Keeping a 7Yr Old Busy on a 10 Hour Trip

My 7 year old loves to listen to books on CD for long car trips. These are available from the library. My son especially loves to listen to Magic Treehouse books. Also, toys like transformers which keep his fingers busy are popular. Of course, a good game of I Spy can make time pass as well.

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My kids have been traveling 3 hours every Sunday and Wednesday to church for the past 3 years. There favorite thing to do (besides sleep) is listen to CD's like Patch The Pirate, Adventures In Odyssey, and any Audio Books. I have also recently become an independent consultant for Usborne Books & More and the kids have discovered their sticker books. They run from $6.99 to $9.99. www.myubam.com/C3029 . We also look to see how many different states license plates we can find on the way. Good Luck and have fun!

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We do a 10-12 hour drive to upstate NY several times a year. My oldest is now 7. He's the easiest of them all when it comes to travelling. We have a portable car DVD player but we only use it at the end of the day when the kids are tired of the car and it's too dark to play. My son keeps busy reading books (Magic Tree House books are his favorite series right now), coloring and activity books and his Leapster. We also have a few inexpensive single-game electronic games like battleship and tetris that are sold near the boardgames in stores - the kids like those and are for 1 person.

Take a frisbee and/or soccer ball. At a couple rest areas, take a longer break to give him 15-20 minutes to run around and play. Eat in the car while you're sitting down anyways - spend the breaks running around.

I advise against travelling at night unless you've done that before with success. Or leaving at 3-4am. We've tried both a few times and it always comes back to bite us. My kids don't sleep well in the car so they just dose off and on and end up super-cranky when we arrive. Makes for a horrible first day. :-( We've had the best luck leaving around 6am... the kids dose for another hour before being awake for the day.

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Get something he can DO which then later he can SHOW you. Maybe a simple book of magic tricks? He could learn those, then have backseat privacy to practice, then show you during rest stops. card tricks? games which are magnetic - KNEX maybe? If you have 2 set of something (magnetic checkers / chess/ backgammon) then front passenger could have one in their lap to match. Call out your plays, both move pieces to match, play together without facing each other.

I used to play Tic Tac Toe with my dad at that age. Paper became boring, we played it mentally (1-9). Then we switched to Roman Numerals (I - IX). Then finally in 3D (1-9, 10-18, 19-27) then in Roman Numerals. (1&14&27 is a winner!)

Battleship is perfect for this also. Origami would be a learn & show activity.

Solitaire is okay too. have several decks of cards - no climbing around unbuckled in the backseat because you dropped some. Find those during rest stops.

If you get books, go for a larger (not smaller) print to avoid car sickness.

get a lapdesk (Michael's) to contain all the "stuff".

have a great trip!

Good luck!

I have always traveled with my two children on very long road trips and they have enjoyed having a variety of book s to read...songs of their choice to listen to and mostly little disposable cameras (if you have a digital that would be even better) so they can take their pictures from their view of the trip. Then, as you are cruising along you can go through the photos and have him explain the pictures he took and put together his own scrapbook of memories. Another idea is to put a bag on the back of the seat in front of him with accessible "stuff", easy to grab snacks, paper and crayons/colored pencils, books to look at along with some pictures of familiar home things to look at. He may enjoy having a scrapbook of home before leaving...include pictures of his room, friends, school and house. Hope this helps and enjoy your trip! The more you enjoy yourself the more likely it will be reflected upon him!

When we went on trips I always got a new book. We also played lots of games such as the states game and trying to spot a liscence plate from every state. The states game is naming a state such as Alabama. You then take the last letter (a) and find another state Alaska or something. You can add cities or anything else you want.

Travel at night. It's the only time we'd drive long distances when our children were little. There's less traffic and regardless of how tired you are, it'll be worth it.

A.,

I have two small boys (ages 5 & 7) and we often travel for a trip of about 7 hours. Some things we do:

1. Print out a map of the US showing the state borders, then have the driver and passenger(s) help call out the state license plates for the child to color in. We make one map for the trip out, and one for the trip home.

