Driving with Kids
Goodies for Older Kids
By Alice Cary, GORP Family Expert
Despite my penchant for People magazine, I've shared a lot of good books in the car with my kids. My son and I recently spent a trip from Massachusetts to Maryland engrossed as I read aloud Beverly Cleary's classic Ramona the Pest. Great reads for kids include Highlights, National Geographic World, Sports Illustrated for Kids, and anything from the Cricket Magazine Group, which publishes magazines for all ages, starting with Babybug for babies (check out www.cricketmag.com and www.highlights.com for details).
Family games. Get everyone involved in guessing games like 20 Questions. Play around with riddles, jokes, storytelling, anything that keeps conversation going and little minds working. In my family, we always played the Alphabet Game, in which each player has to find each letter of the alphabet, in order, on passing road signs. First person to Z wins — competition can get quite lively.
Another fun game sure to keep the kids laughing is Don't Say That, in which each person agrees on a forbidden word, like marshmallow, then proceeds to try to make others say that word. If you need ideas for car ride pastimes, check out Klutz Glove Compartment Games.
Brainteaser sets. Remember the Rubik's Cube? Well, the cube and its modern-day cousins are perfect for long rides. Look for plastic or metal puzzles like the ones with intertwined metal pieces or tiles that move around within a frame to make a picture. One of my son's favorites, Rush Hour, tests logic skills with plastic vehicles on a grid.
Handheld games. These are great and available for all age groups. While older kids can play around with GameBoys, the age two and up crowd can enjoy things like the Pooh Smart Stick series for toddlers. Check out games like magnetic checkers and travel-size versions of larger board games, like Hungry Hungry Hippos and Clue. If educational content is what you're after, check out spelling and math games or the portable GeoSafari Talking Globe Traveler, a small globe with a built-in electronic geography quiz.
Our favorite books on tape come from Robert Munsch and Bill Harley, both of whom possess the rare talent of being able to entertain kids and adults at the same time.
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Tapes or CDs. These have been lifesavers. Whether it's music or books on tape, they're fun for the whole family to hear and share, though after you've heard "The Three Little Pigs" ten times (which has happened to us) you'll want to be sure your kids have their own headsets. Our favorites come from Canadian storytellers Robert Munsch and Bill Harley, both of whom possess the rare talent of being able to entertain young kids and adults at the same time. The Harry Potter books, now out on tape, are also a good fix for school-age children.
Activity books. Bookstores are loaded with sticker books, coloring books, dot-to-dots, maze books, and puzzles for all ages ideal for long journeys. Highlights magazine publishes all sorts of puzzle and activity books, as does Usborne (their Puzzle World series, for instance). Traveling parents should check out Highlights' Which Way USA? series, which has a puzzle book, map, and factoids for each state.
Some publications should be staples of every long car trip. Take The Amazing Game Board Book, published by innovative KIDS. It features more than 50 games and activities. Our family favorite activity book is the Klutz Amazing Back Seat Booka-Ma-Thing: Thousands of Miles Worth of Hands-On Games and Activities.
Videos. More and more vehicles have VCRs now. If yours doesn't, portable DVD players are also an option. Hey, it may not be your first choice, but if it keeps everyone happy, go with it.
Finally, if you're in need of a bit of humorous inspiration, check out Ride, a picture book by Stephen Gammell (Harcourt) about a brother and sister's back-seat journey and their resulting battle of cosmic proportions. Whether you've got preschoolers or teens in tow, everyone's bound to get a laugh.
And if all else fails, consider hiding in the trunk. Good luck.
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