Do you often travel with your child in a car or on a bus?
Don’t know what to do with your child in line at a store or clinic?
Are you going on vacation by car and have a long journey ahead of you with your child?
Our selection of games for children on the road is especially for you!
The distinctive feature of these games is that they do not require any additional accessories. Just you and the child. These games will allow you to spend time on the road interestingly and usefully for the development of your child’s horizons. By the way, many of these games are familiar to all of us from childhood. It’s just that, as adults, we forgot about them a little 😉
1. Game “I know five...”
IN classic version I play this game with a ball, but on the road the ball can be completely replaced with claps. I know five vegetables..., I know five fruits..., I know five colors, I know five musical instruments... etc. Depending on the chosen topic, the game can be adapted for children of any age and significantly expand the child’s vocabulary.
You can choose more difficult topics for yourself, and suggest simpler topics to your child :)
2. Game “Generalizations”.
This game is great for developing analytical thinking. You name a few words, and the child’s task is to think and say what these words have in common. Depending on the age of the child, the number of items and the complexity of the generalization criterion may vary.
Trees, flowers, colors, instruments, fruits and vegetables, musical instruments, planets, seas and oceans - everything that comes to your mind!
3. Game "Antonyms"
Suitable for older children, although little ones can handle it quite well if you select concepts familiar to the child. Hot-cold, day-night, dry-wet. In this game, perhaps, what is also important is how many antonyms you can choose yourself!
4. Game “What will fit in the box”
We teach the child to think broadly and outside the box.
The box is an abstract object, you can choose a jar, bag, suitcase or some other container that your child can imagine.
The essence of the game is to name all the objects starting with the selected letter that will fit into your container.
For example, all items starting with the letter A that will fit in the box: pineapple - apricot - analgin - string bag - bus - car - autograph - fountain pen, etc.
5. Game “An extra word”
The adult names a sequence of several words, and the child’s task is to choose which of the words is superfluous. Older children can be asked to identify the sign themselves, and kids can be labeled.
For example, you can drink this - compote - water - juice - bread - kefir.
Or we have apple trees, pears, carrots, rabbits, currants growing in our garden
6. Game “I see something...”
This game is an excellent option for the road, it promotes the development of attentiveness and observation.
I see something green...
I see something small...
I see someone giving milk..
If the child fails to guess the object the first time, then the following clues are given in the same style, describing the object.
7. The game, familiar to everyone from childhood, “Will you go to the ball?”
Did you still play as a child? The host asks questions, and the player answers them. The presenter’s task is to ask questions that can be answered in black-and-white or yes-no, and the player’s task is to answer questions and not say these words.
It may be a little difficult for very young children, but children aged 5 years and older play this game perfectly.
We develop resourcefulness, attentiveness, and intelligence.
8. Yes and no game
One of the players thinks of a word, the others take turns asking leading questions. The presenter answers questions only with monosyllabic yes or no. The first one to guess what the word is, the presenter takes his place and guesses his word.
9. Game with numbers
If you are driving a car or walking down the street, you can play numbers with a child of any age.
Study numbers, looking for cars with certain numbers in their license plates;
Learn the alphabet by choosing cars with specific letters of the alphabet;
Learn to compare - find machines with 2 repeating or consecutive numbers;
Learn to count - add up the numbers in the license plate of the car ahead or look for cars with a certain value for the sum of all the numbers.
10. Learning languages.
If you are sufficiently fluent in a language and want to teach it to your child or test his knowledge, then on the road all the objects you encounter can be called in Russian and, for example, in English. So, in the game, the child will perfectly master the basic words of another language.
11. Game of cities.
Suitable for older children and can also be great entertainment on the road. By the way, you can name not only cities, but also objects on any other topic.
12. Game "Caravan"— we train the child’s memory and at the same time test our own!
The first player names an animal - the second player repeats the animal and names his own - the next player repeats 2 animals and adds his third, and so we take turns collecting a caravan until someone makes a mistake.
