How to Keep Your Kids Quiet in the Car

Do you hate hearing your kids talk and talk and talk in the back seat while you drive? Maybe they aren't even talking, maybe they are yelling, bickering, fighting, or just being annoying in general. Here are some helpful steps that you can take to calm the situation down.

Things You Will Need

children's books

paper

pencils/crayons

Music Cd's

The first thing you should do is keep some books in your car. Front seats almost always have large pockets on the back that face the kids, this is a great place to put some books that are easy for them to get to. If there is no pocket then simply putting them between the backseats or even behind the seats by the back window should be fine, as long as your kids can reach them you are in business! Also, make sure that you rotate your books out. No one wants to be reading the same stories over and over again.

The next thing to do is to keep some drawing paper and pencils in the car. Buy yourself a small to medium sized flat container and put some paper and pencils in there. This will keep it all organized and will prevent a huge mess from happening in your car. This kind of container can easily sit between the kids. If purchasing that doesn't sound like the best idea for you then you can also buy some clip boards. Anything that helps keep the paper together is good.

Music is good for two things when driving with kids in the car. One thing is that music naturally gets your child's attention and they want to listen to it...second is that it keep them quiet! If your child is listening to music, odds are they won't talk too much. This isn't guaranteed of course, but if you have fun kid songs playing odds are your kids will either sing along or sit and listen. Give it a try!

If all of the above is not working then the last and near sure fire way to keep your kids quiet while driving is to purchase a portable DVD player. Pop in your kids favorite movie and enjoy the sound of quiet children. There is nothing better. And remember that most portable DVD players have a socket for head phones if you want some pure silence!

It is always important to keep in mind that for long road trips...really really long road trips...these tips may or may not last. You might want to consider bringing a small backpack for each child with a few favorite toys and also a handheld video game if you got it.

Tips & Warnings