Moving with children

(This is the third post for Bailey's Moving and Storage ipad 2 Giveaway.  Click here to learn more about the contest.)

The only thing worse than a screaming child is a screaming child in a confined space...like the car.

Nothing is worse than a long car trip with bored children!  With the added stress of moving to a new town, state, or country, sometimes it can feel like you just can't bear it.  This is why I've decided to come up with a list (if you haven't figured it out yet, I love lists) of ways to make the car trip more bearable for you and your children.  I've used a few other blogs, websites, and my own brain for these ideas, but I will include my sources in case you want to see exactly where the originals came from.  

Trinkets/prizes for good behavior at different intervals during the trip:  I know of a mom that used to take her two young daughters on 8-12 hour road trips.  She successfully kept them happy by promising them that, every hour if they listened to mom and kept whining to a minimum, they would get a small prize.  Before the trip she went to The Dollar Store and Target's Dollar Spot.  She bought all sorts of games, treats, and trinkets for the girls.  One hour they might get their own pair of sunglasses, silly putty, coloring books, crayons, stickers, or their favorite snack.  You can do this too!  Set the interval you want to give prizes at and the rules for earning the prizes!  Anything that will keep a child's attention will do.

These magnetic travel games from Oriental Trading Company would be AMAZING--$14.00 for  a dozen.

Mini White Boards:  I LOVE this idea.  As a kid, I was OBSESSED with my dad's old white board.  It was who knows how many years old, covered in scratches, and TOTALLY AWESOME!  That thing kept my little sister and I entertained for hours.  This version I'm going to show you is from Quirky Momma Kids Activities Blog.  She's got some great activities for kids, so go check her blog out!  

Basically, the white board is made with a peice of paper slipped inside of a CD case, and a baby wipe inside as the eraser.  I will have pictures and a tutorial on this soon, so STAY TUNED TO THE BLOG!  Your children can use this as a quiet, play-by-yourself activity, or you can make games out of it.  If you have two children, help them play "Pictionary"...or "Guess What I Drew!"  Have them draw things that you see on the road as you drive by, or portraits of each other.  The possibilities are endless.

Books on CD:  I've been doing some research lately, and EVERYONE is raving about this suggestion when you move with your children.  Order some books on CD and have them in the car!  This truly keeps little minds busy and little mouths quiet...the perfect combination.  Places like Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and audible.com have these in stock.

This book (obviously from Amazon) comes with a CD.