Smart bison, traffic jams… 12 solutions to keep children occupied during the journey

CORDS – Before you go sunbathing while listening to the gentle roll of the waves, take the highway and its traffic jams. Bison smart has actually classified this Friday, July 28 red in the direction of departures, weekend with crossover between July tists and Augustians commit. If it were up to you, you would alternate between driving and a well-deserved nap. Yes, but it would be a bit quick to forget your children, who don’t want to spend all that time sleeping.

So that time doesn’t seem too long to them, HuffPost went to 12 activities for children of all ages. After tenth part of “neither yes nor no”, it’s a safe bet they’ll be dreaming of another game (and so will you). Follow the leader.

Game to improvise in the car

Time: 7 minutes per round

An adult or a child chooses a color. For 5 to 10 minutes, the members of the car must find the most things (cars, landscape elements, animals, etc.) that have this color. The person who chose the color counts the points. Whoever wins the round chooses a color.

• Curiosities of the road

Time: all the way, but not continuously

At the start of the trip, plan a list of things that the children will see along the way: a bird’s nest, a bridge over the highway, four red cars in a row, three children in the back of a car, a little white dog, birds in the sky. You can also plan for little treasures to be found at every stop in the motorway service areas: the coffee machine, the ham sandwich, the roller coaster, the Montélimar nougat bar. At the end of the journey, you count the points and reward the winner as well as the loser with a well-deserved ice cream!

Time: 2 minutes per round

This game requires speed and concentration. The adult who is not driving must indicate animals, things and people. Children must answer ” I fly “ Where “I don’t fly” without making mistakes. We’ll let you decide if the soldier steals or not! In the same way you have too “neither yes nor no” or riddles (unedevinette.com should give you some ideas).

• license plates

Time: 5 minutes

Now it’s hard to revise your French Geography as long as the department number is written small, but if you’ve got loose eyes, go for it! Otherwise, you can always try to understand the first two letters of your registration number by inventing an acronym!

Games that require a little preparation

Time: 10 minutes

Children who like to draw will be a little frustrated during their car journey, difficult to draw on their knees and on the backrest tablet which does not sit well in front of them and we are not talking about markers and colored pencils that are lost at the first turn. An American mother has devised a clever system for drawing in these kinds of situations. A small box with a lid (she took a box of bandages) with a pad of post-its and colored pencils and you’re done. This is something to trust and something that does not lose its colors.

• The holiday quiz

Time: 20 minutes

Going on vacation is already being on vacation. To be sure to get in the mood from the drive on the motorway. Bring back the most beautiful memories from your past vacations. What is the most beautiful beach you have seen? Where have you eaten the best ice cream? Do you remember your biggest holiday smile? Which landscape impressed you the most? American blogger, “the little fashionista”, offer for English speakers, the 30 questions she prefers to ask herself during a road trip (see below). What would be your dream trip? What should your first child be called? What is your greatest fear?

Time: 20 minutes

In order for the children to keep a beautiful memory of their holidays, you can buy them a beautiful notebook that they can choose from in the days before departure. During the trip, they can draw, write, stick stickers to prepare what they will see, do or eat. If they can read, write on each page a small instruction: draw the beach/mountain/swimming pool/landscape that you want to see every day, draw the flowers/trees/plants/animals that you want to discover on vacation, imagine it ice cream you will eat, draw the children you will play with during the holidays. For the trip home, you can take out the notebook and ask your children to draw their memories. They can also insert postcards, small cards, flyers, developed photos.

Time: 1 hour

Before departure, ask each child and adult in the car to prepare five songs. You are responsible for the playlist, it is up to you to collect the CDs or download – legally of course – everyone’s playlists to your phone or tablet. Print the lyrics or save them to your devices and start a wild karaoke game. Swap each other’s songs, it’s an opportunity to discover your children’s tastes and vice versa.

Occupations that require equipment

Time: all the way (if all goes well)

Give each child a box of treats including small snacks to make the trip seem shorter. An American mother had the idea to buy boxes of rum and personalize it with the names of her children. Without going that far, the day before departure you can prepare a box for each one with products they like: fruit, sweets, cupcakes, nuts of all kinds. The rule is simple, each child has the same amount. They will have to make do with this box for the entire trip (except for picnics). If they are too young, keep the boxes with you at the front to prevent everything from disappearing in minutes. A good way to try to strengthen the elderly.

PS: don’t forget a box for you and the driver!

• cartoons and documentaries

Time: 1.30

If you’re lucky enough to have a portable DVD player or a computer/tablet handy, that’s enough to ensure at least 1.5 hours of peace of mind.

Time: 1 hour

For the little ones, they take books they know so they can tell the story. You won’t be behind with him to discover a new book and interest him in it (unless you like to spend the journey in the back of the car). For the older ones, of course, let them choose the book, the magazine they want, and forget about the start of the school year and the teachers’ reading advice. Reading in the car is not easy, it has to be captivating! Finally, also think about the stories read, a good compromise for children who tend to be carsick.

Time: 5 to 30 minutes

Coloring, playing, learning the alphabet, there are apps for everything. For example, you can make fairly simple puzzles with it “My First Puzzles”create funny animals on “Mousefish” or make very simple drawings on a board with “Board of Directors”. The 01.net site offers a fairly wide selection of applications for children depending on their age. A mommy blogger also offers you her favorite apps for toddlers, but one downside, these are iPhone and iPad apps.

PS: don’t forget the cigarette lighter adapter to charge your devices

Also look at The HuffPost: Understand how traffic jams happen on the freeway with this simulator