Kids and Cars- The Secret to Long Journeys On The Road

Having survived five years and God knows how many miles driving my kid around, I like to think I have a good few ideas on how to entertain a child or children on a long journey. I have put together my tried and tested ideas for attempting to maintain your sanity with little ones in the car.

Keep your cool mums and dads, help is on the way.

Are we nearly there yet? Absolutely!

Lie, lie and lie some more. Okay, it might not be in any of the parenting handbooks but lying is the way forward. 10, 20 or even 60 miles the answer is always either ‘nearly there’, ‘round the corner’ or ‘five minutes away’.

If it’s over 60 miles, we’re still lying but there is some logic to follow in this scenario. At this point, we’re cutting the length of time e.g. an hour left? We’re half an hour way. If that doesn’t satisfy them- just keeping diving by two until they are accepting. Let’s be honest – most kids, especially younger ones, have no concept of time.

In Car DVD Players

In car dvd players combined with headphones. I’m sure God made them with his own fair hands. If you have a recent model of a brand new vehicle with TVs built into the back then you’re absolutely laughing and I’m absolutely jealous!

For the rest of us, these cheeky little gadgets guarantee hours of peace. I wouldn’t advise buying a cheap portable dvd player as this will provide exactly the opposite of what you are trying to achieve and simply result in ‘mummy it’s not working’ and ‘daddy can you fix it’.

I bought a cheap one for my son and the screen kept fading out and the charger broke not long after having it. This article gives a good representation of the best in car dvd players available on the market.

Most run off batteries or the cigarette lighter. It may sound like a luxury for the rich kids at private school, but anyone who’s got one swears by it. They’re cheaper than you think, and you won’t hear a peep out of the backseat from Bury to Birmingham.

Sell them the Dream

Get the children excited for the journey, tell them about all the fantastic things they can do when they get there to occupy their tiny minds on the journey.

Try not to oversell so it’s a massive let down when they get there. This will only result in any saved hassle in the car being sent straight back your way when you reach the mis-sold destination.

Bribery

The options are endless when it comes to bribery, and the one you go for will ultimately come down to the age of the child and the bearing of your moral compass.

Sweets are the easiest and most common weapon of choice. Handing them out in strict rotation as reward for good behaviour. Works a treat. However, this suggestion is followed by a warning message. Travel sickness Enough said.

If you don’t fancy mopping up child vomit then cold hard cash might be the next best thing.

Every hour they behave hand over 50p, which they then get to spend in the motorway services. Or give each child a stack of 20p’s (say £2 in total), then forfeit one for each infraction (ie fighting, arguing, pinching, asking “are we there yet?”)

Drive at night

Always, always drive at night if your travel plans can permit. Even if it means getting to your destination a night early.

Put the children in their pyjamas and take a blanket, maybe a travel pillow and sit back whilst the little angels nod off in the back. Enjoy hours and hours of uninterrupted peace and quiet. Long journeys at the dead of night can be among the most relaxing moments of one’s life as a parent.

Singing (Get rid of the crackly speakers)

Sometimes driving a night is not always possible and so singing is a good way to pass the time. A mix tape with the family favs always works well for us. My five year old loves ‘All About the Bass (Meghan Trainor) and ‘Uptown Funky What’ (Known to you and me as ‘Upton Funk- Bruno Mars’)

For me, purchasing decent car speakers was an absolute must for this very reason. Whilst researching, I wrote a post on my findings to help other mummy’s that have no clue about cars and gadgets. See my best car speakers post if you too don’t fancy listening to the fuzzy crackling coming out the speakers when the kids yell at you to turn it up.

Pit Stops

Little legs need to move! Take advantage of rest stops and play parks along the way. Build time in your journey for a few service station stops, it might seem tedious but busy kids running off energy may just result in sleepy kids that give mum and dad some peace for an hour or too. Everyone’s a winner baby!

iPads

For most parents ipads are the devil, but on long car journeys they can double up as our saviour. Nobody needs an ipaddy (tech toddler tantrum) so downloading movies the night before for that dreaded moment when you leave the wifi connection at home. That preparation is key.

Death by Audio Book

Listening to the Superman Audio Book 563410935 times on repeat is not ideal. But if it keeps the kids quiet then it works for me. Pass me a travel pillow and I’ll take this opportunity to have a snooze. I invite you to do the same.

Travel Board Games

Travel size Connect4, Battleships or a pack of cards have worked for me when I’ve had my own little bud le of joy along with someone else’s little bundle of joy in the back of the car on a rather long road trip (by bundle of joy I mean little terror or possibly another word to describe a board, restless and mischievous five year old at that particular moment after an hour plus in the car.)

Another warning alert, I’ve left this one to the end because there is the possibility of arguments resulting from said suggestion.

 

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