Travel Games for Children
Entertaining Kids while Travelling and Indoors
To avoid a constant chorus of 'Are we there yet?' it is a good idea to plan some simple games and entertainment for children on long trips.
When travelling with children, or even during rainy days at home, it can help to have some simple game ideas to keep everyone amused and distracted. Modern handheld game consoles and portable DVD players have made long trips more enjoyable for many families, however it is possible to have some ‘family time’ as well, especially with younger children.
Guessing Games
- I Spy. It wouldn’t be a car trip without at least one round of I Spy. For younger children, change it to colours rather than letters (“I spy something that is blue”). Children who are just learning to read and spell can use the first sound of the word, rather than the name of the letter. Older children and adults can be challenged with multiple word clues (“I spy something starting with O T – old tree”).
- Where am I? Think of a location and describe it for the others to guess. For younger children describe a room in their home or place with which they are familiar (classroom, grandparents home, shop). For older children and adults the location can be a famous building, city or country (eg I am in a hot country. There is a lot of sand and very old buildings with sides shaped like triangles – Egypt.)
- What’s my job? One person thinks of a job and the others have to guess what it is by asking questions (Do you wear a uniform? Do you work outside?). Questions should be able to be answered with ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘sometimes’. Make sure that jobs are kept very general for younger children (policeman, doctor, teacher etc).
- 20 questions. Think of a person, place or thing. The others have to guess the answer withing 20 questions by asking a series of questions with ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘sometimes’ answers. Be prepared for younger children to unintentionally misdirect with incorrect answers and obscure items.
Word Games
- I went shopping. The aim of the game is to remember as many items on a list as possible. Start the game by saying ‘I went shopping and I bought...’ then add an item starting with ‘A’, such as apples. The next person has to repeat what the first said and then add an item starting with ‘B’ (I went shopping and I bought apples and bread). The game continues through the alphabet until only one person is able to complete the list in the correct order without forgetting an item. There are many variations of this game. Start the sentence in any way that will lead to a list (eg I went on holidays and I packed...) or limit items to all start with the same letter for older children and adults.
- Number plate game. Young children simply have to spot each letter of the alphabet in order on number plates of passing cars, finding an ‘A’ before they can look for a ‘B’. Older children and adults have to make up a funny phrase using all the letters on a number plate. Eg QVM – Queen Victoria’s medicine.
- Yes/No. The aim is to avoid answering any question with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Any other answer is allowed. Eg ‘Are you a girl?’ answer ‘I’m not a boy.’ Questions don’t have to be limited to yes/no questions and it is easier to trip someone up by using a ‘normal’ question (What did you eat for breakfast?) followed by a yes/no question (Did it taste good?)
With a little bit of preparation and a collection of car games, travelling with children can be fun.
The copyright of the article Travel Games for Children in Kids Games is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Travel Games for Children must be granted by the author in writing.
