

This would be for trips over an hour long.

[AmyMCGS]

The best $100 we ever spent was on a portable DVD player for DD for long car trips... but I suppose that fits into the "gameboy" category, doesn't it? I will also say that if you're not opposed to the movie player, spending a few more $$ to get headphones was more than worth it... I could only listen to "Dora" for a short period in the car without wanting to toss that DVD right out the window. Headphones make everyone happy.

[momof2inpa]

I also agree with getting a portable DVD player. I have to say that was a great investment for our kids- we have 2 with a 7 year age difference and we purchased one that has 2 screens and plays different movies- it was about $130 (we don't really have that kind of money to throw around- we got it by me selling the kids outgrown clothes to a consingment store and our change jar).

Some other ideas is to make each child a little bag filled with some toys, books and so on (we also do this for our kids- I hit the dollar store and buy them a few things and let them pick out a toy to bring with them!). I hope that helps you some!

[jkelstaten]

We also do the movie thing, but our trips are generally 18 hours of driving or more to be considered a "long" trip. I also pack lots of quiet toys and pull them out at different times. I don't give them to the kids all at once, just pull out different ones when they get bored with the ones they are using.

We leave on Saturday to drive from Maryland to Iowa. We'll be taking lots of books, some "school" books (they like the pre-k activity books right now/dry-erase ones are best). We also plan on stopping several times along the way (one overnight stop) to let them get out and run. We plan the extra stops into the time we expect to be travelling so that we don't have to feel late.

I also plan on making a trip to Wal-Mart or the Dollar Tree for some cheap-o new toys to hold onto as prizes for good behavior or when they really need a distraction.

[sixfreds]

I agree with the portable dvd player!

But if you are looking for electronic free I would say activity books and/or puzzle books with crayons or markers (not pencils bevcause then you need a sharpener) or even dry erase type activity books. I have a cranium travel book which is awesome. Even just a notebook for drawing or writing.

Travel games if the kids are close in age or all old enough to play like connect 4 or magnetic checkers. Tick-tack-toe.
They make almost all board games in travel sizes.

Eileen

[mylittle4]

www.momsminivan.com
I turned the scavenger hunt into a game by putting a small piece of candy like a tootsie roll or piece of juicy fruit in an envelope with one of the scavenger hunt items written on the outside when they found the item they got the prize inside you could put small change in the envelope also. My kids fave is the license plate game, we use one game sheet and when someone sees the plate they put their initials by it and at the end of the trip the person with the most plates wins $1.00. We do the abc game also where you have to spot words begining with the letter you are on and going alphabetical with let x be in the word not just at the begining. I just completed a 5 day road trip with 5 kids and me being the only adult we traveled over 1600 miles in all and camped each night, and the dvd player broke within the first 50 miles. The best tip I can offer is to not be rushed plan to make stops at crazy things. My kids loved taking the time to drive over a cool bridge or stop at a hole in the wall diner in a town they have never been to. I also draw up a little map and mark out our trip with a wide blank road along the way we color in the road and it helps the kids visualize how for we've gone and how much further we have to go. Hope that helps.