Webisode Two: Riding In Cars With Kids
Not every one has fond memories of family car trips, but I’m here to ease your fears.
You don’t have to have your kids “plugged in” to video games or DVD’s in order to arrive in one piece!
A little preparedness and a “baby steps” perspective, and you won’t look at your car as prison-on-wheels any longer!
MomMostTraveled.com says:
- Pack a reasonable amount of toys and books, and put yourself in charge of rationing them as needed. Wait until the thrill of the first toy has passed before you introduce the second (or third, forth, etc.)
- Bring along same favorite books and some “new” books; pad your supply with library finds, or old books from home that have become overlooked.
- Try audio stories instead of DVD’s. Audio stories are available all over the internet in CD or MP3 form. We found nursery rhymes, fairy tales, Sherlock Holmes, and The Shaddow for our most recent trip.
- Pack simple meals that can be eaten in the car. Use your stops to get moving, not sit still. Choose relatively healthy food options to avoid stomach distress. (By “relatively” healthy, I mean Ritz crackers instead of potato chips, granola bars instead of chocolate bars. Nothing too extreme.)
- It is okay to let your kids get bored. Really! You are not a failure as a parent for allowing your children to experience boredom. In fact, I think it is good for kids to get bored once in a while! Sure! It helps them learn to not expect to be entertained all of the time. It encourages creativite thinking!
- Calm down! If your children know that you are tense, they will be too! Relax, take some deep breaths, and find the joy that is in the adventure of just getting there.
- Find an adventure every day, or make the every day an adventure!
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10 February 2009, 4:22 pm
Love that intro! So catchy…I’ll be humming it all day.
I’m glad you’re not going to be like the astronaut lady who wore the adult diaper on the way to kill her lover’s lover.
I totally agree about letting your kids get bored. I too think it helps their minds, and also teaches them patience and acceptance of not being entertained all the time.
Great video Can Can! I love the voice over/narration…you’ve picked up some great editing skills too. And did anyone ever tell you how much you look like Parker Posey?
10 February 2009, 4:30 pm
I feel like I resemble Parker Posey, but one time in a strange pick up line, some one asked me of Tina Fey was my sister.
10 February 2009, 5:55 pm
I am so impressed with your still amazing video editing abilities….not to mention your wonderful wisdom!!
10 February 2009, 6:14 pm
Great travel tips! In fact, they are so useful that I was wondering if I could reprint this article on my ParentingPink.com parenting site? I can give you a bio and links. We just reached the Google “top 15″ so it would be great advertising for your site too
Thanks!
10 February 2009, 6:37 pm
Hey thanks Jenny! Ladies and gentlemen: Jenny was in my video editing class at university a million years ago! Of course the process I used to create this video was nothing like the stone age equipment we had to work with back then.
Maybe my video editing professor will find me and give me props.
10 February 2009, 9:56 pm
Great tips! I wholeheartedly agree that children do not need to be entertained every single moment they are awake.
Jennifers last blog post..Denial
10 February 2009, 11:23 pm
I agree 100%. We have never taken a DVD player with us on our road trips with our four year old. We even went 14 hours once and she was great! It made for some wonderful family time as well as some time for her to quietly stare out the window. Great tips!
11 February 2009, 3:32 am
I agree with letting them be bored. It helps build creativity and often leads to some really fun conversations!
11 February 2009, 9:13 am
Wonderful tips! I agree that letting kids be bored is good for them. The part about sensing a meltdown, either you or the kids, was so true. Often I am the one who needs to just calm down.
Could you tell us a bit more about JoJo’s buckles and straps? It looked interesting.
11 February 2009, 2:20 pm
Yes, you are actually the second person to ask me about Jojo’s vest.
It is the RideSafer Travel Vest. It is a safe, portable alternative to the booster seat. I like it because it doesn’t take up a lot of room in the back seat.
Also they can wear the same one from 35lbs to 60lbs.
And it is cool like a pilot vest.
http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/
11 February 2009, 8:34 pm
Agreed that boredom can be a good thing for kids. It allows their imaginations to kick in and fosters a little creative thinking on their parts.
Great tips here!
21 February 2009, 2:08 pm
Great advice in your video!! When I was little (many moons ago) we would take the car in the summer from our home in Texas to relatives in Missouri. We didn’t have tv’s and dvd’s in the car back then so I’m sure we found some way to entertain ourselves. I think one of the key things is to have a plan and schedule, but to be flexible with it when traveling with kids.
23 February 2009, 2:46 am
Wonderful tips! I remember panicking over a long road trip with my 4 boys under the age of 8 but with some advanced planning (very similar to yours) we made it and had a great time.
28 February 2009, 12:19 am
I really like your philosophy especially that we can allow them to be bored at times. We seem to be raising kids feel that we are theri entertianment committee and they have to constantly be stimulated
06 March 2009, 6:16 pm
[...] I love having good quality audio stories to listen to together when we travel by car. [...]
26 March 2009, 10:02 pm
[...] Firstly, Have a look at this great video from a mum we’ve been in contact with in the USA http://mommosttraveled.com/webisode-two-riding-in-cars-with-kids/ . It’s fun and illustrates what you can do with kids in cars. However, some parents could well be [...]
30 March 2009, 8:18 am
[...] Thank you MumMost Travelled for the use of your video for our tele-semiar this week. If you haven’t seen it already, here’s the link- http://mommosttraveled.com/webisode-two-riding-in-cars-with-kids/ [...]
11 May 2009, 4:13 am
[...] Riding In Cars With Kids Video by Mom Most Traveled [...]
26 December 2009, 5:49 pm
What a great video with lots of helpful thoughts. Doling out toys and books, and letting kids express themselves by scribbling–as well as letting them be bored, and staying calm, make it clear you are a patient and perceptive mom