Travelling with young children

School holidays are just around the corner and many families are going a road trip. To avoid the “are we there yet” questions, plan your trip and turn it into an adventure with added interest for your little ones.

Try creating a special surprise travel pack filled with new and old books to keep your little one occupied. You might even like to include maps of where you are going. You can talk about what the different markings mean or how far you have travelled. Each time you see a sign talk about what it says, this will help your little one understands that words have meanings.

Try making up silly songs about where you are going and what you are planning on doing. Not only will your child hear new words and rhymes, but they’ll get a kick out of the funny words. Give them a chance to join in with their own words or songs.

Games are a great way to pass the time on a road trip. You might like to start with I Spy, use descriptive words to talk about what it might be “I spy with my little eye something that is fluffy and is in the sky”, your child will soon get the hang of the game and will love trying to guess what it could be.

Talk about the different coloured cars that you see as you drive along. Try playing car bingo by choosing a colour and when you see a car this colour you must call out Bingo. You can even look for the letters in your family’s names in number plates and link them to names as you find them.  

Remember car trips can be exhausting for everyone, so take plenty of breaks so that the whole family gets there happy and safe.

Safe travels!

Looking for books about road trips

• Dear Zoo, Rod Campbell
• Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, Richard Scarry
• Where’s Wally, Martin Handford
• Are we there yet? Alison Lester
• Sandy Beach, Bob Graham