You can assemble such a caravan chain not only from animals, but also from various objects, and you can play both together or with a whole group.
Game 13 - everyone’s favorite game since childhood: “edible - not edible”.
It is difficult to throw a ball on the road, but you can offer your child some other actions.
For example, on an edible object, pat yourself on the tummy “Oh, delicious..”, and on a non-edible object, make a movement, as if moving a plate away from you.
In advance, before leaving, think about what you will do with your child on the road - this way you can avoid the dissatisfied whining of a bored baby. Of course, you shouldn’t just entertain your child with games all the way; leave him some time for contemplation.
If you are traveling in a car, on a train or flying on an airplane, you can also use these simple games in which the child plays independently.
Game 14 - “photo reporter”.
You can give your child a simple camera or phone and invite him to take pictures of what he likes, and then use the best photos to create his own collage about his impressions;
Game 15 - “artist”.
You can offer your child an album in which he can draw what he sees or what he remembers on the road;
Game 16 - books with stickers, beloved by all children.
Nowadays, such books are inexpensive, and a huge number of them are produced, targeting children aged one year and older.
All road games are not only a child’s entertainment, but also a huge benefit, because they allow the child to broaden his horizons, develop certain skills, and consolidate existing knowledge.
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For those who like to paint with a brush and dip it in water, water coloring from Milissa&Doug is suitable.
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Don’t be alarmed, despite the presence of a brush and the use of water in painting, this coloring book is perfect for traveling; the set includes a magic brush that fills with water and paints like a regular wet brush.
The coloring book contains thick cardboard pages, drawings are drawn with a bright black outline, and the pages themselves are covered with a white film, which becomes transparent when wet, thereby creating the effect of coloring. There's a lot in Coloring Book interesting tasks for execution.
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Thanks to the presence of such a magical water brush in the set, you can take with you a regular water coloring, on which a layer of paint has already been applied, and when wet, you can paint a certain area with it.
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The large wooden case from the schoolchildren's set can easily accommodate many mini-games and drawing supplies.
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I used this particular case because it can be used as a table, it has a hard surface and a fairly large area. You can draw and sculpt on it. There is a magnetic coating inside the case, thanks to which you can play magnetic games with your child.
I have three games from Vlady Toys in my case. The first one is called “Wipe and Wipe.” An excellent game that develops attention, logic and prepares the hand for writing. The set contains 16 laminated task cards and a dry erase marker. Younger children who are just learning to scribble will find it interesting to simply draw anything and then erase it.
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The second mini-game “Who lives where?” with Masha and the Bear. Fans of this cartoon will especially like the game. The set contains 4 thick cardboard fields and a laminated sheet with images of animals, as well as a strip of 10 Velcro. By gluing Velcro to the indicated places, the child can place different animals in their houses. The game is educational and will captivate the child for 15-20 minutes, which is up to 50 km. ways))))
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The third game is also from the Masha and the Bear series. It's called "Pizza on Magnets" - my first culinary masterpieces. The set includes a 4-piece round pizza base and two pieces of toast to place specific ingredients on. You can also complicate the game by using a field with an arrow, with the help of which we will select which player is currently putting which product on the pizza.
What’s remarkable is that the game does not require additional magnetic boards. The pizza base and toast are already equipped with a magnetic surface to which our ingredients can be easily attached.
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Also in the case I have drawing sheets, pencils and a sharpener, wax crayons and many different magnets from other sets for magnetic fairy tales. I have chosen the child’s favorite magnets and plan to act out the fairy tales that the child asks to see most often. The case also contains magnetic cardboard “Mom and Baby” that the child must connect correctly, this should also distract him for a while.
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Now I’ll tell you about books and developmental magazines.
We take two encyclopedias with us. One general one, which very successfully contains all the most necessary information for a child from one to three years old. Blue “Encyclopedia for the little ones” by A. Eremina. Bright pictures, everything is clear and accessible. The material is presented by topic: animals, flowers, fruits and vegetables, pets, toys, professions, the Universe, volcanoes, technology, sports, etc.
