ER Smogs

Posts Tagged ‘Complete Insurance’

It’s time to put away the Nintendo DS, the iPod, or any other digital devices your children might have brought on the road trip. We’ve made a list of four fun games to play on your next car ride and none of them require batteries.

I Spy With My Little Eye

This one is a classic. It’s a little more difficult because you’re in a moving vehicle but a few quick rules will solve any potential issues. For example, you’ll want to limit the “spyable” items to things that are in your car or things that are far enough in the distance that you won’t be zooming past them right away. If you don’t already know how the games works, it starts with the first person saying, “I spy with my little eye, something that is [insert clue here].” And then they would say a clue. The other people get to guess what the object is. If they don’t guess it right then the person says another clue, after starting again with, “I spy with my little eye, something that is [insert clue here].” Another game that is similar, and also a lot of fun for kids, is “20 Questions.”

Scavenger Hunt

Before you head out on your trip you will need to put together a list of things that your children might be able to spot while driving. Or it might be easier to compile this list once you’re on the road because you’ll be surprised at how much is out there. You can vary the difficulty of the game based on your child’s age or ability at spotting things. If they’re pretty good at spotting objects then you can get creative and come up with things that might be a little harder to find. If your child is particularly interested in vehicles then you can give them an all-cars list. You would write different makes or models of vehicle that they would then spot on the road.

The Alphabet Luggage Game

This one is a memory game. To start the game you must first come up with a theme. As an example, let’s choose “food” as a theme. (Other choices might be animals, professions, etc) The first person starts the game by saying “My name is Sue and I’m going on a trip. I’m going to bring an apple.” The next person must now say what the first first said but then they must add another item that starts with the letter B. They might say, “My name is Jimmy and I’m going on a trip. I’m going to bring an apple, and a burger.” The game starts out easy but as it goes on it can become a bit more difficult to come up with new items and to remember all the items that you’re bringing on your imaginary trip.

License Plate Bingo

You’ll need to bring some scrap paper and a few pens or pencils to play this game. If you’re going to a place with lots of tourists (like Yellowstone National Park) then you can play the game using state licence plates as bingo squares. If you’re sticking to an area that might not have a lot of variety, as far as licence plates are concerned, you can play the game with random licence plate numbers as the bingo squares.

If you want, you can come up with some fun prizes for your children to have if they win one of these games. Don’t make it all about the prizes though. These games are fun and spending time with your family is better than burying your head in an electronic device and hiding from everyone else in the car. Have a great trip!

This post was written by Dave Alder from the auto insurance resource site Complete Insurance.