Ah, holidays — the big departures, the packing… A wonderful memory… for the children? For parents, it's "Are we nearly there yet?" on repeat in the car, arguments and screaming from the back seat, "I need a weeeee!" fifteen minutes after setting off, or a train journey with a baby howling under the disapproving glares of fellow passengers...
Now that your bags are packed and you haven't forgotten your essentials, so your holidays can mean relaxation, discovery, warm sand and the joy of being together, here are a few tips…
To keep them from driving us round the bend, the real enemy on a road trip is… boredom!
Plan strategic breaks on car journeys, ideally at service stations with play areas you've scoped out in advance, so the kids can let off steam, and/or for the baby's nappy change and feed.
While the little one gets a snack, the older ones — climbing the walls after two hours strapped into their car seats — will burn off steam on the monkey bars, or just have a good old scrap with other kids (climbing the walls for exactly the same reasons)…
The "the faster we get there the better" Fast and Furious approach is a recipe for frustration and frayed nerves — because you're not getting out of the toilet stop, the nappy change, and everything else.
Let's trust the famous motto, Hakuna Matata — we'll get there when we get there, let's relax, the holiday has already begun…
While writing this article, we discovered that the websites of some motorway networks let you plan and choose your stops in advance (Paul, McDonald's or Burger King…?), with info on wifi, play areas, etc. — and some even offer sports or cultural activities.
For example: the Jugy services (A6, heading soooouth) are a big hit with the kids — it's the "mushroom slide" stop — while the Jardin des arbres (A77, between Dordives and Cosne-sur-Loire) offers a trail and themed areas exploring the relationship between trees and people.
At the Sandaucourt services in Lorraine, there are figures of Napoleonic soldiers and mirabelle plum tree plantations.
At the Lavaret services on the A43 between Lyon and Chambéry, there's a trampoline and a stunning view over Lac d'Aiguebelle… The perfect moment to get the life mat out and treat yourselves to a little contemplative break after two hours of Chantal Goya?
Some websites list service stations with play areas or family-friendly facilities: mome.net and hello-famille.com
Entertainment idea for the older ones : Eat as many meals as possible in the car during the journey (never mind the seats — the crisps, the fruit purée and the squashed cheese can wait until tomorrow).
It keeps everyone busy — sharing out the sandwiches, handing round the crisps, the fruit pouches, the bananas, the biscuits, or even some cheeky surprise snacks (not exactly natural or zero-waste, but if it's twice a year…?): there's a whole range of sweet and savoury snacks with dipping sticks.
Concentration guaranteed. A dummy to punctuate a journey is also a quiet moment — and a little challenge: see how long they can keep it in!
Game ideas for the littlest ones : As mentioned above, drip-feed new toys and unusual objects pulled like magic from your bag of tricks… (Oh, a red ball! Oh, shiny paper!)
There are also car activity toys you can hang in front of the baby, on the back of the front passenger seat (often a bit ugly, but pretty handy…), or wrist and ankle rattles that save you from having to twist round and contort yourself to pick up the rattle that's fallen on the floor for the thirtieth time… (available on Amazon).
NB: There are special mirrors you can attach to the back seat, facing the baby, to keep an eye on them when their rear-facing car seat has its back to the road… and to check how long the new surprise toy is keeping them entertained…
Games for older children:
- Who am I? (get others to guess which person or character you're thinking of)
- Spot cars or objects in the landscape of a particular colour
- Wave at other cars, and whoever gets the most waves back from other passengers wins
- Spot things through the window that start with a particular letter (great for early readers…)
- Use puppets to put on a little show from behind your seat… A bit of an energy drain for the parent, but if inspiration strikes and you get the giggles going, it's deeply rewarding… (You can even hang a soft toy between the two front headrests like a makeshift puppet theatre, with the Big Bad Wolf lurking behind…)
- Yes, no, black, white
- The mystery bag game : put an object in an opaque bag and the children have to guess what it is by feeling it without opening the bag
- The story game : an adult starts a story, then everyone takes turns adding to it, building up a gloriously nonsensical tale. "The terrible witch from the river loved to…"
- The memory game : "I'm going to the market and I'm buying…" Taking turns, each person repeats the whole shopping list and adds one item. "I'm going to the market and I'm buying a bar of soap…" Then the next passenger: "I'm going to the market and I'm buying a bar of soap and some strawberries…" and so on.
- The silence game…
To listen to - Participatory jukebox: everyone takes turns choosing the music they want to hear (parents included — which means, without warning, Anne Silvestre/Juliette Armanet/David Bowie/The Duck Dance).
- Anne Sylvestre and her wonderful fabulettes, Aldebert, Henri Dès, Pakita, Chantal Goya… on Deezer or Spotify, free with ads or ad-free with a subscription.
- Rockababy on Spotify : pop and rock classics in instrumental lullaby versions. A perfect chance for parents to test their musical memory and be the first to name that famous Beatles track they know inside out but can never quite remember the title of… and for the kids to grab a very welcome nap…
- The Radio Pomme d'Api app, free, mixes children's music with a few tracks for grown-ups too.
Tales, stories, audiobooks and animations, free versions:
- Oli O-L-I (Radio France app, France Inter podcast) — stories made up for 5–7 year olds and narrated by celebrities: a little hit and miss, but sometimes wonderfully quirky and funny for adults too
- Concerts fictions pour enfants (Radio France app): The Story of Babar by Francis Poulenc (a heads-up for sensitive souls — it does start on a rather sad note…), Peter and the Wolf read by François Morel (the classic Gérard Philippe version is available on Deezer and Spotify), The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns
- Des histoires en musique by Elodie Fondacci (Spotify)
- The Castafiore Emerald, The Blue Lotus and other Tintin adventures (Radio France app, France Culture podcast), read very faithfully to the albums. An absolute treat for the grown-ups, it keeps going for ages, and older children from about 7/8 love it too — even if, without the pictures, you realise the plots can get rather complex…
Read by actors from the Comédie-Française, brilliantly performed — especially Captain Haddock and the Castafiore… Fair warning (or lucky you!?), it's a long one: 5 episodes of around 25 minutes for The Castafiore Emerald https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/les-aventures-de-tintin
- Les aventures du Petit Nicolas, read by Benoît Poelvoorde, on YouTube. There's even a "Le Petit Nicolas on holiday" episode, perfectly on theme…
- Contes de la rue Broca, told by Pierre Gripari: La sorcière de la rue Mouffetard, La fée du robinet, L'histoire de Lustucru… on YouTube, audio-only or animated versions
- Le Petit Prince, read by Pierre Arditi, on YouTube. Just show the illustrations as you go — the open boa and the closed boa, or the box with the sheep inside…
- Les-petits-bateaux (Radio France podcast): 5 children's questions (with answers from an expert adult!) per episode, such as Why can some insects walk on the ceiling? How did prehistoric humans evolve? etc. (for ages 6/7 and up)
Safe travels — and remember, this too shall pass!!
