With the May Bank Holiday looming, and then the long summer holidays, the prospect of long car journeys with the children may not fill you with joy! We've all been there - setting out full of good intentions for a calm, harmonious journey, only to end up threatening to stop the car, or turn around and go straight back home after 20 minutes.

So, what can you do to ease their boredom and ensure you don’t have a nervous breakdown en route?!
Rather than resorting to the DS or a back-of-the-seat DVD player, how about trying some old favourites? They're much more fun than listening to the Chipmunks squeaking into the back of your head and can help the journey time pass quicker for you, as well as for the kids.

Back-seat bingo
Make up bingo sheets with pictures of things you might see on the journey. Each child should have a slightly different set of images. The first person to spot all the things on their bingo sheet is the winner.

The alphabet game
Pick a theme (e.g. animals, countries, food) and, starting with ‘a’, take it in turns to think of a word starting with the next letter of the alphabet.

Animal, mineral, vegetable
Think of an animal, mineral or vegetable then let everyone take it in turns to guess what it is by asking you questions – you may only answer "yes" or "no".

Car colours
Pick a colour and then try to spot a car of that colour. Once you’ve spotted seven you can look for a black car to win the game. This game can also work using the rules of snooker.

Registration plate games
Work your way through the alphabet spotting plates with the relevant letters. Alternatively, see who can add up the plate numbers quickest.
Audio books are also a great way to keep the children entertained and most libraries stock a good range. If all else fails, there’s always I-Spy!

Happy travelling.

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