It’s common knowledge that kids hate waiting. They hate waiting for food, waiting in lines and especially waiting in the car during a long drive. Therefore, keeping your toddlers busy is key for long road trips. There are several simple on-the-go activities for toddlers worth borrowing to ease your children, let’s check it out.
Prepare a “busy bag”
A bag of tricks will surely entertain your toddlers for hours. What you need to do is create a bag of different types of toys and games that your babies normally love playing at home. Simply include sticker books, coloring books, small dolls or robots, colorful flashcards, etc. Kids get bored with the same toys easily so you may need to alter many types of things to keep them entertained. Do prepare 1 or 2 new toys in the bag just in case. They don’t have to be expensive. You can find lots of affordable on-the-go toys on Amazon.
Keep an eye out
Allow your babies to look outside the window and ask them questions about what they see out there. The scenery along the road plays a perfect role to attract toddlers’ attention for a while. You can also communicate with your kids by asking them to describe what they see. You can also teach them new things about vehicles or trees that show up on the way. My daughter loves telling me what color of the vehicles or the houses she sees on the road.
Play a copycat game
Another fun activity you can play with your little ones is the copycat game. Tell them to do as you’re doing. You can use your hand to make some funny shapes and ask them to copy the action or you can simply rub your belly 5 times and see if they can do the exact number of actions. This game can keep your little one busy. It also helps stimulate your kids’ responsiveness to some certain actions and situations.
Tell stories
All children love listening to fairy tales. Therefore, bringing a book of stories collection to read for your babies on the way is not a bad idea. Listening to stories not only keep your child away from boredom, but also have amazing impacts on improving their vocabularies and boosting their imaginative level. You can also find stories online without having to bring too many books.
Sing together
Turn on a playlist of their favorite nursery songs and sing with them along the beat. You can also clap your hands and teach them to do the same thing while singing. My daughter is addicted to singing and she loves to sing with me. That’s why my phone is now full of kindergarten rhymes and songs which I will play during the drive time to ease my little angel.
Communicate about life
If you notice that your preschoolers love talking, make time to communicate with them. You may need to have some simple conversations by asking them several easy questions like: “What color do you like?”, “What is your name, baby?”, “What kind of toys do you love playing?”, “Do you love mama / dada?”, “Let’s count from 1 to 20”, etc. These simple questions work effectively as a bored-reliever and your babies won’t have time to express their anger during the go.
Bring snack
If all the above solutions fail, food wins the children’s hearts, right? Giving them their beloved snack may help to calm them down for couples of minutes.
Sitting in a car-seat for hours is a disaster if there’s no activities to draw your child’s attention away from getting tired and upset. I hope that these simple on-the-go activities for toddlers will be helpful. Kids are unpredictable and we all need to be well-prepared before any road trip. Don’t forget to pack all the needed things to serve your little highness in any unexpected situations. I hope all the above ideas will help to make it easier for a smooth and happy travelling time. Speaking of traveling, check out my previous post sharing thoughtful gift ideas for travelers.