Modern technology has come up with some solutions for keeping children busy in the car. The portable DVD player has come forward as the premier way to keep kids busy in the car. Kids can bring their favorite movies to watch while riding in the car and they can use the DVD player to play their favorite music CD's. In addition to portable DVD players, there is also a large variety of hand-held video games that run on batteries. Beth McGregor, co-founder of www.TravelingWithKids.com tells us, "We recommend that you limit the amount of TV that your children are watching while traveling. Give them other options of things to do, games to play together or alone, activity books or with older children, books to read. Of course children, whatever their age, always delight in their parents undivided attention, so plan some games and activities you can all play together. (This is a great idea.) In addition, books on tape/CD are a fun way to entertain that piques their imaginations more than a movie or TV." An old standby, the big pile of crayons, coloring books, and paper, can keep kids busy and let them be creative at the same time. You can save their creations as souvenirs of your family vacation for years to come.
Many game manufacturers have come up with miniaturized versions of their games that are intended for travel. Travel board games have magnetic pieces that stick to the board so that they will not fly off while driving. The small size of the game makes it easy to fit them into the car along with all of your gear.
An old tried and true method of keeping children busy in a car is to play road trip games, or car games. There are many different kinds of games you can play with your children while traveling in a car that require no special equipment and are lots of fun. One great game that has withstood the test of time is the alphabet game. Each side of the car gets a different side of the road to hunt for their letters. The person who finds all of the letters of the alphabet first in street signs, billboards, or storefronts wins. You will find long stretches of road while looking for rare letters like Q, X, and Z. Another game is played by humming the tune to a song, or the theme to a television show. The person who guesses the name of the song or show gets to be the next one to hum. You can find many other travel games online or make up your own!
