Entertaining the Masses: Travel Tips

Boats, buses, trains, planes and automobiles, no matter what your method of transportation, I guarantee that its novelty will wear off in no time. It won't take long before your child will be asking the age-old question: "Are we there yet?"

With the right preparation, keeping your child amused on a trip doesn't have to be a daunting task.

• Pack an entertainment bag. This should be something that you pack yourself and control access to for an element of surprise. Among items to include are: disposable cameras, magnetic games such as checkers, a deck of cards, a selection of books (new and old favourites), etc.
• Put together a grab bag of crafts. Gather art supplies, such as crayons, colouring and activity books, paper, stickers, etc. Include clip boards to give your children a hard surface to work on. Or try using baking sheets - their edges will help keep items from rolling off.
• Develop a character (or set of characters) whose stories you only tell when traveling. Your children will see each trip as a new opportunity to hear from an old friend.
• Finally, there are many toys out there that really lend themselves to travel. Some particular favourites include:
• Felt boards or colour forms featuring your child's favourite characters (such as Bob the Builder and Dora the Explorer).
• Zoolio, from Manhattan toys, comes complete with travel case and panels featuring different activities.
• Magnetic doodle pads and Etch-a-sketches.
• Finger puppets, found in most dollar stores.
• LeapPad and Leapster Multimedia Learning System by LeapFrog are good lap toys and offer a large variety of programs, games, stories and doodling options.

(Hint: Try to use travel toys during travel only. Doing so will help maintain your child's long-term enthusiasm for each toy.)

By Rochelle Strauss