ARE WE THERE YET?

Few 4WDers reading this magazine wouldn’t have aspirations of doing the hot lap around Australia. Who wouldn’t want to pack it all in, tell the boss to take a leap, and see all the best bits that this country has to offer?

The stumbling block for many comes in the form of kids – or more specifically, that dreaded question ‘are we there yet?’. Taking the kids on that around- Australia holiday or for a trip up the coast is easier than you think. A couple of ideas and tricks make all the difference, and the key is to keep the kids entertained.

Plan to have the ammunition to stop those infamous words, put away the gag and ties, and use this information to have a great holiday without any complaints.

START ’EM YOUNG

Some may believe that because they have small children, long-distance driving is off the cards. Truth be known, the earlier you start, the more conditioned young children get to the long hauls, and the fewer hassles you’ll have when you decide to do the big trip. All you need is to get them in the mood for travelling, and get them accustomed to spending time in the back seat.

Start off with smaller trips and work up to the bigger ones. Add travel games at this point so that they can learn different ways to pass the time when travelling in the car, and this will help even with the small trips.

ENTERTAINMENT ON THE ROAD

The most common entertainment these days are the DVD screens that come standard in some new 4WDs and are available aftermarket for the rest of us. DVD players can be roof mounted, headrest mounted or fully portable. These will give you the silence that is bliss when you want to concentrate on driving.

It’s strongly recommended to get a couple of sets of headphones, because those children’s shows will send you crazy! You’ll also be able to use the radio while the kids watch a movie. Just don’t expect any responses until the movie’s over! Some of these can also have video game machines hooked up to them, and then all you need is a 100W or 150W inverter to let them play to their hearts’ content.

A laptop is great for educational games, especially if you are on a long trip and have pulled the kids out of school. For the older kids, an MP3 player will keep ’em quiet and amused.

There’s also the option of older games like magnetic chess or checkers, just like the ones that we were all bought up on, and of course the old faithful colouring-in books and pencils.