It was an inevitability that when we moved away from our family and friends to start a new life by the seaside, we would be regularly undertaking lengthy car journeys with our children.

It wasn't a prospect that held particular appeal, especially when they were toddlers, but after much experience of packing a huge variety of distracting games and books, lots of plaintive cries of "Are we nearly there yet?" and "I'm bored!" and emergency toilet stops on the motorway hard shoulder, we have reached a point where long car journeys can even, believe it or not, be an enjoyable part of weekends away.

As a child, I remember going on long car journeys with my brothers. We had an old Datsun van with no windows in the back, so the biggest issue for us was who got to sit in the middle so they could at least see out of the windscreen. For the other two, the only view available was the back of our parents' heads. Passing the time would mean a choice of playing 'I Spy' (headrest, floor, roof, shoes etc.!) or bickering with each other and getting told to shut up. Children now have far more options and travel in far more comfort than we did.

We used to take the children to the newsagents prior to a trip and let them choose magazines for themselves, which were kept out of reach until we went on the journey. Lots of children's magazines have colouring pages, simple crosswords and so on which keep them entertained for a short while at least.

It is also worth packing snacks and plenty to drink, especially as if you have to travel during daytime, you will probably get caught in a traffic jam at some point. (Just don't give the children too much to drink or you will then face the prospect of the hard shoulder toilet stop as mentioned earlier). Experience has also taught me that it is probably best to avoid lots of sweets and fizzy drinks as once the sugar kicks in, the journey can then take a turn for the worst.

Children today still seem to enjoy playing 'I Spy' and this has filled up time for us on many occasions. I have found that it is the adults who usually get fed up with this game before the children do. Youngsters particularly enjoy the obscure clue such as "Something beginning with S U T T O T H O T" (sheep under the tree on the hill over there)!

But by far and away the best thing we ever did was to buy a portable DVD player. The children pick out a couple of DVDs beforehand and take it in turns to watch a film. I know it means we have resorted to the electronic babysitter again, but I don't feel guilty at letting them watch two films back to back as they are restricted in terms of what they can do anyway, and from our point of view it has meant very peaceful journeys. There are films that I recognise by sound alone, having never watched them myself!

My other tip would be to drive during the evening if you can. The roads are much quieter so you reach your destination quicker and the children don't seem to complain as much if you are constantly moving rather than crawling along in first gear.

And if all that fails, you can always hope they will get so bored that they fall asleep!

Learn more about this author, Sarah Vaughan.
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