The Long Journey Entertainment in the car You are going away on holiday, and it starts off with a 6 hour drive. What are you going to with the children for SIX WHOLE HOURS?!! Here are some lovely ideas and suggestions: Children love surprises so why not have an old pillowcase filled with some goodies, bring one out every 30 minutes or so: Scratch pad and pencil to be creative with  A new cuddly toy with no small parts A new book to read A nursery rhyme tape for dad to play and for the whole family to enjoy and sing along A few items to eat, if possible, no sugar as you do not need energised children Activity books with mazes and crosswords to complete, pictures to colour etc. A few car games go along way keeping youngsters occupied, so make sure you have a pen / pencil and paper (works even when the paper is wet from the cooldrink spilt on it). I spy with my little eye, something beginning with ....a! make some ground rules e.g. the item must be in the car and those sitting in the back must use something from the back, and those in the front must use something from the front. Cricket, where very large truck  = 6 runs, a car and caravan / kombi or 4x4 = 4 runs and every other car = 1 run, but wait for it, for every VW that comes along you are OUT! Each player has five turns per innings. You can vary this by using colours instead of types of vehicles. Why not try some of those favourite counting songs like "Alice the camel has ten humps" - count down to no humps because Alice was a horse. "Ten green bottles hanging on the wall" - until there are no more bottles left. Trying to identify animals, be they flying or walking animals.  It would be helpful if you had an animal book on hand to discuss these animals. One of the most important things for me as a child was to make sure I had my pillow and blanket, in case I wanted to sleep. So moms, be prepared! Email this article to a friend Back to Articles on Child Care...