The holiday starts in the car!
Summer has begun and that means: holiday! Despite the restrictive Corona measures, many people are heading to campsites in the south of France, Germany, or simply within the Netherlands again this summer. Wonderful of course, but you still have to drive there. Spending hours in the car with one or more young children in the back can be quite tiring. How do you survive the car ride to France or Italy without arriving with a burnout? Here are a few handy tips to keep your young children calm in the car!
#1 Ensure your children can play happily
Most young children become calmer when they have something in their hands to play with. For example, let your child play with a Connect Four game! The game is made entirely of bamboo and is therefore very environmentally friendly and sustainable. The game naturally contains many loose pieces, so if you want to keep the game together, it might be more suitable for slightly older children. Many younger children secretly find it quite exciting to suddenly be so far from home, and this tension can cause restlessness. Take away that restlessness by letting them play happily with a familiar cuddly toy that they know from home!
#2 Give your toddler a drinking cup!
Drinking is extremely important during a long car ride. Now, you could use juice boxes, but we all know that a child can sometimes make a huge mess with such a carton. Moreover, it leaves trash in the car and cartons are not very environmentally friendly. An ecological and handy alternative is the use of a drinking cup. For example, the Bamboo sippy cup from Eco Rascals. This sippy cup is perfect for the growing toddler and it is made of bamboo. Bamboo is organic, recyclable, and biodegradable!
An alternative is a reusable Doddlebag squeeze pouch: handy and nature-friendly! These squeeze pouches can be filled with all kinds of different liquids, such as pureed baby food. Very important: the squeeze pouch is sealed with a special anti-choke cap, making the product completely safe for young children! But that's not all: Doddlebags can also be filled with shampoo or dish soap. This reduces the space these products take up in the car and makes Doddlebags the ideal product for on holiday!
#3 Young toddlers become calm when they can suck on something
It is known that young toddlers become calmer when they have something to suck on. The teeth are starting to come through and a teething toy can offer a solution for this. A toy made of natural rubber is Gorm the whale from Hevea. This rubber is free of PVC, BPA, and phthalates and is designed with different shapes and colors to develop your child's sense of touch and sight. This is guaranteed to keep your toddler calm!
#4 Games provide a distraction!
When your child is a bit older (but cannot yet read or do math), they can already play a game for distraction. For example, there are super fun travel bingo games where a child has to pay close attention to whether they see a cow, mountain, traffic sign, or gas station passing by outside. Anything that allows a child to focus their attention on something other than the time reduces restlessness!
#5 Change seats now and then!
Just like us, children also become restless from boredom. Slightly older children in particular can suffer from this. The view seems to have been the same for hours and there seems to be no end to it. It can therefore help to have your child(ren) change seats for once! Or if they are a bit older: let your child sit in the front for an hour! You will notice that children become happier from this and that their patience increases.
Have a good trip!
In summary, it is important to give your children a familiar feeling in the car, but also to distract them in a clever way every now and then. This can be done by changing seats for once or by playing a fun game. With these tips, you can keep your young children calm and the holiday starts in the car!