Top ten car games and travel games for kids
If like thousands of other parents you are planning to travel this year part of you will be dreading the challenge of keeping the kids occupied on the car journey. "Are we there yet" being one of the most dreaded comments a parent will hear from the back of the car. There are lots of things that you can do to distract the kids and make the journey that bit more bearable. All of these car games are free and just require a little bit of imagination and interaction with the kids.
Travel games are probably the best diversion tactic that you will remember your parents using on you. There were limited access to funds and computer games, audio storytelling and in car DVDs were not even invented. Car games and travel games are a great way to pass the time. Interaction with your children when travelling can be a great diversion and in reality there is no need for sophisticated technical equipment if you can engage your children in the travel process through games. Most of these can work also in departure lounges or while in other forms of transport. We have twenty more on our How to entertain the kids section as well as links to downloadable colouring. Best of all they are all free. Do let us know if you have any more suggestions via the forum.
Top ten car games and travel games for kids
1) Who am I?
One player thinks of a person, animal, object or profession and the rest of the players can only ask questions to which the answer is yes or no. Children will be familiar with the concept because of the popular Guess Who game. Simple questions such as: are you alive, are you an animal, are you small can help the other players deduce what the answer is. If you are going on a holiday for example to see wildlife or to Euro Disney you could give your game an overall theme such as Disney characters or animals. For younger children think of someone you all know whether a friend, teacher or relative. Give a few hints like "They live on our road" or "They wear glasses". Let everyone have a guess and the winner gets to choose the next time.
2) I spy
Great in a car, on a train or on a bus in this game you spot things beginning with a letter. This is better for children who can spell and can be very educational. Children who are learning to read can play this with some assistance and for those who are younger can use colours.
3) Travel bingo
Before you leave home you either make a list or draw a list of items you expect to see on your journey and tick them off as you spot them. Preschoolers and non-readers can use pictures.
4) Animal letters
Each player takes it in turn to name an animal beginning with each letter of the alphabet. For older players they would have to repeat the animals that have been named.
5) Make up a story
Someone starts with a sentence about absolutely anything. The next person has to follow on with their own sentence that may or may not be what player one had intended. The story can run on and on and can have twists and turns as one player may want it to be a romance but the other a battle with dragons.
6) Coloured cars
Each person chooses a colour and this is then written on a piece of paper next to your name. You get a point each time you spot a car of your chosen colour. The winner is the first to reach 10 or 20 depending on how busy your road is. This helps small children with their colours and attention.
7) Draw a "map" of where you are going
A good travel game for younger kids is to draw your own map that has the major sights, stops and towns with a nice happy drawing for your final destination. Throw in a few simple drawings of landmarks you might see along the way such as a big bridge/a toll bridge/a river/a castle and they can mark them off as they pass them. This gives kids a clearer picture of how much further there is to go.
8) Tell Jokes
Take turns telling silly jokes like knock-knock jokes or riddles and get the kids to make up their own jokes which can be quite funny sometimes even if they do not make sense.
9) Sing out loud
Whatever your level of skill it is always great to have a singsong while travelling with the kids. All members of the family can sing out loud from memory or sing along to the radio or a favourite CD.
10) Who is next door?
If you are stuck in traffic queue older children with a good sense of humour and imagination may enjoy making up stories about the people in the car nearby ie what their names are, what they do, what their hobbies are, what pets they have, what their house is like etc.
You will find lots of family friendly travel tips and advice in our research and advice section to help you book the right family holiday. Check out also the experiences of other parents and travellers in our parents forum and add your own experiences as we are a great believer in real parent's experiences as the best measure of whether somewhere will suit you for your family holiday.
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