A typical car bag for Bluey, age 3.
Over the past few years we have transmogrified our now ten year-old daughter from crabby car kiddo into happy wanderer. It wasn’t a short program. We believed that she would enjoy our trips, but realized we would need to show her how. We implemented a series of steps to help her become someone who enjoys our adventures and travel.
We used a similar approach on our youngest from the get-go, and he is an eager and happy traveler on most of our jaunts.
When we are prepping for an adventure that will take us more than an hour away from home, we tell the kiddoes: “Pack your Car Bag!” The Car Bag is loaded with boredom busters suited to each kid’s personal style and interests. Our oldest is responsible for her car bag though we will make casual suggestions and/or reminders about what she might want to take. Our youngest is consulted but we really steer the direction of content included in his bag.
The Car Bag typically includes: a book, pen, pencil, crayons, paper or small notepad, and a couple of favorite little toys (like matchbox or Polly Pockets). Toys that require manipulation, but don’t have removable parts, like Transformers and Rubik’s Cubes are great for smaller kids.
One great aspect of the Car Bag, is that it is different each time, so it reflects a child’s changing tastes and skill-set. Books and toys are replaced constantly, so the Car Bag is always enticing.
The Car Bag regularly prevents cries of “I’m bored!” in our car.
Don’t leave home without it.