Road Trippin’ with Kids & Games

Planning a road trip for the Labor Day holiday? Traveling with kids and family? I know it’s not always easy keeping your children preoccupied in the car and trying to avoid the infamous question of “are we there yet?” I remember as a child, I would ask my mom where we were going and she would respond, “CRAZY!”

Here is a fun game for your pre-schoolers or toddlers on the road….

Travel/Car Scavenger Hunt 
Give each child a list of items to watch for while driving. Check off each item when they find it.  Think ahead about where you are travelling – its great to pick items that match the scenery or you can even make it a learning lesson! Just make the list ahead of time. For younger children who can’t yet read, it is sometimes easier if you draw a picture on a piece of paper with the words right next to the image so that he or she knows what to look for.

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Big Sis Knows What To Do

Last weekend we drove down to Los Angeles (from the Bay Area) for my cousin’s baby shower. The drive there was a piece of cake. It took us about 8 hours with only 2 stops. Amazing, considering we had a newborn. Meanwhile, my 4-year old was her usual self asking us what number to count to before we get to LA, and repeatedly asking, “Are we there yet?” (Click here to read about our memorable trip to San Diego.)

The drive home was a completely different story. It took us almost 12 hours with so many stops that I vowed never to drive a long trip like that ever again! For some reason, my 3-week old was hungry EVERY HOUR. “Didn’t I just feed you?” And other times he would howl and cry, and we couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t hungry. He wasn’t wet. He wasn’t hurt or sick. He just wanted to be on Daddy’s lap or in Mommy’s embrace. I guess I’d rather have that, too. But after so many stops for no reason other than to take him out of his car seat, we’d had enough. Our so-called “solution” was to let him scream in agony — while we listened in agony! Then, miraculously, Big Sis saved the day. Miranda sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and Paulo stopped crying! The first time it happened, we thought it was just luck. But it happened a couple more times, and it worked every time. One time she even sang a different song (some song from “High School Musical”), but it didn’t work. So we asked her to stick to his usual request because that’s what Paulo liked. She gladly complied.

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“Is the baby here yet?”

You go on a road trip with a little one, and you will hear these infamous words, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” over and over, to the point that you yourself want to be there as soon as humanly possible because it’s so annoying to hear that question when you still have 3 more hours to go. This time, the words I hear are,

Is the baby here yet? Is the baby ready to come out?“

Now, that’s not annoying at all to hear. In fact, they’re my sentiments exactly! I wake up each morning, wondering if today is the day. We are all so anxious here at home, especially my daughter. At this point, I don’t think she cares anymore if she’s having a brother or a sister (she really wants a sister!). She just wants to meet her new sibling and be a BIG sister.

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