The second book is about transport. I took it a little too young for my age, but there are a lot of pictures and new interesting facts for the child about his favorite transport.
Don’t be afraid to take literature for an older age; choose an interesting, bright book for your child on a topic in which he is most interested.
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And of course our favorite educational magazines with stickers by Olga Zemtsova. I have the whole series at home, the magazines are divided by topic. On the road, I take a new magazine that the child was not familiar with before. And I made the journal “preparing the hand for writing” for 2-3 years old reusable, wrapping it in a transparent thick file bag, and now you can draw on it with a dry erase marker from the previously discussed set “Write and Wipe”
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And the most delicious thing for a snack! This is kinetic sand and modeling compound. A child at home can hang out with these toys for a very long time; if the parent supports the game, then the child is busy with his favorite activity for an hour. We use Play Do for modeling; it does not stick to hands or other surfaces, does not stain anything around it, holds its shape perfectly, smells good and is very pleasant to the touch. You can create a lot of different games with modeling clay.
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Kinetic sand is also a hit when playing at home in rainy weather or in the winter in the evening, when there is nothing to do outside. I didn’t take a lot of sand, just enough for a child to make a small castle, a car, load sand into our mini-dump truck or hide animals there. I put the sand in a mini-container bought at the supermarket.
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To play with sand and modeling material, I will use our wooden case as a table. Several small beads and molds were placed in a small jar of mayonnaise, as well as favorite figurines from Kindersurprises and a couple of cars, and a few more mosaic pieces. All these are different colors, and of course you can come up with another game sorting by colors, shapes, etc. You can wrap several new figures in foil, the child will be interested in unwrapping surprises. You can also take a few Lego pieces on the road or another designer
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I’ll be honest, during the whole trip I didn’t use all the toys that I had prepared and to my surprise the child was more interested in things that I wouldn’t have even paid attention to. For example, he played with a car ashtray (clean of course) for almost half an hour, hiding it there cars and other figures, but I only drew for 10 minutes)) So you can’t guess here, but it’s better to prepare more than to not know how to entice your child later
Games are games, but the child still needs to move! This needs to be taken into account. If you are traveling by train, then there is no problem; the child can run around the carriage whenever he wants. But if you are driving, be sure to stop and charge with your child.
Have a good trip!
When planning a trip with your child, you should definitely take care in advance of what you will do to keep him occupied and entertained on the road. Of course, some kids love to spend time sweetly looking at the surrounding landscapes outside the window. But this, as a rule, happens no longer than 10-15 minutes and not with all children. To ensure that your child remains cheerful and carefree until the end of the trip, and does not suffer from boredom and limited space, think about what entertainment might interest him.
Let the baby get used to the new place in the first hours of the trip. He will probably be interested in looking at a train compartment or passengers in an airplane. Even if your trip is by car, you don’t need to try to entertain your child from the first seconds. Only when he gets bored of looking at the views outside the window, offer him a choice of several activities.
It is best to take small and multifunctional toys with you. Of course, they will all depend on the age of the child. It is more difficult to interest young children, but there are plenty of interesting options. For example, small toys or books with bright pictures and interesting inserts - windows. And the kids school age They will enjoy playing various riddles and oral games that develop logic.
We have prepared for you several ways to entertain children on the road, depending on their age.
10 proven ways to keep your baby interested on the go
- Children's books with bright pictures, laces and inserts. With windows and manipulations. Children love to turn over small pages with their hands, open windows and look for hidden animals or favorite cartoon characters. It is especially good if the book has many pages so that the child can look at it for as long as possible. That way he won’t get bored with her for a long time.
- Finger Theater. Nowadays various sets with heroes of Russian folk tales are sold. For example, card dolls with slots for fingers or rag dolls, which are also easy to put on your fingers and play your favorite fairy tales. They will even be interested small child, talking to him on behalf of the fairy-tale hero.
