As a family of adventurers who love finding new places to explore on our days out, we end up spending a lot of time travelling in the car. Due to this, it's always so important for me to make sure the kids are kept happy and well entertained in the car.
I was asked by MG, makers of the perfectly family-friendly SUV vehicle, just how I keep my kids happy and entertained in the car. I also asked Tyler some questions as part of the MG Mum versus Dad driving challenge. I'm not sure if we discovered who he thought was a better driver - his father or I - but I think I won!
Check out the video below featuring lots of adorable and candid kids answering the questions posed by MG about their mum and dads driving.
Luckily for me, my boys, who are now 7 and 4, don't seem to mind being in the car at all. They happily get into their car seats and love looking out the windows as we drive by. Even though they're happy enough to get into the car without any fuss, I always want to make sure they're comfortable and as happy as they can be in the car so that I can just concentrate on driving.
The boys do sometimes get bored of being in the car, especially if we're on a cross-country trip and then those words which all parents know too well are sad - "Are we there yet?"
With this in mind, I found some ways to keep them entertained while we're driving along and luckily these things have helped to keep them as happy as can be on our car journeys.
1. Pack their favourite cuddly toys and bring them along
My boys are never seen without a cuddly toy and they love bringing them in the car. Tyler even makes sure they wear a seat belt! Beau always has to have his teddy with him and Tyler also loves bringing cuddly friends along too. If the boys fall asleep, they often use the teddies as a pillow too!
2. Play Eye-Spy
This is such a car journey classic and my favourite car game ever since I was a child and Tyler really loves it too. Beau doesn't know his letters yet so instead we associate the things we're looking for by their colours. That way he gets to play along and sometimes I even just let him win to see the smile on his face when he's gotten one right.
I'm not a parent who shuns a bit of screen time, especially on a long journey. If it makes the drive more enjoyable for the kids and gives them something to focus on other than how long it's taking to get to our destination then I'm all for it!
I make sure that their tablets have their favourite programmes on them for our drives and it keeps them happy as we drive along.
4. Put together a travel pack
Kids love the novelty of getting new things, so when we go on long journeys I like to put together a little travel pack for the boys. This is just a little bag with a pound shop toy, some snacks, a drink, sticker books and a disposable camera for Tyler, who loves taking pictures just like me. I let Beau have a little kids digital camera so that he can click away and join in the fun too.
It just makes the journey a whole lot more exciting for the boys when they have something to open and look forward to throughout and the cameras make them feel like they're always 'going on holidays' when we're on a long drive and it's lovely to see their snaps afterwards.
We're a family of music lovers and the boys love nothing more than listening to music as we drive along (and they also get treated to my lovely singing, the lucky ducks!). They have very different music tastes - Beau is a grunger and a metalhead, while Tyler prefers a bit of pop, so I have to alternate the music to suit them both. This would be so easy in a MG SUV as it has Apple Car Play and Android Auto integrations in their models. It wouldn't be a car journey without a bit of music and a singalong now would it?
We have lots of long drives coming up over the summer holidays, but I know the boys will be happy and entertained in the car as long as we do all these things for them.
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