Parenting Tips
By Myrna B. Shure, Ph.D
For the WHYY Children's Service

Traveling with the Kids

You're traveling at holiday time, in the car, and it's not long before the kids get restless, and fight, or scream, or cry. You can give them toys to play with but that doesn't hold them for long. You can tell them to stop, suggest what to do, and even explain that they're driving you nuts. But none of this works.

Here's some things you can do:

• Sum Have games, books, audiotapes of their choice on board.
• Sum Play word games with them. Words like NOT, and SAME and DIFFERENT. For example, say: "I see a tree. I do NOT see a flower."

  "What do you NOT see?" "Sally saw a billboard. Who saw the SAME thing as Sally?" "Who saw something DIFFERENT?"

  Now add a game called Two-Things-At-The-SAME Time.

  "I can tap my knee and laugh at the SAME time. What can you do at the SAME time?"

  After each child answers, say, "I can NOT stand up and sit down at the SAME time. What can you NOT do at the SAME time?"

  Kids love this game. One 4-year-old said, "I can NOT hold my nose and breathe at the SAME time." His sister added, "I can NOT sit in this car and ride my bike at the SAME time."

  Now ask, "Can I drive and listen to you scream at the SAME time?"

Most kids catch on. Now you can ask, "Can you think of something DIFFERENT to do now? Usually, that's all that needs to be said.