- Stickers, Velcro, magnets– everything that is easy to rearrange and re-glue many times is very convenient. Transport, animals of the world, folk tales, cartoon characters, dolls with clothes - there are so many stories in educational games. Especially convenient are reusable stickers, which the child will re-stick from place to place an infinite number of times! Believe me it's very exciting activity, because the plots are diverse and interesting for the child. Starting from cars and vehicles with various roads, ending with doll houses with various interior items and rooms, it can also be a kitchen with different cutlery and household appliances.
- Interesting trivia. Every mother should have such a “magic bag” with interesting little things on hand. Place it in your cosmetic bag small toys from kinders, animal figurines, cars, any entertaining little things. The child will be happy to sort through, arrange them and put them back together again. If the baby can already speak well, ask him to pull out the toys one at a time and try to guess what he is holding in his hands without looking at it. This game develops fine motor skills and imagination.
- Drawing board. In a children's store, buy a small drawing tablet: a plastic board on which a picture is drawn with a felt-tip pen, and then everything can be easily erased with one movement. There are other options, where on the felt-tip pen itself with reverse side There is a brush that erases the design. Such tablets are very convenient for traveling, because it is convenient to draw right on your knees, in the absence of a table.
- Modeling mass. It does not stick to hands or surrounding objects, does not stain, holds its shape perfectly, smells good and is very pleasant to the touch. A plastic modeling board will take up little space, but will make working with plasticine easier. With modeling clay it is easy to come up with a lot of different games.
- During your trip, come up with or learn some funny and short rhyme with your baby. It should be easy to remember and funny. Then the child will repeat it all the way, and thereby train his memory.
- Listen to music or your favorite fairy tales. Download various interesting audio fairy tales and funny children's songs to your tablet or phone in advance. It is especially good to choose songs about the road and travel. Listening to them on the road, the baby will quickly remember the words and lines from the songs, and on the way back he will sing along with the words he has learned by heart.
- Surprise toy. Be sure to please your baby with a few new toys. Take them out at the moment when the child is already bored with everything, he begins to be capricious and does not know what to do with himself. These can be bubble, a kinder surprise, a doll for a girl or a new car for a boy, in a word, everything that will please your child.
- Sighting games. Take any small items that you have on hand. For example, a spoon, a pen, a comb and a toy. Arrange them in a certain order, let the child take a good look at the objects and remember their location. Then ask him to look away or close his eyes for a second. Swap or remove an item. Let the child tell you what is missing or what is out of place. This game develops concentration and memory. And the mother will not have to invent complex games and activities for the child.
Of course, it is sometimes difficult to interest very young children, at the age of about a year, even with the most interesting toys. Then improvised means come to the rescue. Many children, for example, love to take napkins out of a pack, especially if it is a large package with a lid. Or enjoy unwrapping the rustling foil. Wrap some small toy in several layers of paper or foil and your child will happily unwrap the rustling “cabbage” for several minutes. True, you will then have to collect all the torn and scattered pieces of paper, but these are trifles compared to the minutes of silence and calmness of the child.
Games on the road for older children
Game "Riddle an Object". The child has already eaten, slept, and drawn, but there is still a long way to go? Don't be bored! Make a wish for some object that you may encounter along the way. For example, a car of a certain color, a river, a tree, a gas station or a bridge. The one who notices it first wins.
Guess the drawing. If you are traveling by train, then “drawing” on your back would be a great game. Just move your finger along the child’s back, and let him try to guess what you “drew.” Start with the most simple figures– circle, square, etc. If the child has already gotten the hang of it and guesses the drawn object well, come up with something more complicated - a house, letters or numbers.
Board games . There are now a huge number of compact games on sale that are convenient to take with you on the road. Walkers, adventure games, children's lotto and dominoes take up a minimum of space. Also take a closer look at various cards for training memory and attention - memories or “chameleon”, which captivate not only children, but also adults. 
