9 Ways to Entertain Kids on Car Trips!!!

Hi there mumma!

This week is a total hell-raiser for me, as my whole household has gastro and it is just h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e!!! We have honestly never been through this before and we are still battling it as a team right. this. moment. 

Because of that, a Flick of Babyvine is saving my a** and giving you a fantabulous family travel post today!!! 

YAY! 

I simply can't finish my post today and I do apologise. Thank God for super helpful mum bloggers! 

The post today is about ways to entertain the kiddos while in the car. Honestly, with having a 20-month old toddler in the backseat, all we do is pop some Peppa and play his road trip playlist (Yes, he has his own fave songs and a list!). So instead of being stuck on the iPod, here are better ways to address car boredom.

Road trippin' in Western Australia. Check out cheeky monkey in the back seat. xx

BREAK AWAY FROM THE SCREENS AND ENJOY A BLAST FROM THE PAST WITH THESE OLD-FASHIONED GAMES AS A GREAT WAY TO ENTERTAIN KIDS ON CAR TRIPS.

“Mum’s got a numb bum, mum’s got a numb bum” – has quite a ring to it doesn’t it? When I was a kid, I certainly thought so.

With four children, my poor mum dealt with a lot. In this instance, she made the simple mistake of telling our dad during a long car trip that her bum was feeling numb, so it would be good if we could make a quick pit stop. Chaos erupted from the back as us kids delighted in the unexpected (and slightly rude) nature of the rhyme, and started our chant, which we repeated over…and over…and over. The great thing for mum? We were all entertained for the remainder of the trip and weren’t fighting with each other. It was a win/win.

For those looking for some old-fashioned ways to entertain kids on car trips (that don’t involve chants about your numb bum), here are nine ideas to get you started:

1. I Spy: an oldie, but a goodie when it comes to helping you entertain kids on car trips. You can get the ball rolling and lead by example, “I spy with my little eye with something beginning with (insert letter)”. Start off easy so the kids get settled in, then start throwing some spanners in the works and watch their determination (and frustration) grow. It’s a great way to get kids looking around and becoming aware of their surroundings, and to practise their alphabet. Don’t forget to switch and give them a turn too.
2. Spotto: this is a slight easier spin-off of I Spy. Pick an object you are likely to come across multiple times in your travels – a red car, a cat, a cyclist – and get the kids to yell “Spotto!” each time they see one. Add up the points as you go and get some friendly competition underway. To make things trickier, have a few objects on the go at the same time, it’ll test their memory and hopefully you’ll get some much needed quiet time while the kids are deep in concentration.
3. Cloud Watching: it’s a thing and a great one for helping you entertain kids on car trips. Think of a picture-perfect sunny day, lying on the grass and watching the clouds pass by – then add a moving car. Get the kids’ imaginations active by getting them to describe the shapes they see in the sky. Be encouraging if they see something different to someone else, that’s the best part about this game – there’s no right answer!
4. 20 Questions: This is a great one for the older kids. Start off by asking them to pick an object, animal or vegetable (then use this as your first question). Keep asking questions until you either guess correctly, or use up all of your 20 questions – just don’t let the pressure get to you! Try some questions such as, “Does it bounce?” “Can I peel it?” “Is it noisy?”
5. Name That Tune: Pick a favourite CD the whole family is familiar with (preferably not one that will drive you crazy after five minutes). Pick songs at random, and have the kids guess the name of the song. Give a point to whoever gets it first.
6. Sausages: I dare you not to laugh – go on. This one will not only entertain kids on car trips, but adults too! Start asking questions with one of the kids answering “sausages” to each one – without laughing. Once they laugh, their turn is up, and you switch around who is asking the questions and who is answering. Encourage the kids to get creative as possible (beware: toilet humour might take over): “What do you brush your teeth with?” “What’s your name?” “What do you smell like?”
7. Scissors, Paper, Rock: this is one for the kids, so you can take a break. Need a brush up on the rules? Paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beat paper. Let the fun begin!
8. Family Storytelling: Unleash their creative minds and let the craziness take over – everyone can join in for this one. Come up with the first sentence to start off the story, for example, “Once upon a time there was a little girl called Stacy”. The next person tacks on the next sentence, “One day, Stacy skipped down to the pond and found a frog hopping around,” and so on. Keep going until the story peters out, or the laughter gets too much.
9. Would You Rather? this will get everyone thinking and can be quite an insightful game. Come up with a question that is sure to get the answers rolling in, such as “Would you rather drink toilet water or from the dog’s bowl?” You might find as the game progresses, the questions get more philosophical – a great way to find out more about your kids. Here are some questions for inspiration:

• Would you rather be a bird or a fish?
• Would you rather eat a bowl of brussels sprouts or peas?
• Would you rather be rich and ugly or poor and pretty?
• Would you rather only whisper or shout for the rest of your life?
• Would you rather have a really big nose or really big ears?

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Do you have any fave car games to add to this list? Feel free to comment your car games below or a link to your blog post if you have one! xx

Cheers!

Jacq

About the Guest blogger

Flick Frankish is the creator of The Baby Vine, an educational parenting community that puts the focus back on the everyday parent by providing support. Her site places emphasis on meaningful, useful and worthwhile content that parents can relate to and gain from. Their researched articles from experts, development play ideas, personal stories, videos, and giveaways all work together to share everyday parenting experiences in all their variety.