SubscribeAuthor: Carol Casey
Source: ezinearticles.com
Traveling by car with a two year-old in the throes of the terrible twos doesn’t have to be so…terrible!
On a recent trip from Atlanta to Chicago with my husband, daughter-in-law Leah, and two and a half year-old Ava we made up new games, altered a favorite book rhyme and played a lot of pretend.
The first game started with a set of two demitasse spoons Ava found in the backseat. The spoons were a shower favor and immediately became her first road trip present. When she wanted a snack but it wasn’t time for food we played pretend. We stirred up a big pot of “Fruit Soup” and ladled everyone a bowl. Then using the spoons we took turns tasting the soup and calling out what we were eating. “Ohhh, it’s a banana. What color are bananas?” “Mmmmm. I’ve got some watermelon. It’s red!” It was great fun and helped Ava practice learning about color.
One of Ava’s favorite books is Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle. We changed the words a bit to suit our trip. “Grandpa, Grandpa what do you see? I see a white truck looking at me.” The first time Ava had her turn she had a funny, but accurate answer. “Ava, Ava what do you see?” “I see Grandma looking at me!” Another favorite book is Five Little Monkeys. It’s a great little rhythmic rhyme and adding actions to go with the words makes it even more fun. The repetition makes it easy to memorize.
We sang songs together like Bingo, Old MacDonald, You are My Sunshine and Amazing Grace. Leah taught us all a fun song “Little Bunny Foo Foo.” The actual songs don’t matter as much as the process of doing them together. Any family favorites will do.
When the chatter threatened to cause sensory overload we all played “Nap.”Ava tried every means to get us to re-engage. I have to admit I was the one who caved early. But eventually she settled down for a long afternoon siesta. During stops for meals and gas we brought along a ball and played catch and soccer to run off pent-up energy. We had a box of individual little packets of craisins and pretzels for emergency hunger pains that couldn’t be soothed with “Fruit Soup.” The snacks and games also provided incentives for cooperating and quiet times. It turned out to be one of my favorite car trips in recent memory. Two last quick tips: keep a car shade or towel to put up when the sun is coming through the window. And a travel size neck pillow helps make sleeping in a car seat more comfortable. Happy Driving on your next toddler adventure!
Carol Casey is the author of the DearBaby Books series. Dear Baby, What I love about you! is her first release. Two new books are scheduled for release early next year. Contact Carol via carol@dearbabybooks.com or visit http://www.dearbabybooks.com/.