On the Road or In the Air

Travel tips for families that are moving or on vacation

It’s amazing what you can learn about your kids by simply listening while you’re on the road or in the air. Settings like these help to promote an atmosphere of openness and vulnerable sharing. Be a focused listener and resist the temptation to be on your phone.
Practice these words: “This is our big adventure!” Building enthusiasm produces excitement for what is to come.
Start your trip with a “God hunt”. This is something parents and children can do that will give each person the opportunity to look for God in everything. It also helps your children think about seeing God in every aspect of their lives. Some of the ways to go on a “God hunt”: “I see God in the beauty of the sunset.” “I see God in our move. He did….” “I see God in this day. He did….”
When everybody is in the car or airplane, ask for input about ways to be kind, thoughtful, and patient with one another. When everyone has been traveling for hours or days, a little kindness, thoughtfulness, and patience go a long way.
Before you begin the trip to your new destination, pray together as a family.

Choose a game or two ahead of time that everyone in the family can play together. Try these for fun:

Someone picks a color, like red. Then everyone looks out the window for anything that is red. Keep score of how many objects are found by each person in a certain amount of time.
Look for cars that are all a certain color, have license plates from the same state, are the same kind, or have luggage racks on top. You can add your own list of similarities.
Kids take turns “packing the moving truck” by adding an item each time it’s their turn. The next person has to repeat all the items packed before adding one more to the list. When a player misses an item, he or she is out of the game. (“I’m packing the moving truck and I’m going to pack my toys.” Next person says, “I’m going to pack my toys and games.”) Try this game, but name items in alphabetical order.
Pick up travel versions of your favorite games.
Give each child his or her own backpack with snacks, books, pens, paper, coloring books, cards, electronic devices – any age-appropriate items that will entertain and offer some independence.

Find these tips and more in But Mom, I Don’t Want to Move! by Susan Miller.