2. Visit the dollar store or craft store (without your son). Seal into a paper bag some little surprise for each hour of your trip. You can put in some small snack and an activity. A magnetic board with various shapes. A couple small matchbox cars. A handful of different colors of string or yarn. A box of paperclips. Some post-it notes and various colors of pens or markers. A sticker book. A notebook and some small stencils. A package of pipe cleaners. String, pony beads, and a pattern. Legos, bionicles, or other "building" items.

3. Each hour that he is awake, he gets another paper bag to open.

This has worked well for me during plane flights as well. The kids look forward to the next "present" and the bags provide a place to store the items so the car/plane doesn't get all messed up.

Best wishes,
K.

I have a friend that took her young girls to Disney alot . She got cheap dollar store toys and wrapped them like presents, every hour or so let them open a new one. It adds anticiption and excitement also the new toy keeps them entertained for at least that long lol

One of the htings that worked for us was a surprize bag of "new" stuff that the children had not seen before. The things that I put in the bag were not any big deal things but actually dollar store finds. A coloring book and new crayons, makers the next day, a small sey of different cars, puzzle book etc. I developed the bag to fit the child and on a three day trip the children got one new item each day. You could develop your own time table. Each child also developed their own bag of small"favorites" so that we had familiar and new to keep them occupies.

we used to play the alphabet game. find each letter outside the car only, the first one to z wins! I also would go to the dollar store and get a few small 'prizes', books, or toys, anything he would like. 1 for each border that we crossed, and put them in little bags, or wrap them in the funny pages. each time we would cross a border, he'd get a 'prize' for being so well behaved! since they were new, he'd play with them. since they were cheap, i didn't care if they got lost or broken on the trip! also, you can take an old baking sheet, and magnets to play with. my daughter likes that one. oh, also, if you have an old camera, let him take pictures! especially if it is a digital, he can take pics all the way there! them you can delete whatever you want! that one's not real cheap, but my 5 year old loves seeing all the pics she took, and she's getting pretty good @ it too!

DVD player is good, so are the hand held games, coloring is fine and so are things like the "alphabet" game where you find signs along the road and do the alphabet A thru Z off the signs, even the driver can play with him. We also used to have sing-a-longs with the children. They (or we) would sing a line from a song and the other people had to guess what the song title was, or we just sang songs together. He will probably sleep part of the way as well. I think you have it covered as well as you can.

Thw last time we took a cartrip I got a 3 pack of cookie sheets, put dry erase contact paper on one side and spray painted chalkboard on the other and got magnetic letters and numbers from dollar tree. I also had some magnetic fashion plate dolls and kept it all with chalks, dry erase markers and stencils in a zip up bag. This gave the kids hours of entertainment as well as a lap tray for meals and snacks and desk for coloring in their coloring books. When we got out, everything went on the cookie sheet and slid under the van seat so it was out of the way. Plus-pencils, magnets, markders and chalks don't melt like crayons.
I also got some $1 dollar store knick nack toys- one for each day and they got a new gift each day...saved on the "I WANT the cheapo junk suvineer" fight. A mini puzzle, a ball with string attached to a velcro on bracelet for rest stop entertainment, a funny shaped cup with attached straw - little things went a long way on that trip :-). (Indiana to Virginia, Washington DC and back)
Have fun!
F.

Wow you have got a lot of great answers, like others we used the whole cd thing. My kids love Adventures in Odessey (sp) so we got some from the library for our trip to Wisconsin from Ohio. I had 3 at the time so two would share a headset or if hubby and I didn't mind we would play so the whole car could hear. For Missouri we used the cd players again and borrowed a portable dvd player. We traveled at night on that trip. Our last trip was to disney (we flew) I found cheap MP3s online at Toys R Us and loaded them with music each of the kids liked. Even my 2yr old got his own. I did monitor them, as my older ones liked them alittle too loud. When traveling locally the kids like to play a game that we have to find our letters for our names on car plates. Can't use more than one letter from a plate. Christian always lost to Emily! LOL Good luck and safe travels.

DVD's are GREAT and you wouldn't make it on that long of a trip WITHOUT it, BUT.......don't bring it out at the start of the trip because that's all he'll want to do!! DON'T FORGET THE SNACKS! Also, books on tape. IF you had a tape/CD player with headphones that would be great or pop in the car's player and he'll read along. Don't know if you are travelling alone with him, but if there are more than one adult in car, break up the time by sitting in back with him, reading, talking, playing and napping!!!! That would be my other suggestion about not bringing out the DVD's at the start of trip as you will have a harder time with him falling asleep ---- and a sleeping child travels the BEST of all!!

