by Carolyn Lanier

Created on: November 07, 2008   Last Updated: November 16, 2008

Car games are a lot of fun for the entire family. But if you're looking for things to do to keep the kids occupied during those long trips, there's lots of great games and things to do for all ages.

For children who can recognize letters, there's the Alphabet car tag game. The object of this game is to find as many car tags as possible that start with different letters of the alphabet. Usually you start with " A " and look for tags from a state that starts with that letter. Once you spot a tag from a state that starts with "A" you move to the next letter, in this game it would be " C ", and so forth until you think you've spotted tags from all states or until the kids get tired of playing this.

There's other ways to play the Alphabet game too, for instance. Looking out the window for things that start with each letter of the alphabet.

Another great car game is " I Spy. " Have the kids take turn describing objects inside or outside the car, then whoever guesses the object first gets to go next.

Doodle Bug is a fun game. See how many Volkswagens you can find and say Doodle Bug, the one who spots the most Volkswagens is the Doodle Bug Champ.

Another favorite is passing trucks and doing the horn motion and see how many truck drivers will blow the horn.

Singing songs that fit your Child's age helps pass the time. My four year old loves singing "Old McDonald" while passing cows, horses or goats. School age children know a lot of songs that they hear on the radio so for that age group singing along with the radio is fun.

A portable DVD player will let them watch their favorite movies while traveling. For older children, an IPOD, or M3 player with ear phones so they can listen to music, or let them check out some books from the library before the trip to read while traveling.

When traveling with children, if they're too snuggled in their car seat, booster seat or if they're old enough to sit without these safety equipment and don't have room to move a little they're not going to be happy travelers.

Make sure there's room for them to hold a coloring book in their lap or a toy that can be played with while sitting in a car. A window view of outside scenery and for you, excess to an ice chest to hold bottles, sippy cups, soft drinks, sandwiches and snacks without having to make frequent stops to get things out of the trunk.

When planning a trip. Fix a picnic lunch and stop at a rest area to eat, where there's shade and a nice area the children can run and play a few minutes helps with having to sit for long periods at a time.

For idea's like these and more vist.

http://www.monsminivan.com

http://www.activitiesforkids.com

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