It’s fun to play in the yard or park with the whole family. But what to do when you have a long trip ahead of you? Sit around and get bored? The kids have already started to be cranky… But don’t give in to dejection, and play fun games.
Travel with kids can also be very fun. Really, you just need to prepare for the trip and be creative. It does not depend on whether you go by car, train or plane. It doesn’t depend on whether you’re driving in city traffic, or going on an out-of-town trip, or going to the sea.
A few tips
Remember that when traveling with children, attitude is very important. You are taking the kids with you, so you should act like a family. Playing games as a family is a great way to bond and help you have fun.
No complicated gadgets will be needed, and you can’t take them with you, but you still need to “take” lots of fun. Sometimes the entertainment is you, so be prepared to sit and play with your child (of course, if someone else is driving).
Don’t forget about comfort and safety. This is especially true for car rides. In addition to the fact that you will need to have a special seat for the child, appropriate for his age, perhaps the following tips will help you. When traveling by car, make regular stops, even if no one needs to go to the bathroom. Stop to stretch and stretch. Children will get tired of sitting in the car and want to run around. Don’t let them get out of their seats while driving, no matter what happens – it’s always better to just stop the car in a place where they can play.
Some kids don’t sleep well in unfamiliar places, so take a favorite pillow or soft toy with you to make it easier for them.
Any games, whether they are active or quiet at the table, have a cognitive element to them. They develop a child’s speech, intelligence, memory. By playing, children learn new knowledge much more successfully than in the classroom. Games contribute to the development of imagination and fantasy, encourage the child to creativity. He begins to rhyme simple words, composes his first poem. The task of the adult – to start an intellectual game and fascinate her child.
What to occupy a child on the road by car?
Look out the window. You can count cars that pass by or cars of a certain color, and for older kids and dads who understand, you can complicate this game by counting cars of a certain model. Or just teach your kid to figure out the brands of cars by naming each one that passes by.
Ideal for a car game with words, they are very popular and are important for the development of thinking and speech. These games are also very useful for the development of adults. It used to be customary to play word games with the family. Let’s revive this slightly forgotten tradition, because it’s very exciting and educational.
In general, it’s very convenient to play with objects in the car, by which you go, learn the road signs, names of villages and rivers…
In the woods, in the field, on the river a city child is overwhelmed with impressions. Take advantage of this and play games with him that develop attention, observation, visual memory. Looking at nature and seeing it is not the same thing. Take binoculars, you’ll take your baby looking at distant objects, because it’s so interesting to consider the bird at the top of the tree, its nest.
If you’re tired of talking, you can turn on your child’s favorite music or audio story.
What to occupy a child on the train?
Traveling on the train gives much more room to play in the literal sense. On the train you are not limited to movement, as in a car, so the first thing to go to explore the space, look through all the doors, travel between the cars (respecting the safety, of course). But if the child is afraid of loud noises, it is better to shield him from such stressful exposure.
When you pass by many villages and towns, point out to children that you can just wave to people, houses, rivers, and even cows. And you will almost certainly see village children waving at one of the stations on your passing train!
The train has a table, so you can take games and activities with you where you can do crafts. The little ones enjoy sculpting figures out of plasticine, cutting flowers out of colored paper, etc.
Also for travel on the train suitable book reading – in the car you will not be seasick and shaking, and you can delight your child with a story. And you can also do drawing. You can think up your own fairy tale world and fill it with your favorite characters, paint ready-made pictures or just paint a portrait of mom, dad and your favorite cat …
What to occupy a child on the plane?
Basically all the rules for traveling by car also apply to traveling by airplane.
The only difference is that you can’t park the plane at the nearest parking lot to let the kids run around. Get ready for the ear plugging effect. Take something your child can suck on, such as a bottle, pacifier, or caramel for older children.
Children have the hardest time with airplane takeoffs and landings. It is advisable to reserve a seat in the front of the cabin. Then you’ll have extra space in front of you that you’ll probably need.
Just as in the train, you can start by exploring the space, because the plane is a whole new unexplored world for a child, even if you often use this mode of transport. But be careful that children do not interfere with the flight attendants serving drinks by running underfoot.
You can please children and make the trip more interesting by preparing a surprise for them. A new toy will keep them occupied most of the way. But do not take on a trip toy, consisting of small parts. Otherwise you will have to constantly collect parts.
Remember that without the help of an adult child’s game remains at a basic level. Joint parent-child play allows you to establish a friendly atmosphere. Cherish a friendly relationship with your children and do not miss the opportunity to spend leisure time with them. Parents should create the conditions so that the child can get a real pleasure out of the trip. The memory of such a vacation will stay with everyone for a long time!
Games with words
“Guess the word”. A leader guesses a word and says the first letter. Participants in the game have to ask leading questions that can be answered “Yes” or “No.” “Is it a tree? ” – “No, it’s not an oak tree,” “Is it a utensil?” – “No, it’s not a colander,” etc., until the word is known.
“Word Dominoes.” Each next participant names a word that will begin with the last letter of the word said by the previous player. You can complicate the game by naming only furniture, clothes, tree names, etc.
“One Letter”. You have to make a phrase out of words beginning with one letter, even if it is a complete nonsense: Petya Petrov was jumping in front of pedestrians; A little gnat prevented me from musing.
“What does it look like?” A game of association, you can think of what passing clouds or bushes look like.
Games using colored pencils
“Jolly Train.” One of the players draws a train and the others take turns drawing carriages to the locomotive, with windows showing passengers: animals, birds, fairy-tale characters, or favorite characters from cartoons.
“Find the Difference.” The leader draws a simple picture (dog, house, tree, flower), passes it to other players and turns away. Players finish drawing a few details and offer the leader to determine what has changed in the picture.
“Drawing for everyone”. Think together of a theme for the future drawing. For example: “Our vacation in nature”, “The seasons”, “My family”, “My favorite hero”, etc. Each person draws what seems most important to him or her.