The idea of a car trip with children might make some people dread traveling. I am very accustomed to traveling with a whole tribe of kids. We have seven children and four are still at home. The most important thing is to have things for the children to do while they are in the car. I usally have a small plastic container for each child with things for them to entertain themselves. These items don't have to be extravagant, they just need to be special for use only while traveling. If their car box has unique items different from regular toys they will not get bored. Some great things are acually very old toys. I have found a thing called 15 square. This is a small metal or plastic square that has 15 numbered squares that can be scrambled and the point is to put them back in order. Another is the rubics cube. These both can occupy many different age levels. If you have some preteen or older children they can read to the younger children. There is a series of books that have different senarios that you choose your own way the books goes (i.e. if Johnny goes to the fair turn to page 68, if Johnny goes to the zoo turn to page 42) The key to a pleasant trip is keeping their minds busy. If you are taking a long trip then definatly consider purchasing a dvd tv combo. This does not have to be their sole form of entertainment but after a while it will help the restless younger ones to be occupied and maybe then they will be relaxed enough to take a nap. And nap time is the best scenario for long trips. The key is patience; if you get irritated then they will just continue to become more restless.

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