Editor Family trips are fun & exciting, isn’t it? But how do you keep the kids engaged during long drives, road trips, layovers or other wait times? They will eventually get bored of even the ipad/mobile and boredom can get challenging! Dodge the 42 million ‘Are we there yet?’ questions by being a little prepared with some basic games & activities : )
Here our top 5 tips to keep kids entertained (or atleast engaged) during your travels!
Tip #1: Count objects around you
This tip is inspired from our very own (NEW!) Zooboo book ‘Traffic Jam Adventure! It’s a story about a kid stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the planetarium. The family plays a game of counting objects around them starting from 1 and sequentially going upto 10. Try this game on your next trip and see how far you can go!
Clue: 1 car, 2 adults, 3 bags, 4 red cars – etc etc.
Tip #2: Play audios of their fav songs
Turn your car time into a fun karaoke session! Start by playing the audio of their favourite rhymes and gradually move on to songs. Give them some basic instruments for even more fun – guitar, xylophone, rattle – anything that gets them to sing-along and pass the time!
Tip #3: Whoever spots (____) first, wins!
This is one of our personal favourite games. It keeps the kids hooked for hours. Take turns to name ‘whoever spots a (fill in with a fun character/object) wins’ – and keep score for who was the first to spot this. Here are a few ready examples to get you started.
Whoever spots a: policeman, traffic signal, red car, school bus, twins, ice cream parlour, truck driver, windmill – etc etc.
Tip #4: Recap/Retell their favourite storybook
If you want to get kids to calm down and started for naptime in your transit, you can try to get them to recap their favourite storybook. Guide and prompt them wherever required. As they zone back to their pre bedtime story they will eventually settle down and feel ready to nap (hopefully!). If not it is still a great way to recap some concepts or learn a new story.
Tip #5: Play I spy
Taking inspiration from the Zooboo book ‘Plays I spy’, we suggest this classic game that can be literally played anywhere! Take turn to spot an object around you and explain it to one another. Set a timer for the opposite person to guess the name of this object. Classic, simple but super effective game – isn’t it?
Try out these tips during your next travel/trip and let us know what else you could think of. If you’re looking for some personalized storybooks for your kids then head here to check out 16 exciting stories for kids aged 0-9 years.
