Road Trip Entertainment for Kids

My nephew has started out on a ten day vacation with his two children and that started me thinking back to how I handled bored kids on a road trip before family vans came equipped with DVD players. In fact before there were mini-vans on the market, I traveled through thirty states and most of Canada with my two children.Their father was frequently at the wheel, but just as often the three of us were on our own.

My prerequisite experience for these journeys, were the family vacations of my childhood, spent in the back seat of a Ford sedan that did not have air-conditioning. My siblings and I traveled the highways of Texas, Colorado and New Mexico, trying to keep our sweaty arms and legs from sticking to the family member next to us on the back seat. To keep the count down on the number of times she heard, "Mom, he touched me," our mother played games with us and brought along a book or two. Actually, she brought along surprising little in the way of entertainment for us, but there was always one new diversion for us to share in the car.

Taking that as a cue, I came up with my brown bag solution, an almost free way to occupy children while traveling and which I still recommend to young parents traveling with children. A week or so before the trip began, I got free from our local grocery for each child a medium size brown paper bag, bigger than the lunch bag size, but small enough for each child to handle in the back of the vehicle. I decorated the bags with the name of each child, left them standing out of sight of the children in a closet or on a shelf in the laundry room, where I could drop in items as I prepared for the trip. The flat bottom on the grocery bag was essential for stability as I packed them and later for use on the floor or seat of the car.

I included healthy snacks and diversions, such as, favorite books, games and puzzles appropriate for the car (no detached small pieces that might get lost). Along with the favorites, I'd include a couple of new or not yet read library books, a small box of new crayons and a new color book, workbook or sketch book. In addition, I included one small new toy that could be used in the car, still in its packaging, and a couple of items from the child's room that they had not paid much attention to lately.

These bags, still unseen by the children, were packed in an easily accessible corner of the trunk of the car and not retrieved until we were at least one third of the way to our destination. On a six hour road trip, I got the bags out at our first two hour rest stop...on a three day trip, the bags were kept out of sight until the first signs of boredom on the second day of travel.

The snacks usually got the first notice and I made it clear that they were completely on their own when it came to how and when to use these snacks.There was a certain satisfying feeling of independence in being able to open and consume your own snack without asking for permission or help. The packaging, kept them occupied for miles. Because the snacks were healthy, I did not concern myself with how rapidly they were consumed. I had a store of replacement snacks in the trunk for additional days of travel. With the liberal consumption of healthy snacks we did not have to stop for a mid-day meal in a restaurant, but saved that for our destination or evening stop.

The packaging on the new toy item was also part of the diversion, and the surprise of finding in the bag a toy they had forgotten they had often spawned hours of renewed interest. The bag itself frequently became the canvas for elaborate and growing artwork throughout the trip. Once the bags were introduced they were not returned to the trunk, but used several times a day to gather up each child's things. The bag also provided a receptacle for the child's souvenirs. I did not over load the bag, so that there was room for new found treasures, such as, rocks, sea shells, etc.

In my first book, Travel with Children, now long out of print, I wrote about the Brown Bag Solution and reviewed the toys and games on the market that traveled well and entertained small children. This was before hand held video games and the many wonderfully educational items that can be found in stores devoted to quality though sometimes expensive children's books, toys and games. You probably have some of these items in your home or car already. If so sort through them and pick the ones most compact and that you feel will provide your child with the most entertainment. Be sure, for obvious reasons, that you do not include things that make loud, distracting, repetitive noises. It is also best to include primarily toys and games that can be played alone, rather than requiring a second or third player.

If you are a grandparent or individual traveling with a child who does not live with you, you can still employ this concept without access to the child's own toys and without breaking your wallet. Consider a stop at your local dollar stores and pick up a couple of age appropriate work books. They give children a challenge. Don't spend a lot of money on large boxes of crayons or large sets of markers. They will be cumbersome. They will get lost and broken. And for heavens sake, do not even think of expecting children to share a set of crayons or markers. Your goal should be to cut down the need for engagement between the children riding in the car, not increase it. Buy a simple box or set of 8-12 crayons or markers for each child and be sure they are identical.

The Dollar Tree chain store in my neighborhood carries a large inventory of educational workbooks, games and teacher's accessories. I assume they buy out an educational publisher at the end of a school year. And they are truly a dollar store, with all their items just a dollar. In their party section they usually have small hand held games appropriate for one child. These are intended as party favors most come in packages of several for a dollar.

Brown paper grocery bags are not as popularly in use today, as they were when I came up with this concept for traveling with children, but they can still be found. If you do not want to use a paper bag, many chain department and grocery stores now sell for a dollar reusable, cloth or canvas shopping bags that could be used instead. You can also pick up for free these types of bags occasionally at other businesses. My local credit union was giving they away as a promotion recently.

Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams

Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com

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