‘Are we nearly there yet?’ The dreaded phrase parents hear often just five minutes into a car journey! Technology has become the go-to tool to help avoid boredom setting in but this can have a negative affect on family connections . There are so many ways however to avoid screentime on car journeys and help increase that family connection.
Making regular long car trips to see family in the North York Moors and Pembrokeshire and driving down to the Alps for our Ski trip; ‘I spy’ doesn’t last long particularly on the motorway and it’s often the same things to spot which results in boredom setting in. With many of us taking Staycations this summer, why don’t you give these 10 ideas a try to keep your little (and old!) minds active……
- 20 Questions One player chooses a person, place or thing that is linked to the area you are visiting. Everyone else in the car has up to 20 questions to guess the answer.
- Two truths and a lie This can be for a place you have visited or try a family member! One player needs to state two true statements and one made up. The rest of the family need to work out the ‘lie’!
- Number plate game Get creative and think of a short three word phrase using the three letters on the car in front of you. E.g. CBR Can Bluebells Ring
- Categories Choose a list of categories and each player needs a copy. Choose a random letter and everyone needs to think of items on the list beginning with that letter. At the end of the time, everyone reads out their words – if you have a word nor one else has, you get a point.
- Make a sentence Make a list of words of things you can see out of the window – both nouns and adjectives. Try making up a sentence using the words from the list.
- Treasure hunt Prior to the journey, make a list of things that you need to look out for on the journey.
- Just a minute Talk about a subject for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition. Let the children have some prep time to make notes if this will help. Make time shorter for younger family members.
- Memory game One player starts off saying “I went on holiday and I packed a bag”. The next player repeats this and adds an extra item onto the shopping list. The next player does the same, repeating the items previously said. Keep going and see how long a list you can remember! The statement can also be changed.
- Car snooker Each player has five minutes in which they have to build the biggest break they can – using cars instead of snooker balls. So a red car must be spotted first, followed by a colour (black for seven points, pink for six, blue for five, brown for four, green for three, yellow for two), followed by another red, and so on. And, of course, the same car cannot be spotted twice.
- Easy as ABC Taking it in turns, they have to spot things out of the window beginning with A and going right through the alphabet (in order) all the way to Z. (Depending on how kind you’re feeling, or how many xylophone factories you’re likely to pass, you can let them bypass X.)
Or why don’t you try our magnetic (so no dropping of bits all over the car!) Scavenger Hunt …perfect to do wherever you are going…plus it has an additional set to play in the car – you won’t believe how many yellow cars there are!!
Thank you for reading and hope these games ensure you hear fewer ‘are we nearly there yet’ moans and help you avoid screentime on car journeys!
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