Travel Entertainment

Travelling with children is not always easy. It is important to plan the journey to ensure that getting to your holiday destination is as much fun as when you get there. The key to hassle-free travelling is to treat the journey as part of the holiday, not just a means of getting to the holiday. The best advice is to pack an enormous bag of patience. Providing entertainment is a good way of keeping children occupied and the activities would obviously depend on the age of the children. Here are some ideas.

Babies

Although babies tend to sleep in the car,
this does not always happen.
Some ideas to keep babies entertained include

Place a number of MOBILES in full view of the baby. The motion of the car will keep the mobile moving and provide some entertainment.
Get MUSIC TAPES . A large variety of children's tapes are available. The songs are normally sung by children and thereby are more appealing more to children.
Get some STORY TAPES. Children love stories and if told in an enthusiastic manner, will keep them occupied for some time.
Don't forget their FAVOURITE TOY.

Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers

Older children don't sleep as easily in a car, but fortunately are easier to entertain.
Keep all activities short to ensure that boredom doesn't set in.
Children at this age are easily bored.
Remember children at this age do not understand the concept of time so rationalising the travel time does not help.

MUSICis an easy way to entertain. Either get a number of music tapes or sing songs with the children. Songs that require the child to interact with the song in some manner are always the most successful. A number of ideas are provided below.
STORY TELLING. This can be done by either using a story cassette or playing a game where each child gets a chance to add to the story... thereby making your own story up.
Play GAMES. A number of games can be played using the imagination. Examples include "I spy with my little eye" and "Guess the colour of the 10th car you see". In addition, counting games using the number plates of passing cars have always been a favourite.

Primary School Children

Once again, these older children
can be entertained in more ways than their younger siblings.
The games can be more complex and their ability to reason
can be used in the entertainment.

MUSICis once again a good option. The type of music will differ as the child's taste in music has started developing. Get them to select their own music for the journey.
CARD GAMESare fun ways of entertaining. As children will no longer be in car seats, the space between them can be used to play card games such as Donkey, Snap, Happy Families and a host of others available on the market.
GAMEScan keep them amused in the same way as the pre-schoolers, but the complexity of the rules can be increased.
RIDDLESare fun. A number of books are available with ideas. Children can also make their own riddles. Crossword puzzles which are age appropriate can also be purchased and complete on the journey.
As these children can READ, books become a wonderful source of entertainment. Using travel books, the child can trace the journey and learn about each town that is passed on the way. Using the map to calculate the distance and estimated time of arrival in the next town is also a fun way of keeping interest in the journey.

Adult Entertainment

Adults also need to be entertained.
This fact is sometimes overlooked,
but is important to ensure that a happy environment is maintain in the car.

Get a good selection of MUSIC for the journey.
A number of BOOKS have been put onto cassette and it is ideal time to 'read / listen' to all the books you have been meaning to read throughout the year.

Examples of Songs

If you're Happy
If you're happy and you know it, Clap your Hands
If you're happy and you know it, Clap your Hands
If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you're happy and you know it, Clap your Hands

If you're happy and you know it, Stamp your feet
If you're happy and you know it, Stamp your feet
If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you're happy and you know it, Stamp your feet

If you're happy and you know it, Shout Hooray
If you're happy and you know it, Shout Hooray
If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you're happy and you know it, Shout Hooray

(Remember to get the children to do all the actions... they can even make their own verses with different actions)

Old McDonald Had a Farm

Old McDonald had a farm, He,I,He,I,O
And on the farm he had a duck, He,I,He,I,O
With a Quack, Quack Here
And a Quack, Quack there
Here a Quack
There a Quack
Everywhere a Quack, Quack

Old McDonald Had a Farm He,I,He,I,O
And on the farm he had a cow, He,I,He,I,O
With a Moo, Moo Here
And a Moo, Moo there
Here a Moo
There a Moo
Everywhere a Moo, Moo
Old McDonald Had a Farm He,I,He,I,O

(Get the children to select their own animals, ensure that everyone gets a turn)

Humpty Dumpty

(How many children do you know that know all three verses)
Humpty Dumpty, Sat on the wall
Humpty Dumpty, Had a great fall
All the King's horses
and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again
Poor old Humpty
Poor old Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty, sat on the ground
Humpty Dumpty, looked all around
Gone were the chimneys
and gone were the roofs
All he could see, was buckles and hoofs
Poor old Humpty
Poor old Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty, counted to ten
Humpty Dumpty, got up again
All the King's horses
and All the King's men
Were happy that Humpty's together again
Happy Humpty
Happy Humpty Dumpty