One of the universal constants in life is the exasperated, whiny, “Are we there yet?” that inevitably comes from the backseat for any car ride over an hour.
Built-in DVD players, hand-held gaming systems, and iPads have given some parents a bit of relief from this question.
But even those get old after a few hours. And really, do you want your child lost in his own world staring at a screen?
No, you don’t. First, there’s all kind of research about how bad this is for him.
And second, common sense just tells us that interacting and having fun with family is a healthier option.
So instead of dreading that road trip that comes along with your summer vacation, look at it as more time for some quality family bonding.
In addition to the standard favorites you should pull out like war, tic-tac-toe, and hangman, here are 10 games you can play to erase the boredom and increase the fun of being stuck in the car.
License Plate Game
Print a map and bring along some crayons and color in each state when you spot a license plate from that state.
This is a great geography lesson and can also be turned into a competition for older kids by having each child (or team of children) take different sides of the road.
If you want to be really fancy, Melissa & Doug makes a wooden board version of this game that allows you to flip a plate over on each state as you spot them.
You can also read the state’s motto on the license plate and discuss anything it might tell you about the state.
I’m Going on a Picnic
In this memory game, the first person starts with “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing an apple,” or anything starting with the letter A.
The next person has the letter B, but also has to repeat the item that was an A. For example, “I’’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing an apple and a banana.”
Continue through the alphabet, with players being out when they forget a previous item.
This is also a fun learning tool for younger kids, and you can give them hints along the way when they forget words.
20 Questions
One person decides on a person, place, or thing in his mind. You can narrow it down more and say it has to be an animal, or something found in nature, or any category you want.
The rest of the car asks questions to try to figure out what the person is thinking.
Does it have fur? Can it be a pet? Does it live in water? Are example questions.
The person who guesses what the animal was, then gets to come up with the next animal.
Restaurant Race
Each person picks a popular restaurant such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Applebee’s.
Each time she sees that restaurant on a billboard, roadside exit sign, or the actual building, she gets one point.
Pick how long you want the game to go, say 20 points for example, and the first person who gets 20 points wins.
Alphabet Game
The goal is to find each letter of the alphabet, in order, on a billboard or other road sign.
This can be a group effort for younger kids, or you can divide into teams with each team taking a different side of the road and see who can get through the alphabet first.
Fortunately-Unfortunately
This is a great game for tapping into your children’s creativity.
The first person might say, “Unfortunately, there was a tiger standing by my bed this morning.”
The next person has to do a “fortunately” statement, such as, “Fortunately he was sleeping.”
The game continues with no rules about the statements needing to be true or possible.
“Unfortunately, my brother woke him up,” “Fortunately, I had my tiger tranquilizer gun under my pillow.”
The sillier your children get, the more fun the game will become.
Treasure Bottle
This is a fun activity if you have a little prep time before you go.
Fill empty bottles with rice and additional small items such as buttons, paperclips, M&Ms, anything that can get hidden in the rice when you shake up the bottle.
Keep a list of what’s in each bottle.
Have your child try to locate and write down (or you keep track of) each item he’s found.
It can be just for fun, or a competition to see who can find all of their items first.
Find 50
Each person picks a common item and makes a mark each time he sees that item as you’re driving. The first person to get to 50 with their item wins.
The item could be something specific like a flag, creek, or barn, or more general like something red, or a sign containing a specific word.
Would You Rather
One person acts as the questioner and poses two options to the other participants.
“Would you rather go without food or an internet connection for a week?”
The questions can be serious or silly, and often evolve into a conversation about why one choice is better than the other.
Kids really enjoy making these questions up, or you can simply google “would you rather questions” and get hundreds of examples to work from.
My Cows
When someone spots cows, they quickly count how ever many they see and claim them as “my cows.”
When you pass a church, the first person to spot the church says, “I marry my cows.” The cows then presumably procreate and your 12 cows become 24.
When you pass a cemetery, graveyard, or funeral home, the first person to see it says, “I kill your cows,” and kills off another player’s cows, forcing him to start again at zero.
When you pass a barn, you can say, “I put my cows in that barn,” which means they are safe and no one can kill them. It also means you can’t marry your cows. After you put them in a barn, you can take them out of the barn when you see another barn.
You can play for the whole trip, or for a specific time period. The person with the most cows in the end is the winner.
There are several variations of this game, including using different animals. You establish whatever car rules you want to make it most fun for your age range.
Expect Some Resistance
Kids often start out grumpy when being forced to sit next to their “gross” siblings for a long period of time.
They may consider your games dumb or boring. Encourage them to just give it a try and they’ll surprise themselves with how much fun they’re having.
You may need to start off as the leader and a heavy participant in the game, but chances are they’ll continue on their own once their mood had lightened a little.
Have You Booked Your Summer Party?
Don’t forget to include KidsPartyCharacters.com in your summer fun. Whether its a birthday, other special occasion, or just for fun, Kids Party Characters has over 200 of your child’s favorite characters to choose from as his or her special party guest.
Check out our packages and all the extras we include to take the work off your shoulders at KidsPartyCharacters.com.
And be sure to join us on Facebook for ideas, inspiration, and updates on planning your next party.
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