Thimbles. This game does not require any special props; you usually take everything with you on the road. disposable cups which are perfect for her. Place several cups turned upside down on a flat surface and hide a candy or coin in one of them. Ask your child to carefully watch the cups and guess where the surprise is. Change and move the cups, but so that the child can keep up with your manipulations.
Oral games are a great option for younger preschoolers and schoolchildren.
First letter . Whoever names the most objects with a given letter wins. Let the child look at the views outside the window and name various items or lists everything that is around it.
Guess the word. You think of a word, and the child must guess it by asking questions about the properties of the hidden object. It will be more interesting to play if the answers are only “yes” or “no”. If the answer is ambiguous, then minor clarifications are allowed. For example, the word is airplane and the participant asks: “Is this object made of metal?”, the answer is “Yes, but not entirely made of it.” Then you change, the child guesses the word, and the rest guess.
Words of opposites. A very interesting and simple game, all the child needs to do is choose a word that is completely opposite in meaning. For example, cold - hot, soft - hard, summer - winter.
That's how the beast is. This entertainment is based on the formation of one complex word from two simple ones. The Russian language even has its own connection rule for them. For example, we all know such words as: autopilot, vacuum cleaner, microwave, milk truck. Offer your child any two words to connect, it is better if they are not connected in meaning. This will make it even funnier for them to form new words. This activity will greatly amuse your fidget. Because in this way, not only strange creatures are obtained, such as, for example, hedgehogs, fishlegs, elephanthorns, spoondogs, autocats, but also many other strange alien creatures.
A change of scenery is very important on the road, regardless of age. You should use any break during the trip to give your child a chance to breathe a little. fresh air and warm up. And if you travel by train, then you have the opportunity to walk to the dining car or get to the very end car and watch the rails run away. When stopping, try to go outside so that the child can get some air and move around, it is advisable to even do a little exercise. This greatly lifts your spirits and gives you strength to continue your journey.
Of course, when toys don’t help, the easiest way is to turn on the tablet to watch cartoons or movies. But it’s still more useful to while away the hours of the trip with exciting joint games, communication and development of observation skills. We hope that our tips and recommendations will help your family have a fun and useful time on the road!
Let's start with finger games. You can play them with children of any age anywhere: in a car, train, plane, train station or airport. Don't forget to learn a few new games for little fingers before your trip!
Piggy. Lightly squeeze the baby’s toes, starting with the big one, while reciting the poem:
This pig eats sausages
This one is sweet toffee,
This pig is eating jam
This one likes cookies.
This one says: “Oink-oink,
I love potatoes!”
Finally, tickle your baby's heel. In the same way, you can play with your fingers on your hands, shaking them or bending them.
Scratch-scratch! Place your baby's hand on your open palm. Recite the rhyme while shaking your palm slightly. And when you say “scratch-scratch”, grab the baby’s hand. At the same time, say: “Hurry up, quickly put away the pen! Hide your pen! I’ll grab it, I’ll grab it!” At first the baby will just laugh, then he will understand the meaning of the game and begin to hide his hand as soon as he hears the command “scratch-scratch”.
Along the palm, along the path
A small cat is walking.
In fluffy paws
I hid the scratches.
If you suddenly want -
He will sharpen his claws.
Scratch-scratch!
What to do with your child on the road: peek-a-boo and other fun
Often simple games are the most effective. As soon as a child begins to be capricious while traveling, remember the favorite “peek-a-boo” and all kinds of hide and seek - the whims will disappear as quickly as possible!
Cuckoo! You can come up with many variations of this game. First, cover your face with your palms, then open it and say: “Ku-ku!” Each time you remove your hands, change your facial expression, make grimaces, make the child laugh by showing only part of the face (for example, lips, nose, one eye). You can cover your face with a handkerchief or hide the baby himself under the handkerchief. You can also hide behind the back of the chair and look out from there. Try looking out from the same side of the chair several times, and then from the other. This will be a surprise for the baby: after all, he was waiting for you in a completely different place.
