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With over 200 hundred miles yet to travel, this question from the little darlings in the back can irritate the nerves unless you take some remedial action.
On the outward journey the question was ‘Mummy, are we there yet?’ And, despite the fact that the holiday home was still four hours away, the question kept coming every five minutes. This certainly annoys the older kids and, tension within the confines of the car can start to rise.
The last thing the weary driver needs as she gives her full attention to the busy lanes, is someone distracting her.
Distractions are a must but not for the driver- for the kids.
The ‘I Spy’ game is good for maybe half an hour although I remember one episode that lasted a lot longer thanks to a not so clever mix-up by my six year old.
On one occasion my star performer spied the steering wheel and her clue was ws and it probably won’t surprise you that windscreen was the answer. However after many frustrating miles the answer was not forthcoming And there was a good reason for this, because her nibs got her steering wheel and her windscreen muddled up! She was not too popular for a while after that.
What happens when everyone gets tired of this game? Well, there’s always ‘Give Me a Clue’ but, some of those end up in almighty rows because the clue was a bit off. No thanks, a row in the back seat of the car is not a great recipe for an enjoyable journey.
What then should we do to keep three restless kids occupied as we drive that long and boring journey to the seaside?
I read an article about audio books on the internet which gave me some ideas. Off to our local electronic shop to purchase the necessary gadgets We bought each of them an MP3 player, downloaded some children’s audiobooks from the net and as Shakespeare might say, ‘the rest is silence’.
The great thing about audiobooks is that you can load several of them onto each MP3 player so that there is enough material there for both journeys, there and back. Peace for hours for a small price.
The important thing to remember is not to download the same story on each iPod or MP3 player. Instead give them all something different so that they can swap them around eventually.
I would advise you to allow the children some choice here too, so that they do not feel forced to listen to something they might not be too interested in.
It even makes sense to look ahead to the English curriculum of your local schools for inspiration. Huckleberry Finn seems to be an evergreen.
In years to come, it’s possible to turn idle time into productive time by listening to classic literature or foreign language audiobooks on the way to school.
There really is a very wide choice of titles now on audiobooks, for example, nursery rhymes, action and adventure, ghost stories, romance, animals etc…Enough to keep the entire family occupied
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