The disorientation of being in a new place can make kids regress a bit, or become truculent to regain some control, and that’s annoying. After that it got quite expensive.ĭo a treasure hunt on the first day, most kids will say yes to this until they reach the age when they say no to everything. I used to run endless sweepstakes – what minute will the bus arrive, whose bag will come out first, etc. Most kids will say yes to a treasure hunt until they reach the age when they say no to everything It’s unavoidable, but you can avoid games that put people in a bad mood (Pokémon Go). There’s a lot of untenanted time on a journey where the whole family defaults to mindless phone activity, one parent on Twitter, one on a news site, one kid on Subway Surfer, one on Animal Crossing.

I can more or less guarantee that if one of your kids loves musicals, the other will hate them.

This only works if you really like musicals.

As they get older, you can build it into a theme: a Hamilton playlist for the journey, then a Hamilton quiz night while you’re away. I have precisely no wisdom on this, apart from “it passes”.Īfter that, in the under-five bracket: for the journey, make a playlist, alternating between songs they know and new ones. It’s like the dirty secret of holidays, just how much of a nightmare it is going away with under-twos: it’s exactly like being at home, except you don’t have any of your stuff and there’s nobody to help you. How to keep kids entertained by Zoe Williams These days my wife does most of it – for me, it’s like being on holiday. There’s one sure way to avoid stressful holiday driving, and that’s not to drive. Never listen to anyone who says you have time for a swim before setting off, or to stop for a nice meal halfway. My worst holiday driving experiences are invariably on the final day, against the clock: last-minute errands, terrible weather, desperate detours to buy petrol. Everyone has a phone, and every destination has a postcode – just agree to meet in the town square at an appointed hour, give or take 30 minutes. I know it’s possible to be both, but I try not to dwell on that.ĭriving in convoy is a nightmare, especially when the lead car isn’t you. I always think: if we weren’t stuck, we’d probably be lost. The stress will be much worse if you have promised to turn up in time for lunch. The first moments of operating a hire car in a new place are the most confusing – exiting the car park with the rear windscreen wipers going for no reason, while your passenger screams at you about the third exit on the approaching roundabout.

Curious george episodes playlist