by Patricia Albers

Created on: November 10, 2008   Last Updated: December 07, 2008

Games to Occupy Kids While Driving

It's vacation time; the open road lies ahead, the children are buckled up in the back seat and thanks to the existence of car games, everyone will happily survive. Most of us have childhood memories of summer vacation or other times when we were confined to long trips in the car. Boredom sets in quickly and if there are boys in the car, restlessness reigns. That's when Mom can step in and save the day with car games and soon all is right with the world again.

Car games provide a fun and educational way to keep children happy and smiling and, unlike toys, they don't take up precious space in the car. All age groups including young toddlers and teens can play car games it just takes some imagination and creativity.

For the toddlers and preschoolers:

v Where is your nose?

Ask the child to touch their nose or their ears or their hair, etc. When they get it right, everyone claps hands!

v Find the circle

Have the child find an object that is a circle or a square or a triangle. This can be played with colored felt cut outs of different shapes to help children learn shapes and colors and is great for developing spatial intelligence.

v Sing along song time

In this game, everyone in the car can join together singing familiar songs. Songs like "The Teensy Weensy Spider" combine hand movement to improve coordination skills.

For the school age children:

v Car Treasure Hunt

Prepare a list ahead of time of things to find on the drive; it can be animals, certain color cars, bridges, barns, etc. and check them off the list as they are called out.

v More sing alongs

Other songs can include rhyming tunes like "The Name Game" or rounds like "Row, Row Your Boat," or "Ninety Nine Bottles (substitute "milk" for "beer".) Ask everyone to create his or her own song and teach it to everyone else.

v Math Games

Counting objects like license plates from other states or miles between cities can keep the brain sharp and increase concentration skills.

For teens:

v Karioke singing and hand held computer games work well to fight boredom and keep the trip interesting.

So, next time you're planning for vacation, be sure to include planning for entertainment in the car. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much shorter the trip will seem and how much happier everyone will be when you finally reach your destination. Smiles at the end of the trip instead of crankiness makes a little bit of pre-planning worth every minute of your time. Bon voyage!

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