10 tips for busting boredom on your next family road trip
Yeah, you love your kids. But long hours traveling together in the car can make any parent think about tossing the luggage out of the trunk—and tossing the kids into it. Here are 10 boredom busters adapted from the Nat Geo Kids book Ultimate U.S. Road Trip Atlas to help keep your next family road trip from turning into family road rage.
Do research
Pass back your mobile phone and have the kids find fun historical facts about the city or state you're driving through.
Size it up
Use your car's navigation system to see how long it would take to drive all the way across the state you're in. Then compare that to other states.
photograph symbols
Pick something that the state you're driving in is known for, like cows in Texas. See who can take the most pictures of that state symbol.
Play a Nickname Game
With a smart phone, research the reason behind the state's nickname and ask everyone to come up with alternate nicknames.
Seek out signs
Be on the lookout for wacky road signs, and see who can find the most.
Watch out for water
Count how many lakes and rivers you can find in the state using your car's navigation system.
Make your own map
Take pictures of all the weird and wacky stuff you see and create your own state map when you're home.
Track population
Keep a running list of all the population signs you pass and figure out the smallest and largest towns you pass through.
Cite the Cities
Use your car's navigation system to track all the cities on the road you're currently on.
look out for birds
Learn all about the state's official bird on a smart phone, then challenge everyone to find it the next time you pull over at a rest stop.
