Single Parent Travel - The Single Parent Road Trip
Are you planning a single parent travel trip on your own with your kids this summer? You may be wondering how you will keep them entertained during the ride. You have to concentrate on the road, so you need to have activities to occupy the kids so they don't whine or worse, start fighting in rush hour traffic.
Art toys such as an Etch a Sketch or Magna Doodle could provide lots of fun with no mess. Do not bring crayons as these can melt in the heat or get broken and end up smashed on your car's carpet. Older kids might enjoy activity books that they can decorate with colored pencils.
Figurine toys can offer imaginative play. If possible, collect some kid's meal toys before the trip so that a child's favorite toy doesn't get lost on the trip. And, you can dole the kid's meal toys out one by one to help keep your child busy with new toys.
Electronic games are great entertainment. This could be handheld games like Battleship, or gaming systems such as Gameboys, PSPs, Nintendo DS, etc. Depending on the length of your trip, you may be able to rent games to take along so they don't get tired of the same games that they've played before. Or, you might be able to pick up a lot of several used games cheaply at an online auction site.
Portable DVD players are also wonderful for long trips so long as the driver doesn't watch the movies. Again, you might rent movies or get used movies so that the kids have something “new” to watch.
Card games are another good distraction. Older kids might enjoy a regular deck of cards since there are so many games that can be played with them. Or, you could bring a game such as Uno. The Brainquest series is yet another card game that could entertain the kids.
Music can also be enjoyed during a long ride. If family members have different musical tastes, be sure that the music is portable such as an IPOD or portable CD player, so each person can enjoy his/her own tunes.
Audiobooks can also be a fun and potentially educational way to spend time. Make sure that any family members who wouldn't be receptive to listening to the audiobook have a portable music alternative. Or, audiobooks can be enjoyed separately on a portable CD, IPOD or MP3 player. A good source for audiobooks in electronic formats is Audible.com.
Stopping for a break every two hours during single parent travel is recommended. Try to plan ahead and locate places along your route that would offer a chance for the kids to get out of the car and burn some energy. This could be at a rest stop with a picnic area, a playground, or a restaurant with a play area. You could also bring small outdoor toys such as a Frisbee or a baseball and gloves to play catch.
Be sure to take pillows and blankets with you, as hopefully, the kids will sleep during part of the ride. If possible, you might want to time your road trip over their normal sleeping time so you have less hours that you have to keep them occupied.
Older children may enjoy playing navigator by reading maps for you and helping to spot restaurants and gas stations. Old standbys like I Spy or hunting for a license plate from every state can also help while away the time.
Do not count on your older child to round up enough items to entertain themselves, You might want to let them make a first pass at collecting items as a planning exercise. Oftentimes kids are not good judges of time and how much they need to take with them to pass that time. Make sure you check their travel bags before you hit the road and find out that they have brought a Gameboy and one game to occupy themselves for a ten-hour ride.
If you prepare ahead, the single parent travel with your children can go relatively smoothly. There are plenty of options for keeping the kids busy so that you can concentrate on getting to your destination.
| ............. |
|
