We returned home from Canberra this week with a couple of our Grandchildren who are going to brighten our lives for a while. It is always fun when they visit as there are new stories to make up, Lego towns to build, songs to be sung, Owen and I do science experiments and in Ollie’s case being supervised on shopping excursions by Addalyn, age 7.
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But what about the road trips with children, how have they changed?
Drawing on my own experience there are some elements that are still there and others, thanks to technology that have changed, making life easier for both young and old.
Modern vehicles, thank goodness, provide us with better creature comforts, particularly in summer with air conditioning. It was not much fun for our kids when the only way of cooling down was to lower the windows or else provide them with damp towels and plenty of water. We in Australia know the joys of long distances and scorching summers. There is also a bit more room in our later cars so the feet in the back of the driver’s seat that got worse as they got older has decreased.
We still sing songs and play ‘car games’ with the grandkids. ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with ?’ has been a generational favourite but they are getting smarter and certainly throwing in curly ones. The colour of cars is another that is popular on our trips with each contestant picking a colour and keeping tally until someone gets to a specified number and wins. Have you noticed the growing number of red cars over the past few years? I have. Then there are games with number plates or brands of cars.
Of course we have the songs that have been sung in vehicles for as long as I can remember. ‘The wheels on the bus go round and round’, ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ are but a couple. Others creep in on the car hit parade, Mama Mia the stage show is on in the ACT at the moment and ABBA are getting a work out. Have you noticed how quickly children learn lyrics?
Of course being near Christmas the old Carols are popular, particularly those that have been changed. Our favourite at the moment is Rudolph.
When our children (and grandchildren) were younger a journey was and still is governed by toilet stops and playgrounds. I believe that every parent has an inbuilt system that knows the location of the best of both of these necessities on any journey in Australia.
Technology in the form of distractions certainly helps to pass the time. Our twin boys had cassette players to listen to and now the grandkids come complete with tablets installed with a multitude of games and music to pass the time. But, we still sing the old songs.
