He won’t even notice that an entire hour just passed by. Challenge your son to beat his own high score in his favorite game. Let them play games on cell phones and tablets. Later on, they can add the photos they took. With these, the kids can create their own story of the trip. Grab some of those millions of brochures that tell of the local adventures and sights. Every time you stop, let them pick out postcards of the area you are in. Have them write or draw pictures of each trip you take and what they saw. Give each kid a notebook with blank paper inside, markers, and glue. Funny faces, blurry mountains, the back of Mom’s head. It will be interesting and likely funny when you see what they photographed. They can take pictures of anything they want as long as they are taken during the road trip. Instruct them to document the journey through their own eyes. If you have old cell phones or tablets assign each other one. Let your children use your cell phone camera for a period of time. Prize? They get to choose where to stop for lunch or dinner. As they spot different state license plates, they fill it in. Give everyone a blank map of the United States. The License Plate Gameĭrivers from all over the country are out there sharing the road with you. And make sure the movies help enlarge your children’s understanding of the world. It will help you peacefully chew up the miles. Give them a certain amount of time and then tell them they are going to watch a movie as a family. Let your kids play on educational apps that they enjoy. They are a best friend to the road-tripping parent. I am a big believer in limiting my kids’ screen time, except on road trips. Here are 10 ways to pass the time on a long car ride. When we stopped to clean up my son said, “This is not my day.” I responded, “Not your day? We’re the ones covered in urine.” Peeing for distance is not a great way to pass the time on a car trip, but we’ve got plenty that will make your trip easier. Coincidentally, he didn’t get one drop in the cup. It was the most impressive stream I have ever seen. He ended up hitting me, my wife, and soaking my poor daughter all the way from the farthest backseat in our minivan. When my daughter started screaming I looked in the rearview mirror just in time to see my son wide-eyed with a stream of urine coming towards me. He asked if he could go in a cup so we gave him one. My son shouted out that he had to go to the bathroom and couldn’t wait to stop. This past summer my family took a several-week car trip.

Games to play on car rides