Do you encourage your car-rides and plane rides to be “tech free”? By “Tech-free” I mean, no technology. I know for us, usually we don’t use technology in the car if its under 3 hours. Some ideas for “tech-free” road trips are:
– magna doodles
– coloring books
– license plate games
– ABC games
– reading
But, if the trip is longer than 3 hours, we are ok with using some technology in the car (sparingly). What do we bring out?
– Leapster
– Tag
-DVD’s (Educational or their favorites)
It definitely is up to the individual/family. We dont let them sit in front of the tv or electronic game for the entire 10 hour road trip to FL. It’s all about moderation.
We’ve just come back from a road trip to FL and we discovered books on tape. My 4 year old loved it and 18 month old laughed the whole time. Definitely something to check into.
Some helpful tips when traveling with young children.
1. Pack enough snacks. Mine are hungry the entire way so we pack healthy snacks (trailmix, puppy chow, fruit, water, juice, etc).
2. Leave the technology off as long as you can. Enjoy the trip and scenery. Make up games, sing, have fun. When time has expired, yes, watching a movie or playing on the Leapster is fine.
3. Stop at fun places – get the wiggles out at rest stops and let them run around. (our favorite is Chick Fil A) Stop along the way at Childrens Museums, State Parks, etc.
4. Make sure you have or buy ahead of time a set of earphones or two. These come in handy when you have listened enough to The Backyardigans. 🙂
Most importantly, HAVE FUN and create memories!
Mine loved playing Car Bingo. I usually made my own but you can buy them too. I just made cards with16 items they might see on the trip. Each card had a slightly different version (eg Shell gas station for one and Exxon for another). Kept them amused for quite a while!