Entertaining Children on Long Trips

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for children to get bored on a road trip? Particularly on the really long ones that last a few days. This means that finding ways to of entertaining children on long trips. While it may seem a little difficult, particularly at first, with a little planning and a bit of effort you will be able to come up with several entertainment methods that will work fairly well.

• Know your kids. The first, and most important, thing you need to remember about entertaining children on long trips is to actually know your children. It may sound little trite, but if you know what you children like, don't like, and how long it will be before they get bored you will go a long way to having the situation under control. Every child is different, and as such you should plan accordingly.
• Make your own games. You really don't need to go with traditional games on long trips, and in fact you can easily make your own games. One example of this is a game where you can name a category, such as movies, and everyone in the car takes a turn naming a movie. If someone repeats a movie, or you repeat a movie that you named earlier, then the person who repeated the movie is try playing the game with jobs, books, songs, performers, and so on. Just use your imagination.
• Pack some books. If your children are old enough to read, then one of the best methods you can use to entertain them is by having them read. Have them pack a few good books that they can read and help pass the time. If that doesn't really work, or your children are susceptible to motion sickness, then have them help you choose a few books on tape that you and they can both listen to.
• Portable electronics are good. In this day and age it is entirely possible to take a few electronic devices along with you to help entertain everyone. Pack an iPod, iPad, portable DVD player, or some type of game system that your children can use to entertain themselves. Be sure that if you do this that your children are able to share so that they won't argue. In addition, you don't want to forget to bring extra batteries or recharging cables to help provide extra energy to the electronics.

There are literally dozens, if not hundreds of different methods available for entertaining children on long trips, these are only a few of the ideas that you can use. In fact, while each of these ideas are good for a start, you really should keep in mind that it would be a good idea to take an occasional break on your trip. Simply letting your children get out of the vehicle for a while can do wonders on recharging their batteries, and getting ready to go again.