Vacations are always interesting ways of spending some quality time with your family and kids. And road trips are an integral part of vacations, but if a long drive is about starting from a point and reaching the other end, then it is a great idea to plan your next family trip by road as a journey instead. Every summer vacation, I plan much ahead of time to visit and explore a new place as it not only refreshes the mind and body, but also helps me to teach my little kids about new places, culture and traditions.
I loved to travel to various places when I was single, but after marriage and kids, things have changed a bit and at times the idea of travelling with a toddler often created fear in my heart. Some days your little one may sit quietly and flip through a book during the journey and other days, even a 5 minute drive to the nearby store can be a chaos. Travelling with kids can be rough and if the journey is long, then your child may start getting bored and lose patience. If you really want to keep the peace in the backseat, then preventing boredom is important. Thankfully, technology has created numerous gadgets to satisfy even little kids and there are also interesting games available in the market that can keep your kids busy and entertained during the long journey.
Keeping your kids occupied during the travel time should not be your prime focus, it is also important to help them learn something from the games. So, here in this piece of writing, I will discuss with you how gadgets and some interesting games can help your kids in learning even while travelling.
Some gadgets that can make your child so immersed, that they won’t even ask the question if they have reached the destination.
Tablets: Recent surveys have often stated that tablets are great ways to keep your kids entertained on trains, cars or even planes, An Apple iPad can be a perfect device as there are more kids’ oriented apps and even e-books for the iOS platform and kids will love the wide variety. You can also check the Amazon kindle fire, Google Nexus 7 or the Samsung Galaxy tab, which is perfect for little kids.
MP3 Players: Another gadget that many parents agreed on is the iPod touch. It is small and easy to hold for younger kids than the iPad and is a great device to keep the kids and teens busy during travelling. They can watch good movies, listen to music and even shoot HD videos and document all their events while on a typical family vacation.
Educational gadgets: Today in the market, you will find various educational toys and gadgets that offer lots of educational content for little kids. The LeapPad is a great combination of a tablet and educative resources. With it, you can have access to over a hundred cartridge games and activities that you can download and buy. With a built in camera, video recorder, accelerometer, it can do everything that a child wants to do.
Some interesting games that are great ways to make travel educational for children
Word games: You can easily ask your child to choose a passing car and use the letters on the license plate to make up a phrase with the beginning of the letter. You can also play antonyms where you have to choose a word and then name its antonym or opposite. The winner in this picks the next word. Some words to get you started may include strong, brave, polite, cheap and etc.
Interactive books: These books have flabs to lift, wheels to turn, stickers that can be moved around and they are great ways to enhance a child’s motor skills. Such books stimulate a child’s thinking and hold their attention for a longer time than any other normal story book.
Puzzle games: We all know that puzzles are great for the child’s mind and cognitive development. To make travelling fun and entertaining, you can buy a puzzle game for your child and ask them to find the piece needed to complete the game. This will teach your child to use their own minds and try to solve problems and even think in a logical manner. Not only this, simple jigsaw puzzles help to enhance a child’s memory and learn to recognize and sort shapes before they can be assembled.
Scavenger Hunt: Whether you are travelling by a car or a train, playing a scavenger hunt can be fun for the entire family. Instead of asking questions to your kids to find some items, compose a list of clues and help them work through the problems to understand the next steps. This will need them to use their critical thinking skills.
So with the above tips to follow, I don’t think you will have to undergo a brainstorming session about keeping your kids busy while travelling. So, next time you plan a vacation, make the journey interesting and fun filled and of course a memorable one for the whole family.
