Are we there yet?
I was recently chatting with a co-worker who had gone away for the long weekend with his kids. They had a long drive ahead of them as they were visiting family hours away. On their way home, he heard the famous words from one of his kids; “Are we there yet?” How many times have you heard that from your kids? Is there any way you can entertain the kids in your vehicle to keep them busy so you can avoid that dreaded question? Perhaps these tips will help to ease the pain.
Having four kids myself, it’s been a challenge to keep their interest going strong enough while traveling long distances in the family vehicle. Their constant arguing and movement can really lead to huge distractions for the driver. We’ve tried many things over the years; from singing songs to doing those famous car games. Once the kids got a little older, it was a little easier to keep them from driving us crazy.
One of the thing’s that may help keep their interest level while traveling in the family vehicle is having a number of books for them to read or look at. Picture books, comic books and factual books are really good for the younger kids. That usually helps to pass the time away quite easily. If the kids are very young, books on tape will help too. You remember those books, don’t you? When you heard the bell ring you had to turn the page. Those types of books would help the kids until they were able to do other things in the vehicle on their own.
Since we’re in the electronic age, hand held electronic games seem to work wonders in our vehicle on long trips. It’s amazing how quiet the kids can be when their face is buried in their games. They can be so engrossed in their games, that they don’t realize when we’ve arrived at our destination. MP3’s are also great for the kids to keep them occupied. My kids were 5 years old when they got their first MP3 and it’s been a good investment.
The best thing I’ve done, now that my kids can tell time, is to let them know what the expected time would be when we would arrive at our destination. If I told them we would be at our destination around 3:00 and it’s only 1:45, I know they won’t ask me; “Are we there yet?” unless I was running late.
Hopefully these tips can work for your family too. If they do work, you’ll have fewer distractions on those long drives!