Long car trip with kids: a sort of how-to >> a peek inside the fishbowl

22 Aug, 2008

Long car trip with kids: a sort of how-to

Posted by andrea in: sanity saving parent tips| travel talk

During this last holiday, the longest stretch of time we spent in the car in one go was about 8 hours. Knowing I usually max out after two, I knew it was going to be loooong.

I truly believe it’s possible to teach kids to be well-behaved in the confines of a car. They can learn to accept long drives, just like we did when we were kids. As a parent, you just have to want to do it, be a good planner, and tolerate some inevitable fussing when they’re young.

We’ve been driving with the kids since they were born. They are 9 and 7 now, and I’ve learned what great little travellers they have become. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t just stare out the window the whole time, we had a plan. And it worked.

- We stopped often, to let them get out and stretch their legs. And I mean stretch. The rest stops in Quebec and parts of Nova Scotia were the best - big stretches of grass, park benches, some even had swings. The trick is to stop BEFORE they have a meltdown. If they’re having a meltdown and you’re looking for a stop, it’s too late.

- We had a stack of books, specifically, comic books. And pillows. And some small toys. A roll of toilet paper. And wet hand wipes. Those wipes saved us more times than I care to remember.

- We had bubblegum. They entertained themselves tirelessly with bubble-blowing contests. We also received some large gobstoppers before we left. We had a contest to see who can suck them down the fastest. I won. :) I tell ya, the only thing we heard from the back seat was the sound of slurping.

- We bought each kid a back seat organizer. Their pads, papers, pencils, waterbottles, and small toys fit in there like a dream. Sarah surprised me and spent a lot of time sketching.

- We had a few games of 20 questions. No paper or pens required, just our brains. I stumped everyone with “telephone pole” and Mark got us with “electrical wire.” Damn him.

- And then there were snacks. Apples worked better than bananas because they didn’t bruise so easily. Frozen juiceboxes took time to melt.

- Mark made us a music CD. Little did I know that ”Dragostea din tei“, (the girls actually LEARNED THE WORDS) and “Kung-Fu Fighting” would become the theme songs of our trip.

- Before we left I discovered collection of downloadable audiobooks at the Ottawa library website. Some titles can be burned to CD. I chose Book 1 of The Dark Hills Divide, Land of Elyon Series by Patrick Carman. This was a good call on my part. Not only is it a great way to pass 5 hours and 35 minutes, but it was a great story that was superbly narrated. We were all on the edge of our seats as we listened… a wonderful shared experience. And you know what, listening to the story gave my brain a workout that it doesn’t normally get when I watch TV. It’s much less passive, if you know what I mean.

- we also had a game of “how well do you know your daughter” which involved me writing down a few questions in a notebook and passing them back for the girls to answer - silently. Then I asked Mark to guess the answers. Emma and Sarah each answered questions about their favourite colour, what they would do with $100, and if they could be any animal which would it be. I think the answers surprised all of us. :)

- the girls also spent a lot of time signalling to truckers - as we drove - asking them to honk their horns. And many did.

- And yes, we all stared out the window, taking in each small town we passed through, people coming from weddings and funerals, trees and plants of all kinds, wide expanses of farms and fields, oceans and lakes and streams and everything in between, cattle and horses and circling crows, rainbows and all shades of clouds … we rested our eyes and our busy minds as we watched the scenery roll by outside our windows.

Anyway, those are just a few things we did to bide the time.

They did so well, we all did, and I would definitely do it again.

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