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Things to do When Traveling by Car During the Holiday Season


By Jodie Lynn
www.ParentToParent.com

Happy Thanksgiving! Will you be traveling by car to grandma's house?

Light Snacks Make It Easy!

This is the time of year when families begin to make plans for Holiday trips. Car trips can be easy and fun if you do a little extra planning now.

Some pointers are listed below:

Plan ahead and get the kids involved in the planning the trip along with a map or road atlas. Even little tots like to look at maps, especially in a large road atlas. Ask the child to place a red dot with a marker on a specific area on the map for rest stops, blue for parks and so on. They can learn their colors as they go. Or, if you have the time, make up your own set of maps using bright colors and cut out pictures.

Discuss what you will see and perhaps get a video of where you are going. For a child younger than three, use animation.

Check out possible points of interest along the route and stop there for meals or a stretch. Use the color coded marks made earlier to let them know where you will eat a meal.

Kids enjoy talking into a tape recorder to "report" what is out the window or other momentary facts. Even an older 3 or 4-year-old will enjoy the "reporting."

Bring along a bag of distractions. Hand them out only as a last resort. In other words, don't pull out everything at once.

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When traveling with kids, get things for them to share and things just for each child. Bring along some old favorites and some new things too.

Start your trip early around 3:00 a.m. so the kids will still want to sleep through the morning.

Make frequent stops to use the bathroom and to let the kids run around expanding some of that pent up energy. Don't forget to run around with them.

Bring along favorite music and books. Kids love to sing along and/or even listen to a book on tape or CD. If your little one enjoys movies, and you can offer this option in your car, do so, but keep it short.

Do not let the kids drink caffeine. This fills them up with empty calories as well as keeps them hyper. Let them have 100% juice and/or just plain old water. Even with 100% juice, they can still get full quick.

Eat light snacks. Nutritious treats to think about can be the small pre-boxed raisins, cherries, cranberries, trail mix or buy the larger sized containers and make up your own by mixing and adding dried non-sugar cereal. Divide a child's size serving into either small containers or the smaller sandwich bags. Always keep a watchful eye on any plastic bag.

Keep your eyes and ears open. Don't assume kids think about consequences that could prove to be dangerous. It just doesn't happen, especially with younger children. Have patience and stay alert.

Always remember, you are the best role model a child can have, so parent with a healthy spirit and a thoughtful mind.

© Jodie Lynn, 2003-present
Jodie Lynn is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Her syndicated column Parent to Parent has been successful for over 10 years and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to several sites including eDiets.com, KeepKidsHealthy.com, ClubMom.com, BabyUniverse.com, CatholicMom.com, MainStreetMom.com and MommiesMagazine.com. Lynn has written four books and contributed to three others, one of which was on Oprah and has appeared on NBC in a three month parenting segment. Her latest books are Mom CEO (Chief Everything Officer) - Having, Doing and Surviving It All! (June 2006) and Syndication Secrets - What No One Will Tell You! (March 2006).
Please visit www.ParentToParent.com for details on her new radio talk show, Inside Parenting Success.

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