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Original poster

I need some tips on occupying my 4yo dd on a longish car journey

26 replies

Eddas · 10/08/2008 14:48

We're off on holiday in a couple of weeks and will be driving, not a huge journey but long enough for a 4yo.

I want to pack her up some bits and bobs to keep her busy during the trip but my mind is blank. All I can think of atm is a new colouring book and maybe some reading books for her to look at(she can't read)

I'm considering a portable dvd but tbh am not sure we'd use it apart from a few times a year so not sure it's worth the money.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas of how to keep her from asking the dreaded 'are we there yet?' too often. I'm aware that this is a necessary question when driving any distance

TIA

OP posts:
FAQ · 10/08/2008 14:51

sweets, crisps, lollipops..........

well that's what I use anyhow (train/coaches rather than car) - not to everyone's taste though

ThatBigGermanPrison · 10/08/2008 14:53

Dish out a Fruitella sweet for every 10 yellow cars ... keep her up until midnight the night before.

LadyPenelope · 10/08/2008 14:56

Music/story cds
sweets
i-spy with sounds of first letters if she can do that. If not then a list of stuff to look for red car, fire engine, sheep, bus etc.

FAQ · 10/08/2008 14:57

very relieved I wasn't the only one who said sweets

Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 14:58

faq, i will be using them too

TBGP, good idea about the spotting and treat thing, will do that. spreads the treats out keeping her up late doesn't work she is just incredibly stroppy the next day. I have no idea where she gets that from

Maybe we could just stop a few more times than we'd like whenever there's a playground or something. Leave earlier and take a packed lunch???

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Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 14:58

i may even give her a fruit shoot and sausage roll

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FAQ · 10/08/2008 14:59

personally I'd make as few stops as possible - just makes the whole trip even longer.

Have done car journeys in the past (long ones) and we found that the fewer stops we made the easier it was.

Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 14:59

oooo ladypenelope i could get her a cd player(they must be cheap now) and a few story cd's brilliant idea, thanks

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Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 15:02

i suppose FAQ, makes it longer for the kids.

We did the same trip last year in one go and it was just dd's boredom that made it feel like forever!

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chocolatespiders · 10/08/2008 15:03

drawing board >> forgotten what they are called.... one that you draw on and then wipe it away

ChairmumMiaow · 10/08/2008 15:04

4yo (at the time) niece borrowed DH's ibook (old model) with a car charger for it and she and her 10yo sister watched DVDs as we drove around france (godsend on the couple of 8 hour driving days we did)

DontNeedAnything · 10/08/2008 15:11

TBH a portable DVD is worth it's weight in gold if you can afford one.

We probably use ours for an hour at a time about 6 time s year tops. But I wouldn't be without it for the world.

broccolispears · 10/08/2008 15:24

A cautionary tale: Last weekend we set off on a loooong car journey. I had a bag of distractions for dd; snacks, magazines, colouring, books, toys, games. It was the perfect recipe for car sickness. The poor lamb turned a blueish grey and vommed copiously for the rest of the journey necessitating many stops for changes of clothes and swilling out of the foot well, and boy was it fun wrestling an already nausious and pissed off 2-year-old back into a sicky car seat. We smelled delicious.

My top tip is CDs. Stories or songs or nursery rhymes, whatever she likes to listen to. We stuck them on the car player and she was amused all the way home. True, dp and I developed nervous twitches by the 184th time Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall, but no sick! Yay!

Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 15:53

chocspiders, I know what you mean. she has one of those but hasn't played with it in a while, i'll hide it now and get it out for the journey

DNA, i might see if i can find a cheap enough dvd player. it may be handy for when we are there and getting ready etc

BS, thanks for the warning, sounds like you had fun! Will limit the treats especially as we're getting a new car tomorrow(new to us anyway) don't fancy mucking it out!!

thanks for the ideas, i'm definately going to find a cd player and story cd's for her. I have a few weeks so even have enough time to look in charity shops/at bootfairs for them She can also play her high school musical cd on that to save dh's ears

Will also get her a new colouring book(s) and sticker book. she's quite into sticker books atm.

I may even make up some sheets telling her to find ten red cars etc so she can keep her own tallyshe could stick a sticker on for each one she sees lol

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MrsSchadenfreude · 10/08/2008 20:29

Medised.

Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 20:38

will pack a bottle just incase

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pointydog · 10/08/2008 20:45

How long is the journey?

iamdingdong · 10/08/2008 20:51

my twin girls are 4 and have leapsters for in the car, which they love, on really long journeys (like driving to France from the NE) I also take along a 'sac magique' with stocking filler type things in to dish out every so often (and sweets, of course )

Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 20:53

pointydog, it's around 3 hours. like i say not too long but long enough

iamdingdong, that's the sort of thing i was thinking, a bag full of tat things that she'll love to hide and dish out here and there to keep boredom in check(ish)!

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iamdingdong · 10/08/2008 20:56

quite - the cheaper and pinker the tat, the better, in the case of my 2! They also love CD stories - we have winnie the witch, the julia donaldson ones and they're just getting into some roald dahl, which is more bearable for us!

iamdingdong · 10/08/2008 20:58

3 hours will fly by - we do 2 hours just to visit my parents, 4-5 for my brother or sister and hols always longer. I'd only stop once tbh in that time

Mummyjoon · 10/08/2008 21:05

my dd is only two, so when we did a long journey driving through germany last summer we obviously timed it with sleeps but something that would work well for four yr old is to...

wrap up some surprises for the journey I chose old favourites and new books she loved the pass the parcel effect she unwrapped them in one go ,but your dd could unwrap a new layer (interspersed with sweets?) for every...red car, road sign..whatever until reaching the prize.

Lift the flap books are always a great fav too

Load ipod with favourites and use lighter thingy to tune radio and listen to stories / songs already uploaded to go- can pre sort into lively / chilled etc..

Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 21:06

you've met dd then iamdingdong she loves anything pink and sparkly

we did the same trip last year and didn't stop at all. dd was just very veyr bored. so i think if i can get some things to entertain her then it'll be fine.

am definately gonna get a cd player and cd stories. have been thinking of getting her some anyway as i loved them as a child. and she'll love her own cd player, in pink naturally

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Original poster
Eddas · 10/08/2008 21:19

mummyjoon, i like the pass the parcel idea too. she'd like that.

you know i haven't though how i'm gonna entertain ds yet either but he is only 15 months so am hoping to get him to sleep for a lot of the journey

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JiminyCricket · 10/08/2008 21:33

of course sweets and snacks..but tbh my dd's behaviour deteriorates as she loads up on sugar, so I have a pack of stuff in little bits - sandwiches/crisps/fruit cut up/raisins/juice/cheese/choc buttons/milk/water and give out a little something reasonably frequently. Then she has a kind of colouring pack - paper, colouring in, dot to dots, pens etc, and we lend her an ipod with her own headphones with stories and music on a playlist for her. We'll play i spy or 'I went on holiday and in my suitcase I packed..memory game', until I get bored then I let her know its quiet time for a bit. And we always travel at night for longer journeys, setting out about 5 or 6 so hopefully the dd's sleep later on. Don't forget spare batteries for cd player they run out really fast.