There are plenty of fun things you can do......see how many out of state license plates you find, not the state you are in. Play music that he likes and everyone sing!! Put together a group of "presents". These are cheap fun things he can open every couple of hours or so and play with while he is on the road. We had 4 kids, so we cheated, we drove at night while they slept. Then when they woke up, surprise, we were there!!! Another thought as well. Good luck and have a very safe trip!

A personal CD player or MP3 player with ear phones, whatever, so he can listen to music of his choice without subjecting you to it too. A book of words games- word searches, brain teasers, kids' crossword puzzles etc. Adventure novels for kids- I think they are called "Choose your own adventure" books. They probably make a ton of electronic versions these days too, I just remember the old paperbacks. Any series he is interested in reading- Hardy Boys etc. I used to love counting semi trucks on the road. And seeing how many states of license plates you could find. Stop often for stretch breaks too- he'll be less cranky over all if he gets to walk around a bit occasionally; stop at the roadside parks for your potty breaks- sometimes they have a short trail you can walk. Safe travels :)

Hi A.,

I haven't read all responses, so forgive any duplication. Shannon S has many good suggestions--especially Talking!

Just watching out the window is something to do, because there will probably be some sort of change in the landscape if you are traveling that far. We have an awesomely beautiful country, he has a great opportunity to see some of it. Many kids will never have a chance to take a trip like that.

Does your child like drawing? or writing? bring plain paper and pen/pencils, and/or a journal. My youngest (now 14) still does origami on trips sometimes.

CDs to sing along with. Or browse the radio stations and listen for different accents of the announcers, different content of news reports (e.g., here near Lake Erie we get small craft warnings, in farm country you get corn prices).

I like the idea of coloring in the state on the map when you spot a license plate from that state. Or you could just keep a list.

When we went to California from Ohio when I was 12, I kept a list of all the rivers we crossed.

Show how to read a map, and when he asks "where are we?" tell him "we are on highway x and we just passed the junction of highway Y". He can make a mark on the map. Then in 15 min. when the question comes again, You can say "we just passed the junction of highway Z" and he can make another mark.

some word games that can be played by the driver as well as passengers--I forget the names, but one goes like this: First player starts out thinking of a word and says the first letter for example "B" (for black, but you don't tell the word). Next player adds a letter for example "A" (because he's thinking of "Bat" but he doesn't say that). Next player might add "C" thinking of "Back". Next player will probably say "K" for back--this player loses because he/she has finished the word. This player could also have said "T" thinking of bacteria. If challenged, the player must say the word s/he is thinking of If other people don't catch on to what it mught be. It is interesting to see how the words kind of "Twist and turn" as you adjust to the letters put forth by other players. I wouldn't emphsize the winning/losing aspect, more the fun of "Gee we sure thought of a lot of different words!" aspect.

Alphabet sights--first person looks out window for something that starts with A, next person looks for something with B, etc.

Alphabet lists--see if you can come up with a list of flowers starting with each letter of the alphabet, e.g. aster, bluebells, carnation daisy,.....zinnia.

Try alpha lists of other stuff--states, countries, sports, foods, board/card games. He can keep a list on paper if he wants.

Travel scrabble game--no, the driver can't play along, but your child can arrange the letter tiles to make crosswords. At your destination you and he can play it the regular way.

Is there a travel bingo game? You could say the numbers randomly. He could open a treat bag when he gets a bingo.

Look for pictures in the clouds.

Give him a disposable camera so he can take his own pictures. Remember to stop at the scenic overlooks (at least some of them) so he can take a photo (and stretch his legs).

Have him start a letter to a friend at home telling about the trip. He can finish at your destination.

Does he need to review his math facts? If you are the only other adult, just ask him orally (You can't exactly do flash cards while driving). See how many in a row he gets right, and congratulate him on that, raher than dwelling on the inevitable wrong answer. If there are two adults, one can drive and one can do the flash cards.

