Ways To Keep Kids Happy In The Car
Traveling in the car, even for just 30 minutes can be an act of sanity testing for moms everywhere! My children will fight over everything and nothing, arugue about the music on the radio, complain about how long it is taking, etc. Here are some ways to keep kids happy in the car that just might help save your sanity!
Whether n our way to and from daytime homeschool activities, or waiting in the car for other kids to get done, or traveling longer distances, there are a few things I am always sure to take along. It is amazing what a few little things can do to help keep the kids from totally irritating each other, and mom!
Ways To Keep Kids Happy In The Car
1. Water Bottle
I can’t tell you how many times I have questioned whether my children are human, or fish! Why must they always need a drink of water? Before we leave the house I always have everyone go to the bathroom and grab a water bottle out of the fridge. They each have their own so we can keep track of them.
2. Finger Food Snacks
We find that larger piece cereals travel really well and are healthier than other choices. Things like Chocolate Cheerios and Cookie Crisp are favorites for the car in our house. They also like to make trail mixes out of cereal, chocolate chips, raisins, nuts and other things we have around the house. Finger food snacks can really help to keep little hands and minds occupied while traveling or waiting in the car.
3. Reading Books
My son used to irritate the girls with all of his noises and commentary in the car. I found that if I had him bring a book to read he would be totally engaged in that and not be making all kinds of noise.
4. Puzzle/Activity Books
Puzzle and activity books offer a wide range of things for kids to engage with. Due to the variety it can help to keep their attention longer than just a plain coloring book or single puzzle book. One of our favorite books are the Doodlepedia Books from DK Publishing. These are fact packed, interactive color and activity books is various themes like Dinosaurs, Animal Antics, Pretty and Wow!
Now they have a ginormous one called Megadoodle that is 400 pages of fun! {Disclosure: I received a copy of the Megadoodle book for review. My opinions are my own, and I was not required to post a positive review. Your experience may vary. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for more details.} Megadoodle is a huge compilation of Doodlepedia titles, making one MEGA cool doodle book!
Doodle and discover a world of fascinating facts! Megadoodle combines educational, factual content with whimsical and engaging doodling, drawing, and coloring activities to grasp the imaginations of children and parents alike.
Much more than a kids’ coloring book or art activity book, Megadoodle allows children to immerse themselves in the fascinating world of dinosaurs, animals, mountains, fashion, art, and science, with a new topic every time you turn the page.
More than 200 activities can be done right on the page and are cleverly tailored to educational content, informative full-color photographs, and fascinating factoids, creating a seamless link between the doodling and learning elements, and an engaging, fun-filled way to learn.
We grab this book and a pack of crayons and off we go! My nine year old loves fact books as it is, but adding a totally interactive, hands on way to engage with the facts has just upped the anti on fun! She carries this wherever she goes and it offers her access to many different activities all at once to help keep her happy while we are on the go!
Combine this with her water bottle and snacks and you have a winning combination!
5. Bring Homeschool On The Road
There are lots of fun learning activities you can do in the car! Check out this article on Taking Your Homeschool On The Road for some fun hands on learning suggestions suited for traveling!
6. Electronic Devices
While this is not my first choice, and I don’t often offer it on short trips, electronic devices are the last line of defense during a long wait or trip. Sometimes we will bring along the kids iPods, and the iPad mini for my youngest. I have it loaded with fun and educational stuff for her to engage in. Some suggestions are DragonBox apps, Atomidoodle, and the Ansel & Claire Apps.
August 17, 2015 @ 12:06 pm
Books on tapes are my life savers! It keeps everyone quiet and we are all learning something new. I go for choices that appeal to all ages. Fairy Tales, Mary Poppins, Wizard of Oz. The voice of the reader makes HUGE difference. We tried one edition of The Secret Garden and my 2-year old just wouldn’t stop talking and making everyone frustrated (we had to give up on audio), but then we got another one read by a famous actress (I don’t remember the name) and he listened to it happily. All 7 disks (not in one day, of course)!
August 17, 2015 @ 4:33 pm
Great one Eva! Books on tape are awesome! When my kids were younger we listened to phonics cds as well as Multiplication Unplugged which really helped my kids in the math facts department.
August 18, 2015 @ 6:31 am
We spent a lot of time in the car when my kids were little. We listened to a lot of music – Kids music. Sometimes it became very repetitive but they loved it. Driving and keeping busy was hard for the child who had motion sickness – for them it was important to keep the audios happening (either music or stories). We did (and still do) a lot of talking while in the car – If could convert some of our homeschool lessons to a discussion in the car, that saved time, other times we played verbal games like making up sentences or stories, or working on memory work.
Mom 2 Mom Monday Link-Up #48 - My Joy-Filled Life
August 24, 2015 @ 9:02 am
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