Road trip tips and games for keeping kids amused

Children are rarely entertained by the passing scenery as much as Mum and Dad up front, so here are some handy tips to keep all passengers smiling:

Pack a fun bag – Pack a bag of your child’s favourite pacifiers, like books, handheld games, paper and crayons, dolls or small toys. Just be careful to avoid any dangerous projectiles that might find their way to the driver’s head. 

Get musical – Don’t forget some music. With luck, you might find something that both front and back seat passengers can enjoy. You’ll need to be lucky, so MP3 players with headphones can help bridge this divide.

‘I Spy’ – If you forget to pack the above, there’s always the quintessential ‘I Spy’, which can involve all passengers – hopefully mending any rifts at the same time. Simply take turns at choosing something visible to all players, then announce what letter the object begins with.

“I spy with my little eye, something beginning with ??.” Then the other participants take turns at guessing what that object might be. It is VERY important to be careful of choosing stationary objects that may disappear quickly though!

The alphabet game – Similar to ‘I Spy’, the alphabet game is where all passengers compete to spot something beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Once Z is reached, all passengers are likely to be well satisfied.

‘I went down to the shops and I bought’ – This memory game will challenge all aboard.  Working in a pre-determined order around the vehicle, each passenger takes turn to say the phrase ‘I went down to the shops and I bought’, then adds an item to the list. Each successive turn repeats the entire list in order.

Participants are eliminated when items are forgotten, eventually leaving a winner.  This game is more lively and long-lasting when unconventional items are added to the list. For example: ‘I went down to the shops and I bought an elephant.’

General conversation starters – Use the time to get to know your passengers better. Questions like: ‘If you had three wishes, what would they be?’, ‘How would you spend one million dollars?’, ‘Which superpower would you like to have most?’, ‘Who is your hero?’, and ‘If you could be a colour/an animal/ a car, what would you be?’