Spider. Imagine that your hand is a spider. Let the “spider,” moving its paws and fingers, crawl along the baby’s leg, then along the tummy, reach the chest, fall down and begin its ascent again to the rhythmic rhyme:
Brave spider
Climbed a tree
The wind rose
And the spider fell off.
But soon the wind died down,
And the sun is shining.
Our spider again
Conquering peaks.
Where is the toy? Take a small toy and hide it in your clenched fist in front of your baby. Let the baby reach for the toy by extending your fingers. The toy can be hidden in different boxes, wrapped in a handkerchief, etc. Let the baby find it and get it.
Where's the spout? Ask your child: “Where is your nose?” Answer: “Here is the nose!” and touch his nose. Then ask: “Where is mommy’s nose?” Take the baby’s hand and touch your nose with it: “Here is mommy’s nose!” In the same way, look for the mouth, forehead, ear, cheek and other parts of the body, first in the child, then in the mother.
We look out the window. Starting from 8–9 months, children are already actively interested in everything that happens around them. Draw your child’s attention to houses, rivers, bridges, dogs, birds, etc. flashing outside the window. Repeat the onomatopoeia: “There’s a car going - beep, beep, and there’s a tractor - tr-tr-tr, look, a horse - yoke-go!” This way you will not only keep your baby occupied on the road, but also train his attention and thinking, and develop his speech.
Curtain game. If you are flying on an airplane and sitting by the window, let your baby play with the curtain: raise and lower it. Most young children indulge in this simple activity for quite a long time when traveling. On a train or bus you can also find curtains useful application, moving it back and forth.
What to do with your child on the road: creativity
It’s easier to entertain older children on the road: you can draw, paint, and make paper crafts. But there are things to do for one-year-old toddlers, too.
Collage of stickers. On the road, you will need a regular sketchbook and several sheets of large stickers with animals, fruits, cars, etc. If necessary, help the little creator by peeling off the sticker and putting it in his hand. And then he himself will find a place for it on the sheet.
Let's draw! First, we’ll stick the stickers into the album, and then we’ll draw there. Place a felt-tip pen or marker in your baby's hand and let him try to scribble on the paper. When the baby gets tired, you draw - for example, draw a cat, a bunny, the sun, a Christmas tree and others recognizable objects. Be sure to name everything you draw.
Magnetic board. Or you can draw not in an album, but on a magnetic board! This is a very convenient toy for traveling: the baby pooped, then everything was erased, and before you again there is a clean field for creativity!
What we see is what we draw! You can also draw what you and your baby just saw through the window. Interested in the little goat? Let’s draw it and look at it: “Did Timosha see a goat in the window? And mom drew a goat! Here's a goat! Me-me!” And then we’ll draw a house, a car, a tractor.
What to do with a child on the road: helper toys
Shortly before traveling with your child, buy several new toys and take them with you on the road. They will help captivate the little traveler and make the journey easier and more enjoyable.
Books. Bring a few books with you for your baby. Favorite books will help the little traveler cope with stress and remind him of home, and new ones will keep him occupied for a while. Cardboard books with thick pages and bright drawings are best. All kinds of toy books with soft inserts, squeakers, and moving elements are also good. The more different “special effects” there are, the more interesting it is for the baby.
Steering wheel. As a travel toy, especially when traveling in a car, your baby will surely love the steering wheel. The child will be able not only to honk by pressing buttons, but also, imitating dad, to steer right in his car seat.
Game panels. Prepare a new gaming panel with different buttons, levers, and rattles for your trip. Let it be your emergency reserve in case simple games no longer satisfy the baby.
Glove dolls. Glove dolls may come in handy on the road. With their help, you can act out an impromptu fairy tale for your child, recite rhymes and nursery rhymes, and sing a song.
