Avoiding the road to hell on car journeys with children
You can’t beat chucking some stuff in the car and leaving it all behind for a day or two, and with three bank holidays in May, you might well be thinking about heading off for a couple of days.
The thought of packing a mountain of children’s clothes and toys coupled with the reality of a long car journey might be enough to think you twice, but it’s always worth it when you get there. Getting away might not be quite as quick and easy as it was pre-children, but we’ve got you covered!
Packing
First thing’s first – packing! While we used to just grab a bag and go, you’re not alone if your packing list got a whole lot longer when you had children.
A good tip is to create a reusable packing list you can share with your partner. My partner and I share one on Trello, where we list everything we need to take on a trip, from travel cots to children’s plates and baby monitors. When an item is in the car, it gets moved to the ‘packed’ column, and then we move it back when coming home or packing for the next trip. You can both move items at the same time, so it makes packing much easier to work on together, and helps share the mental load. No more arguments over who left what!
You might also want to add things you need to do before you leave the house, such as checking windows are closed and locked.
Once you’ve got everything packed (and we know that’s no mean feat with a child, so allow yourself plenty of time), it’s time to tackle the journey.
Travelling with babies
First and foremost, make sure you give yourself plenty of time. Your baby will probably need you to stop frequently for feeds, nappy changes, and their general comfort. It is recommended that babies spend no longer than two hours in a car seat at a time, so that’s worth keeping in mind when you’re planning the journey.
If your baby takes naps, you might want to time your departure for a time they are likely to nap, or after they have just had a feed and nappy change.
It’s a good idea to have nappies, wipes, any milk or food your baby may need, and a muslin cloth somewhere you can access them easily if you have a packed car, to make pitstops that bit easier.
A new fidget popper (you can find these for around £1) is a great toy for a baby to explore on car journeys. They are tactile and can be fascinating to a baby, particularly if it’s new to them, so might be a good investment. You could also tie a knot in some different coloured ribbons and attach them inside an empty tissue box, hiding all the ribbons in the box for them to pick them out one by one. They will enjoy the different colours and textures, and seeing each ribbon emerge from the box, like a game of peek-a-boo!
Most importantly, don’t put yourself under any pressure to be anywhere at a particular time. Babies can be unpredictable, so you might find you need to go with the flow and take it as it comes on the day. No matter how many stops it takes, you’ll get there!
Travel games to beat boredom
Travel games are a great way to stop young children from getting bored.
Heads, shoulders, knees and toes
If you have younger children in the car, this is a great way to occupy them. Babies and toddlers particularly enjoy singing and action rhymes and it is a great way to distract them if they're getting disgruntled about being stuck in a car seat. Sing 'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes' to them and then mix it up to include other parts of their bodies, for example, eyes, ears, mouth and hair.
What animals can you see?
When your toddler is beginning to recognise animals, see if they can spot them while travelling. They will be thrilled to point out horses, cows and birds as you travel from point to point. You can even pack a simple animal book so that they can seek out the animals they have found for reference.
I spy something that is the colour…
The skill of playing I spy with a leading letter takes a bit longer to master, but you could try playing “I spy, something that is the colour…”, then following it with green and see if they can say grass or a tree. Learning how to play ‘I spy’ takes a lot of practice, so don’t forget to switch places so they can call out the colours they want you to spy.
Keep a tally
Using paper and a crayon, encourage your child to make marks of the things that they see while you’re travelling. You might want to help them by making a basic tally sheet for them and do this by following their interests. So, if they love cars, it could be a tally of the different cars you spot.
Let's make up a funny story
Take it in turns to create your own silly, hilarious tale, one sentence at a time. Go around all the family members adding a sentence as you go and layer in characters and scenarios to get the imagination running wild!
You could also organise some playlists ahead of your journey, including some of your child’s favourite songs, nursery rhymes or stories to help pass the time and keep them entertained.
Don’t forget to do something for yourself too, whether that’s playing your favourite song along the way or treating yourself to a nice coffee during one of your stops.
Have a good trip!
