Kids and long car journeys

Sparkkee

i agree with the comments about not giving your kids the entertainment as soon as you set off - normally it's only about an hour or so in that mine get niggly and narky and there is only so long that they can watch a DVD for.

joke books are good as they can keep everyone entertained (depending on the jokes!), magnetic board games, umm... i think you've thought of everyting else!

snacks and drinks in the car are good too, but avoid sugary sweets and carbonated drinks. either your kids will end up on such a sugar rush that the drive will become a nightmare or they will be sick. repeatedly!

bestpud

An in car dvd player is a Godsend on long journeys imo!

Having been stuck for three hours on the M5 recently, I would make sure you have something the children can pee in if need be!! We had a crisp bag and cracked plastic pot and it was difficult to say the least!

Make sure you have plenty to drink for the same reason, unless you have air con and won't be sweating buckets in the midday sun like we were! I've never been so glad to pass under bridges!

We also try and put pens in a container right next to them and make it so they can see what they want, or they will drop them all over the floor and you'll be fishing blind behind the seat trying to pick them up!

Also, dd is 6 now and uses a booster seat, but we keep her big seat (with a back and good head rest on it) for long journeys as it is impossible for her to sleep in her booster. And she seems to get cold a lot so we put her a cardi in the back to wrap herself in too. And, of course, the fave teddy always travels with the child.

Most of all though, is don't stress about it too much as these things are often not as bad as you think they may be.

Hope you have a good time!

badmumof1

I often wonder how my parents and us kids used to survive the 9 hour journey in a sherpa van all the way up scotland from the south and back without any form of entertainment.
not a MP3 , DVD player or hand portable game thingie in sight.

Js_Other_Half

badmumof1 wrote: »

not a MP3 , DVD player or hand portable game thingie in sight.

Ha, try Northern Ireland to London
via Scotland occasionally...:p

Fighting with my brother, trying to read, being sick, stopping to be cleaned up, fighting with my brother...:rotfl:

bestpud

Js_Other_Half wrote: »

Ha, try Northern Ireland to London
via Scotland occasionally...:p

Fighting with my brother, trying to read, being sick, stopping to be cleaned up, fighting with my brother...:rotfl:

:rotfl: You took the words right from my keyboard! Although I'd add copious whining and about 300 'are we there yet' and 200 'are we stopping soon'!! :rotfl: Plus we never had seat belts so there was a fair bit of shouting at us to sit still, stop kicking them in the back, and get our hands inside the car too!

Our parents had it bad; it's a wonder we ever went anywhere!

Js_Other_Half

bestpud wrote: »

:rotfl: You took the words right from my keyboard! Although I'd add copious whining and about 300 'are we there yet' and 200 'are we stopping soon'!! :rotfl: Plus we never had seat belts so there was a fair bit of shouting at us to sit still, stop kicking them in the back, and get our hands inside the car too!

Our parents had it bad; it's a wonder we ever went anywhere!

We sat my brother behind Dad (the driver) so he couldn't reach too far round to wallop him...
It was only in recent years that I told Dad why we sat where we did...:rotfl:

No, I have no idea why they tried taking us anywhere either. Especially since I was dreadfully travel sick on a journey of over 20 mins...:eek:

Spendless

I have a 4 place picnic rucksack. It has plates, cutlery, glasses, plastic board, napkins and table cloth. I take this with us whenever we go anywhere so you can buy bread/cheese/juice and just make your lunch wherever you are.

Sparkkee

another thought - put down towels or blankets on the back seat of the car. colouring pens, sticky sweets, pukey kids and upholstry don't mix!

Angua2

Hiyas - just wanted to add (forgive me for scanning) if it's not been mentioned already: a play driving wheel thingy was great for the wee wee ones and then portable DVD player and stories on CD have been heaven-sent for older ones.

elainew

There used to be 5 of us in a ford escort travelling from Liverpool to SCotland. We used to have the dog wedged between our knees too and a tent stabbing us in the head!! And I used to have terrible travel sickness-once puking down the back of my dads head