Driving with kids

Stay sane with some easy tips

Sometimes, driving with your children has the capacity to make or break your holiday. While flying with them can be just as difficult, there are ways to take a holiday without losing your mind, and you don’t have to just stick to the same ol’ books, cd’s and toys.

Consider these easy and pain free ways to keep your kids amused during a long drive:

Pocket sized game boards are a great idea. Magnetic chess boards and magnetic snakes and ladders are a great way to get your kids to focus. Not only do the pieces stay on the board, but the kids can concentrate on themselves in relative silence (hopefully).

Other tricks to get them to concentrate are colouring books. It’s an oldie but a goody. A great competition on a bumpy road is to see who can stay within the lines the most, while they toss to and fro’. The best colourer gets a small toy, chocolate or extra hour up late for the night and such.

Car bingo is another good way to get your kids to use their eyes and brains while you travel. Make a list of things they might see along the way, a cow grazing in a paddock, a surfer in the ocean, landmarks like the Twelve Apostles or Sydney Opera House. The winner is the one to spot all items in the shortest time.

Also, let them run around during the breaks. Their energy will be spent and it gets the wiggly ones to settle a bit for the next portion for your trip. An easy way to get them moving during a rest stop is to bring along a frisbee or football and keep it handy.

If your child is the analytical type, printing them up a map of your journey will help keep their mind active. They can use a pen to track the drive or figure out good places along the way they might want to take a rest. You can test them by asking them to name the next town, city or major road you will come across.

While bringing along all these things is a great deal of help, keep in mind they get super tired and need some help to sleep just like you do. You can start by bringing along some pillows and blankets to help them get to sleep or have a nap. Other things to remember as you pack is that you don't need to feed them junk to keep them happy. Pre- arrange your snacks, buy healthier foods to make sure they don't get hyperactive and moody. Unplanned food stops can prove disastrous in the long run (think about red cordial consumption in a small space!) Sultanas can easily replace packet chips and natural muesli bars can replace sweets. They'll never know the difference!

Visiting our cousins in New Zealand? Need car seats, prams etc?? Check out Baby Sunshine.

By Leah Bradicich

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