• Plan ahead: Have a talk with your kids about what they would like to do. By getting the children involved in the planning, they will be more enthusiastic and appreciate the trip more.
  • Plan frequent stops: If you are travelling a long distance, make sure you have lots of stops planned along the way so your child can use the bathroom, get some food and stretch their legs. Hopefully this will keep their crankiness (and yours) to a minimum.
  • Bring things to occupy their time: Books, colouring items, audio CDs, and games suitable for travelling are the perfect way to keep kids from fighting and complaining when they get tired from travelling.
  • Give your child a map: Giving children a map to follow will distract them and make them feel like they are contributing to the journey. It will also cut down on the constant ‘are we there yet?’
  • Play travel games: Games such as I Spy are a great way to pass the time and can be enjoyable to kids as well as adults.
  • Tell them how to behave beforehand: Make sure you let them know how they are to behave on the journey so that they have been pre-warned. (It might keep them behaved for the first part of the journey anyway). Also tell them what to do should they get separated from you.
  • Give the occasional treat: Treats for good behaviour shouldn’t be too frequent but on long journeys they will make the trip seem shorter. Stopping for ice cream is a great way to keep everyone in a good mood.
  • Be encouraging: It helps to continually encourage your child throughout the trip. Saying things like ‘I know it has been a long day and thank you for being so good.’

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