Magic bag. Put various interesting and safe “things” for the baby into a small bag or cosmetic bag: a rattle, rosary beads, ribbons, handkerchiefs, pieces of paper, an old tape cassette... Give the baby a bag of treasures, let him pull out objects from there, study and use them at his own discretion. If he doesn't guess to pull the film out of the cassette, tell him. Surely, unwinding the film will captivate the baby for a long time.
What to do with your child on the road: games made from nothing
Sometimes, to entertain a baby during a car trip, just a mother’s imagination is enough. And any objects that are at hand can become toys.
Rattle bottle. Empty plastic bottle It can also become an entertaining rattle. You just need to pour a few coins, nuts or candies into it. Screw the lid well and give it to the child. Let him thunder to his heart's content! It’s just important to watch your baby carefully so that he doesn’t pull small items in the mouth.
Miracle wipes. A pack of white paper napkins can distract your baby from his whims for a long time. True, then parents will have to remove the scraps of paper “snow”. Let the baby unwrap the napkins, crumple them, and tear them into pieces. Just be careful that your baby doesn’t eat paper while playing.
Magazine. Is your baby already bored with the board books you took on the road? Then give him the magazine he read. Kids love to look at something new. But, most likely, the magazine will share the fate of the napkins from the previous game. You can also carefully tear out figures of people, animals or objects from magazine photographs in front of your child’s eyes and act out a small scene with these “characters”.
Napkin doll. You can make a finger puppet from a paper napkin in a matter of minutes. You can call her for help if the baby is capricious. Let's take it paper napkin, moisten the tip in water and wrap it around the end of the index finger, as if we want to bandage it. Then squeeze the napkin around your finger to make a ball. We make a dress from the second napkin, tying it around the finger below the paper “head”. Using a felt-tip pen, draw the doll’s eyes, nose, and mouth. Ready! The doll comes to life, causing delight in the baby. After all, this is truly magic! It was just a napkin, and suddenly it turned into a living creature that moves, looks, talks (albeit in a mother’s voice), can praise or regret.
Flashlight. If it’s already dark outside and the baby is not sleeping, entertain him with a flashlight. Shine the light on your baby's arms and legs, on your face, on the glass of a car, train, or airplane window. Give the baby a book and shine a flashlight on its pages. Let the little one try to make his own mini-sun.
Whatever one may say, the baby cannot stand sitting in one place for many hours. If you are traveling by car with your child, make short stops periodically. Spread a blanket on the grass and let the baby crawl for a while. If he is already walking, lead him along the grass, show him something interesting (a flower, a bug, a tree). Sit your child on a blanket and play with a ball, rolling it to each other. Such breaks will improve the baby’s mood and make the journey more enjoyable. Bon Voyage!
When planning a not-so-distant trip to relatives or to the sea within the country, we often give preference to personal transport - a car. Of course, this is both convenient and individual, and the route is entirely up to you. In addition, in your car everything is organized according to your wishes and needs, and children here feel almost at home - after all, everything in their car is familiar and familiar. But there are also disadvantages. It is very difficult for small children to spend several hours practically motionless in child car seat Therefore, they soon show their dissatisfaction and the inability to throw out accumulated energy through whims and self-indulgence. And to prevent this from happening, the children are not capricious and bored on the way, and the rest begins from the moment the engine starts, you need to think in advance, what to do with kids on the road and what to take with you to the cabin to make the trip not boring and interesting.
For a child, any change of environment that is accompanied by the need long time Being in a limited and enclosed space is real stress. Only infants, who sleep or eat most of the way, can endure the road without any problems. And older children quickly get bored with the monotony.
What can you do with your child on the road?
1. Listen to music and fairy tales.
Take with you music CDs with children's songs, rhymes and audio stories. Any little fidget will be happy to listen to their favorite songs and favorite fairy tales. You can sing songs together, and if the child already knows them by heart, you can take turns singing verses or lines of the song. Good entertainment - voice riddles. Mom or dad sing a song or recite a poem, constantly changing the intonation of their voice, and the child tries to guess from the peculiarities of speech which fairy-tale character or animal it sounded from.
