Road trips are awesome. Singing in the car to your favourite songs, playing ‘yellow car’, laughing so hard that your stomach hurts because someone just let off and it stinks!
The only thing is… your parents are on the road trip with you. Now there are LOADS of websites out there that tell grown ups and how ‘deal with kids’ on a road trip, but what about how the kids? You guys have to put up with a boring adult who tells you to be quiet, sit still and let them concentrate on the road.
Just because you are a child does not mean that you don't have a say in what goes on or what goes down
1. Talk to your grown up before the trip. Sit down with your grown up and ask them lots of questions about the trip. Sometimes adults bundle the family into the car and the kids have no idea how long the journey is going to be, so no wonder you keeping asking “are we there yet?” Offer to make a fun, colourful timetable or map of the journey, with pictures of the places you might pass or go to. You can fill in the map with your grown up along the way with the time of day you reached those places… you need to keep your grown up entertained somehow!
2. Pack a bag with your grown up. Your grown up might be a bit stressed out and might forget some important items for the trip, so write out a check list with them and check off items as they go into the bag. Don’t forget – travel and motion sickness medication, wet wipes, snacks, water and soft drinks, a first aid kit, books, games, notebooks and pens, plastic bags (for rubbish) and music.
3. Encourage your grown up to take regular breaks. There are lots of ways you can do this. You can tell them that you need the toilet, even if you don’t. When they stop the car to let you go pee, they’ll probably end up saying that it’s “nice to stretch my legs”. See? You’ve helped!
4. Make up a secret language that the grown ups doesn’t understand. Just when you’re in the middle of a good game or chat and giggle, one or both of your grown ups tells you to be quiet! So how about inventing your own secret code or sign language so that you can keep chatting and your grown ups wont hear or even understand you! Tapping your nose twice with your little fingers could mean “secret”, a thumbs up could mean “yes”, thumbs down could mean “no”, a wavy hand could mean “maybe”. If you want to learn the British Sign Language alphabet check out the basics below:
The British Sign Language alphabet is the the alphabet that hearing impaired people in the UK use to spell. You can even make sure you’ve got a big note pad and pens in a bag with you so you can speak to each other with writing or passing notes.
5. Make sure your grown up eats lots. Food is very important for grown ups on long journeys. They’ll be a bit cranky already because they’re worried about you (silly grown ups!) and a hungry grown up can be even worse. Because grown ups don’t like being told what to do by kids, ask if you can have something to eat. When they give you something, ask them if they have had anything to eat yet, or talk about how yummy your food is. Even if they say you can’t have something to eat yet, ask them if they have eaten yet. That way, your grown up remembers to refuel their belly, and you might get a snack too! Winner!
6. Let your grown up have ‘their’ music every now and then. Your favourite music might not be your grown up’s favourite music, so you might end up having an arguments over the CDs and radio. Your grown up is pretty stressed already, so to keep them calm and happy (and to make sure that you can relax on the journey) by swapping stations or CDs every hour from their tastes to yours. Or if you’ve got some headphones and a music player/portable radio, you don’t have to worry about that at all!
Below we have put together a few websites that might make your journey more interesting. Remember to be prepared and check out these websites BEFORE you travel (unless of course you have a dongle or satellite modem!:
Many online gadgets! Includes – the ball clock, a newton’s cradle, a hamster, turtles, goldfish, penguins, a treefrog, a spider, a pendulum clock, a stingray, and a whole load of other things.
This could go on for the entire trip. Everyone keeps a tally of how many times they have seen a yellow car before everyone else. The person with the most points at the end of the trip wins.
I-spy
20 Questions
License plate games
There are many ways to play with license plates, depending on your age/s. Young participants can call out letters in alphabetical order; the first one to Z wins. Next, have them look for doubles — or better yet, triples! — of letters and/or numbers in the plates. The one who has the most at the end of the day/trip wins. Older kids can "collect" out-of-state plates they see. (Make it tougher by going in alphabetical order.) Or they can try to build words or phrases using the letter sequence in the plates. A plate with the letters E, F and T, for example, might become the word "effort" (using those letters to start the word, in the middle and at the end). Those could make "Ed's Favorite Tacos" if you're running with phrases.
Slug-a-Bug?
The concept is that players keep track of how many Volkswagen Beetles they spot on the road. We've heard of variations in which the game is limited to New or vintage Beetles, or versions where the older Bugs are worth more. In the game's original version you were supposed to punch your seat mate when you spotted a Bug, but most parents find that any game that involves hitting can get out of hand pretty quickly. So keep score some other way — tapping your seat mate, counting on your fingers (first to 10 wins) or something more in keeping with the Bug's peaceful hippie history.
Where's the Alphabet?
Perform this as teams or solo players. You'll want to utilize road signs, billboards, shop names — any reading material outside the window qualifies as long as it's spotted on your side of the car. (If you're the front-seat passenger, focus on the right.) You'll be looking for every letter of the alphabet, in alphabetical order, although the letter can be located anywhere in the word. Say there is a fruit stand with a sign for Granny Smith apples — there's your A. The exit for the Brooklyn Bridge would cover B, Road Closed is C and so on. First one to the letter Z wins. If you see "Road Closed," however, you'll probably be happy to have the nine other games listed here.
Name That Tune?
As with the classic TV game show, the winner here is the one who figures out the name of the "mystery song" first. For those with singing/whistling/humming talent, this can be as much karaoke as a guessing game. Choose a theme for the game, such as show tunes, movie or TV themes, or Justin Timberlake. (Good luck, adults.) The winner gets to be the singer for the next round. If no one can carry a tune in a bucket, then try guessing the songs on the radio. Really want to mix it up? Hit the "seek" button so no one gets an unfair advantage from sticking to one particular station's format.
The Picnic Game
A memory builder for all ages. One player says, "I went to a picnic Saturday and I brought..." then says a picnic favorite that begins with the letter A, like apples. The next player repeats the opening phrase, and after "...I brought" they repeat the A item then add one that begins with B: "I brought an apple and some bananas." The third player repeats the opener, the A and the B portions, and then adds something that begins with C. Get it? Can your travelers get through the alphabet, remembering all the items everyone contributed? Try keeping track of 23 items plus figuring out what you can take to a picnic that starts with X!
Count the...?
Probably even the most enthusiastic young'ns will catch on to this being busywork, but for awhile it'll be all they'll think about! And there is a bonus: Interest is likely to reignite on its own shortly after it stalls. Count the... can be anything: cows, telephone poles, headlights, train cars, blue pickup trucks — you name it. Shouting out the thing to keep track of is all that is required.
Tunnels
This one is simple: When you come to a tunnel, see who can hold their breath the longest. True, it may not be one best played by the driver (lightheadedness, anyone?), but everyone else can give it a go. We used to be amazed at our own skill at this as kids.
Geography Lesson
Geography is much more fun outside the classroom, isn't it? For this game, choose countries, cities or states (or go nuts and try rivers and lakes or capitals). Let's say your theme is States. The first player names a location, and the next player has to rattle off another state that starts with the last letter of the previous player's state. Therefore, if it were Michigan, the next state would have to start with N, like Nebraska. The A could be Alaska, and so on. Note: This one makes our brain hurt.
