It may be 20 below zero outside, but inside the car it will
get mighty warm during long rides. At
some point you will have to free your little ones from their coats and scarves,
or you'll have a big case of the hot-and-grumpies. On a hot day, children can be chilled by air conditioning, so pack some sweatshirts. And no matter what the season, don't forget sunscreen. Even on a cold day, children can get sunburn
through car windows.
Look Around
Ask your kids to find green cars, rectangular signs or dogs
in backs of pick-up trucks. They will be so excited, they won't even know it's
a learning experience. Play “20
questions”, starting with the traditional question “Is it animal, vegetable or
mineral?” Or try the “alphabet game”,
where each player calls out letters A through Z as he or she sees them on
signs. The first player to reach Z
wins. The “license plate game” is also
popular in my family. Older children
can write down states they see on license plates. The one who has the longest list at the end of the trip wins.
The Boob Tube
Personally I’m not into the idea of putting a TV in my car
to keep the kids amused during long trips.
They get more than enough TV at home, and the American Academy of
Pediatrics says that children under the age of two shouldn’t watch any TV at
all. But I also know that many minivans
are sold with TV/VCR/DVD combos in the back, so if you absolutely must use a TV
to keep children quiet in a vehicle, at least turn it off every few hours. They’ll get more from books, toys, and
scenery-watching than from cartoons.
Safety First
Insist that everyone wear a seat belt or stay buckled in
their car seat at all times, even when sleeping. If a child acts up, don’t try to control the situation with the
vehicle moving. Instead, pull over and
deal with it. Many accidents are caused
by drivers who are distracted by children in the back seat.