2. Draw.
Take a magnetic board or a small album with wax crayons on the road. If your child doesn’t know how to draw yet, he will be happy to watch you draw for him. You can even draw a whole fairy tale. And you won’t notice how time passes.
3. Delight with a surprise toy.
Be sure to prepare a few new (or well-forgotten old) toys for your baby for the trip. Save them for the moment when the child gets tired, is capricious and gets tired of everything. You can take a bottle of soap bubbles with you. Children are so immediately happy when iridescent transparent balls fly and burst in the palm of their mother or on their own head.
A new toy book with bright illustrations, lacing, rustling and Velcro can keep a child occupied for a long time. For a boy, be sure to take a new car, and for a girl, a small doll with accessories. You will also like a bright rainbow spring, a kinder surprise, a musical toy with different melodies and many buttons (choose ones with quiet and pleasant sounds), a children's mobile phone. You know your child's tastes better.
4. Play with stickers.
Instead of inconvenient paints or sticky plasticine in the car, take a book with stickers on the road. If your child quickly gets tired of sculpting them onto ready-made scenes, you can come up with something yourself. Cut shapes in advance from self-adhesive colored film - ovals, circles, squares and triangles and glue them onto a small cardboard. At the same time, the baby will learn geometric figures. Or you can just buy a sheet of stickers and paint a whole picture or compose a fairy tale.
5. Set up a puppet theater.
Put on a puppet show with your child, in which your own fingers will be the actors. It's good if you have figures for finger theater, and if not, it doesn’t matter. Take with you a pair of old gloves, cut off the fingers, and use felt-tip pens to draw funny faces.
6. Play the game “Riddle an Object”.
The baby has already eaten, slept, and drawn, but the goal of the journey is still ahead? Don't be bored! Play with colored cars or objects with your child. Make a wish for the color of the car and look out the window. Whoever sees it first wins. The same can be done with objects. Choose any object (bridge, river, field of sunflowers, cow, bicycle) and compete to see who can spot it first. Let the baby win all the time.
7. Organize a physical education session.
Be sure to use stops for active games. You can’t do without this, no matter how much you rush. Pediatricians and psychologists unanimously say that if a child is tired of immobility, it is impossible to interest him in any calm and quiet activity, no matter how exciting it may be. Therefore, carefully monitor your little one and, based on his reaction, determine the time of the next stop. On average, children under 6 years old need rest every 2-3 hours, depending on their character and temperament. Run, jump, play hide and seek. The baby definitely needs to use up the accumulated energy. If your baby quickly gets tired of sitting and there is often no way to stop, give him a dance party right in the car. Turn on songs and clap your hands together to cheerful music, bounce your legs, and turn your head. Take turns naming those parts of the body that need to be moved. This will also be an anatomy lesson for the child. Dancing lips, eyebrows, eyes, nose or tongue look very funny. Is your little one delighted? And you have already arrived! HOORAY!
Here is my small list of things you need in the car that you need to take with you:
1. Drink in a sports bottle, sippy bottle, or juice with a straw.
2. Food that doesn't crumble: bananas, yogurt with a straw, sliced apple, small cheese sandwiches, dried fruit.
3. Wet wipes.
4. Small pillow.
5. A change of clothes and diaper.
6. Camera and mobile phone. You can show your child a photo or a game from your phone.
7. Discs with children's songs and fairy tales.
8. Children's books.
9. Small toys: cars, soap bubbles, small construction set with a small amount large parts, musical toys.
10. Magnetic board, album and pencils.
11. Travel first aid kit.
If possible, pack it all in one bag that won't take up much space and will always be at hand. Put all other items and belongings in the trunk, because a cluttered interior causes additional inconvenience and fatigue for both children and adults.
Have a nice trip and have a great holiday!
