Travelling with children

Road trips - how to stay sane and safe when travelling with kids.

Trip preparation

Good planning will go a long way to making the trip more enjoyable for everyone. Remember that children have short attention spans and tire easily. So try to keep the trip as simple as possible.

Stop at regular intervals to give kids a chance to run around and burn off their pent-up energy. A ball to kick around at a pitstop is worth packing. Break longer journeys into several legs - over several days if necessary.
If your kids are old enough, involve them in planning the trip. It will give them a focus for the journey. For example, if you need to schedule two breaks in the day's drive, give them a choice of where to take them. (e.g. the Big Pineapple and the beach near Bundaberg will likely hold more appeal than the Folk Art Museum and Pottery Shop).
If your kids nap, use their sleep schedule to your advantage. Time your departure for an hour of so before their nap time. Keeping them amused for a short time isn’t hard and when they nod off, you get an hour to two of blissful peace. Carry a light rug and small cushion.
Choose toys and books that will go the distance. Toys with multiple small parts are likely to end up on the floor and/or lost down the back of the seat. Favourite playthings are a good choice. If your little boy spends many happy hours at home playing with his Thomas the Tank Engine, chances are he'll do the same in the car. A portable art set (drawing board, paper, pencils and crayons) is guaranteed to amuse for a least a couple of kilometres. And for longer journeys, hold some toys in reserve. Should the situation turn tense, with a meltdown looming on the horizon, you can pull out a brand new toy from your cleverly concealed stash. Instant distraction!
Divide and conquer. It's always better not to have siblings sitting right up against each other in the back seat. Seat them on either side of the car with a bag of toys in between.
Most importantly - don't forget the wet wipes! They serve multiple purposes, from cleaning sticky hands and faces to wiping down public toilet seats.

In praise of the car DVD player

Technology’s biggest contribution to the road trip is the car DVD player. When it comes to car entertainment, it doesn't get better (or easier!) than the latest (or favourite) movie release.

Car games

Keeping the kids amused en route requires a good knowledge of games that can be played in the seated position. Here's a list of favourites, including tried and tested classics:

I spy

Select an object that everyone in the car can see. Then give them a clue by saying, "I spy with my little eye, something… " (say its shape or colour or, for older children, give its initial letter). The other players try and guess what the object is by asking questions to which you can only answer "yes" or "no". The first player who guesses correctly becomes the new spy.

The alphabet game

Find words beginning with "A" on any signs around you. Get the players to take turns - after "A", go to "B", and so on. Can you get to "Z" and finish the alphabet?

Odd or even

This is a game for two players. Have each child guess if there are more licence plates that end in an odd or even number. Then:

Give each child a sheet of paper and a pencil.
Set a time limit - usually 10 minutes.
Have one child look for plates that end in an odd number, and the other look for plates ending in an even number.
Make a tick for each car they find.
At the end of the time limit, have the children add up their ticks and find out which plate type is more numerous - odds or evens!

What did I bring on my trip?

Start this game by saying, "I'm going on a trip and I'm bringing...". The first player should name an item that starts with the letter "A". The next player repeats the phrase but names an item beginning with "B", instead of "A", and so on to the end of the alphabet. (A variation is to turn this into a memory game where each player must remember all the items previously named before adding a new one.)

Licence plate

Call out the number on a licence plate and see who can add up the numbers correctly. (Obviously, this game will only work for numerate kids.)

"Are we there yet?"

Counter the question with some of your own. Ask your child questions about the trip: How are we travelling? How fast are we going? If it's 10am now, and it takes us three hours to get there, what time will we arrive? How far have we travelled already? Be creative!

Travel food

A combination of nutritional snacks and special treats generally makes for happy travelling. Here are some tasty suggestions:

individual fruit tubs (don't forget plastic spoons)
crackers or rice cakes
fruit - particularly grapes
small juice packs
fresh sandwiches
hard lollies such as Life Savers or Tic Tacs

Motion sickness

Nothing makes a trip harder to bear than motion sickness. For those who suffer from it, symptons range from headache, dizziness, sweating and nausea to actual vomiting. To reduce the risk of motion sickness, try the following suggestions:

take frequent rest stops
get your child to look out the window, rather than at a stationary object (such as a book) inside the vehicle
open a window if possible - fresh air helps
anti-nausea medications are useful for treating chronic motion sickness, but check with your doctor first
make sure your child eats before travelling, but avoid heavy or greasy foods

Making memories

Whatever happens, remember this: even the worst road trips will become memories to laugh about later. So when the going gets tough, think of the anecdotes.

And to finish off, here are a few tongue-in-cheek travelling tips from the parents at ourbrisbane.com...

Travers: car DVD player, dual screen. One step up would be separate DVD players so you don't get: "Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!” "No, Hi-5, I want Hi-5!". But then a good solid sound-proof piece of perspex would have the same effect.

Dani: a Homer-designed bubble car - a bubble for the adults in the front seat and a separate bubble for kids in the back.

Brad: a separate car, driven by a child-carer, that preferably gets lost halfway and ends up at Seaworld for the duration.

Nic: I achieved very good results with a horse trailer in my child-minding days. I still do this on a freelance basis, if anybody's interested…

Paul: for those who don't want to fill the back of the car with stuff from Harvey Norman…we play a game where you have to come up with a saying using the letters from the number plates of oncoming vehicles.

Marg: my emergency kit - baby wipes (for the inevitable spills, messy hands etc), medium-sized plastic freezer bags (good for half-eaten food, sticky lollies, drink-sodden clothes and handy if someone is about to vomit), star stickers or similar (as rewards for "I Spy" and guessing games).