Does he do sudoku? print off a bunch of puzzles from WebSudoku before you leave.

Other word tricks--see how many words you can make from the letters is one word--e.g. "Charm" has charm, harm, arm, char; if you re-arrange letters you can get car, mar, Marc, ram. You can do this orally, or he can write on paper, dry-erase board, whatever.

Make up your own stories. One person starts, leaves off at a particularly exciting point, and the next person continues. You can even do sentences this way and see what kind of funny stuff you end up with.

Tell jokes.

Mad-libs these can get hilarious!

If you see an unusual house, or one in an unusual spot (e.g. the top of a hill) speculate about what it would be like to live there.

Use your imagination, I am sure you will have fun. I am envious--I wish I were going too!

K. Z.

My daughter has a v- smile with games that really seemed to keep her busy on our 18 hour trip to orlando she is six and the v-smile really is a cool ystem to help with learning. hope that helps and enjoy your trip!

Count your blessings it is only 1 child. Two start fighting, they don't entertain each other! At least that is what I have found. Good luck on your trip. I hope you all have a good time.
R.

We LOVE books on tape. We always go to the library before one of our trips to NJ - which take us 12-13 hours with the kids and my 7 and four year old love them - just make sure they are age appropriate.
Beverly Cleary's "Mouse and the Motorcycle" would be great for a 7 yr old boy, also her Henry Huggins series, or any of "The Magic Tree house" series by Mary Pope Osborn, I have never heard of a kid in that age range that didn't LOVE the tree house books : )

Good luck!

Looks like you already have a lot of great advice! Here is a website with lots of cheap or free activities to do in the car using things like string and aluminum foil. There are "car bingo" sheets you can print out - it has pictures of things you might see on the road and you mark them off when you spot them until you get Bingo. Good luck! http://www.momsminivan.com/

I always get a chuckle out of the posts "HELP! Going on a trip w/ a child! What to do?!" :-) I've been taking a 6hour trip (one way) with my daughter once a month since she was 3 1/2. The best advice I can give is TALK with them! I have grown to love the one on one time with her, looking back over the years I can see how she has developed too thinking about the trips. She used to be into webkins and we would play 'webkins' (talking toys) for 3+ hours at a time (YES I grew to hate the little animals rofl). She has a Nintendo DS that she brings with her but honestly she doesn't play it that often. She also brings what ever book she happens to be reading at the time and spends a few hours reading her book. I would say that either your husband or you (who ever isn't driving) should sit in back with him to make interacting a bit easier. She also ends up taking a nap at some point on the way down, anywhere between 30min to a hour or more so that takes a bit of trip up.
Also if your trip takes you through Knoxville there is an AMAZING book store there, about the size of a small walmart, that my daughter and I LOVE to stop at. www.mckaybooks.com/ If you think you will be needing a pit stop some where around that part of your trip and you love books I would HIGHLY recommend this store! They have everything from DVD's, videos, games, game systems, music and of course TONS of books!
Good luck on your trip and I am sure it will be memorable.

My girlfriend used to do this with her kids. She would wrap or even just put a little something in a paper bag and let the kids open one every hour or 2 hours depending on the length of the trip. It could be a little puzzle or book or crayons and paper or new dvd. Obviously something they could do in the car. She did it for my kids on the way to Williamsburg. They loved it! Good luck

DVD's are a great idea! How about a book on tape that you can all listen to and then talk about every so often. My kids always liked short stories on tape (CD's) that we could all listen to and laugh at. Have fun!

I sell Usborne Books that are suited for kids Birth-Teenagers. We have activity cards that can be great for traveling. We have hunt and find books-like the Highlight book. We have stencil books , arts and crafts, kid kits for a lap desk in the car. We have stories that come with CD's . We have books that are stories with jigsaw puzzles. You pull out the pieces and the picture to match is underneath. We have books about trucks and cars, planes, pirates, wizards, dinosaurs etc.

Check out my website. Order directly off my site and your order is at your home within a week or less.

J. R.
ubah.com/T2267

BRAIN QUEST for 2nd grade (assuming he's in second grade), seek and finds, word searches, mazes. We use these ALL the time for travel and have NO problems. The other thing we do is SING....lots of silly songs. These are things I KNOW she will always remember.