When you go on vacation by car, there is usually a long drive to get over before you can really start to relax. Above all for children, long car rides quickly become boring. It often takes less than 10 minutes for parents to ask the dreaded question "When are we finally going to get there??"sounds from the back seat. Traffic jams, detours and limited freedom of movement in the car can dampen anticipation and cause frustration in the car. There is no ultimate trick for stress-free travel, but there is a whole range of ways to keep the kids happy even on long car journeys. How to without much effort and preparation for fun and entertainment in the car, you will learn in this article.
Making the car ride child’s play – games for the road
Even if the space in the car is limited – the imagination is not. We present fun games for which you need no, or only a few, materials and which are fun for the whole family. Depending on the age of the children you can also adapt and vary all games accordingly.
I think something you don’t know .
Everybody knows "I see something you don’t see", the cornerstone of children’s games. In the car, however, this classic quickly becomes boring, because in the interior of the car there are usually only a few interesting search objects. After the second long car ride at the latest, all the players are sufficiently familiar with them. the landscape passing by outside is also rather unsuitable for this guessing game, because the search objects disappear from the field of vision again much too quickly. The variant "I think something you don’t know", on the other hand, can draw from the full range, because there are no limits to the imagination here. one player thinks of an object, a well-known building or an animal – depending on the age of the smallest player, the level of difficulty can be adjusted individually. By asking questions, the players now try to find out what the other person is imagining. this one may answer all questions only with yes or no. Variation: also works great with well-known personalities.
Spellpicker
tell your kids that the letter thief snuck into the car with you at the last rest stop. This cheeky little leprechaun is particularly interested in vowels and gradually steals them from the words. So suddenly you have to get along without the "a". G_r not so easy. Little by little, the "e", the "i", the "o" and the "u" also disappear from the car and talking becomes more and more difficult. And always funnier. This game is fun for the whole family and at the same time trains your sense of language.
Yes-no game
as a game leader you ask questions that must not be answered with yes or no under any circumstances. Here are attention and creativity asked. Answering the question "are you looking forward to going to the beach?" not spontaneously with a yes, but rather with something like "of course I’m looking forward to it" requires concentration. If one of the forbidden words slips out anyway, the round is lost – and the laughter is big.
Sentence snakes
The object of this game is to create new words in turn. Start with a word of your choice, such as "car ride". The next player must now add a new word to the second part of the word. This is how "Fahrtwind" is created, for example. Continue with "windbag", "marsupial", "zoo", "park bench", etc.
Variation: for smaller children it will be easier if they only have to find new words with the last letter of the previous word, for example "car ride", "tiger", "brussels sprouts", etc.
car detective
A fun one game for little eagle eyes. one player becomes a suspect, the others turn into detectives. they look at the suspect attentively for 1 minute. then the eyes are closed and the suspect changes a detail. It could be an undone trouser button or shoelace, a loosened braid or a rolled-up sleeve. Then everyone is allowed to open their eyes again and must guess what the suspect has changed. The fastest detective becomes a suspect in the next round. The driver is not allowed to participate in this game for understandable reasons.
With the installation of a second interior mirror, parents can keep a relaxed eye on everything without having to turn around all the time.
With the installation of a second inside mirror, parents can keep a relaxed eye on everything without having to turn around all the time.
Once upon a time there was a fairy tale
Tell the well-known fairy tales in a different way! In this fun read-aloud game, you deliberately include small mistakes in the story, which the other players have to guess. For example, snow white and rose red becomes "snow white and brussels sprouts"the wicked witch’s crunchy house is made of crispbread instead of gingerbread and the frog king does not fetch a golden ball from the well, but a soccer ball. If you notice a mistake, you object immediately and get a point. Whoever has the most points at the end of the fairy tale wins. The best thing about this game: the countless possible variations mean it never gets boring and not only the little passengers will roll over laughing!
Characteristic sentences
Especially in traffic jams, this game is an entertaining way to pass the time. The license plate of a car in front, next to or behind you is written down. All players now form funny phrases made from the letters of the license plate. For example, DB-TM becomes "thirsty beavers drink milk".
Packing a suitcase
This well-known classic fits perfectly into the vacation season. a player starts with "i’m packing my suitcase and taking it with me" – add any object, for example a pair of sunglasses. one item at a time is added in turn, and all the things that are already in the suitcase must be repeated in the correct order. Variant: why not pack a garbage bag for a change? the fun factor increases enormously here, because things that the kids don’t like so much, such as homework or a dirty diaper, can also go in the trash. When the memory reaches its limits, the trash bag is full and can be disposed of at the next rest stop.
city, country, river
Also high on the list of classics stands city, country, river. Together with your children, think of fun additional categories, for example:
- ice cream
- Things you find on the beach
- Items that are in the suitcase
- Things that are round/cornered
- things to do on vacation
- Disney characters
The list can be extended infinitely.
this game is best suited for long periods of congestion, because here nothing jerks while writing. In addition, many children get sick if they read or write while driving.
This game is best suited for long periods of congestion, because here nothing jerks while writing. In addition, many children become nauseous when reading or writing while driving.
Counting colors
This game even the little ones can have fun, especially if they are in the process of conquering different number spaces for themselves. Cars in the favorite color are counted, z.B. Red. When 20 (or more) red cars are found, the game continues with another color. As a reward you can.B. distribute gummy bears in the respective color.
A to Z game
First, decide on a theme, such as animals, plants, famous buildings or countries. Make sure that the top category easy to manage for all the little players is. The first player names a suitable word with A (z.B. monkey). then continue in alphabetical order (using animals as an example, for example, bear, chameleon, badger, etc.).) up to the letter Z. if you don’t know what to do, you can drop out or get help from the older players.
This makes the time during the car trip pass more quickly
It’s not just games that keep the boredom at bay – these tips will also make the car ride sweeter for your kids.
Surprise bags for long car rides
Especially on longer journeys, you can make your children happy by giving them small surprise bags, for example.B. Always, when 100 kilometers have been covered again. This keeps the youngsters busy and entertained on the individual track sections. Contents of the surprise bags could be
- Coloring pictures
- A little snack
- A small toy
- A pixie book
- A patience game
- scratch pictures
- Riddles and pictures from our PDF
As a variant or supplement, you can also provide the following before the journey begins colorful clay cardboard ride maps make them and hand them out to your kids after a certain number of kilometers each time. This helps the kids to better imagine how long the ride will last. The last ticket is given when the family has arrived at the vacation destination.
fun and entertainment with the tablet in the car
Of course, it is not the point to "park" the kids in front of the tablet during the whole ride. still: a funny children’s movie in between works wonders. The tablet is easy to attach to the back of the driver’s or passenger’s seat. A selection of child-friendly films, audio games and your favorite music will keep your offspring happy for a long time to come. headphones ensure that parents can also enjoy some peace and quiet.
Always keep a bag within reach so you can act quickly if a child does get sick.
Always have a bag within reach so you can act quickly if a child does get sick.
Take enough breaks
Make sure you plan enough breaks for the kids to relax and enjoy themselves let off steam, move around and get some fresh air can. Choose the less frequented rest stops or a quiet meadow and have a healthy snack and something to drink ready.
Conclusion
even though there is no "one" solution to boredom on the road: with our tips and games for long car rides, you’ll always have a few good things to keep your kids busy, and not just your kids.