How to keep a child busy on the train?

It can be enjoyable to take a child on a train ride, but it does require some preparation. Children become restless after spending extended periods of time in small spaces, so it’s critical to plan activities that will keep them occupied and content during the trip.

There are lots of ways to kill time and keep your kids busy, from easy games to artistic endeavors. A little planning goes a long way, whether it’s packing a favorite book, bringing some snacks, or engaging in interactive games.

You can make the train ride fun for your child and yourself by introducing a variety of activities and maintaining flexibility. The secret is to maintain your composure and to be prepared to change course if one activity becomes tedious.

Entertainment depending on the age of the child

If you carefully schedule all of your baby’s downtime in the train carriage, he will have an easier time getting through a long distance. Considerations like game preferences and age characteristics are crucial.

1-2 years

• Small xylophone. Such a toy will not take up much space, but will allow you to entertain your baby and interest him.

• Coloring books, an album and felt-tip pens will allow the baby to usefully spend time and give parents several dozen minutes of silence.

• Favorite toy. A bunny, a teddy bear or a robot that the baby most often plays with at home must accompany the child on the trip. With it, it will be easier for the little one to fall asleep.

• Educational games. You shouldn"t take a bunch of boxes with "developmental games" with you, you can get by with several elements with holes that need to be strung on a string. A good option is colored plastic paper clips that are easy to connect together. It is important not to trust the child with small parts, let him deal with them with the obligatory participation of adults.

• Plasticine. Great for developing fine motor skills. In addition, joint modeling improves psychological contact with the child, which parents usually do not have time for in everyday life. Be sure to take a modeling board and wet wipes to clean the child"s hands with the plasticine.

• Amazing figures. Don"t be lazy and cut out different geometric figures from colored paper or colored cardboard in advance at home. A glue stick and several album sheets will help to create all sorts of applications from them.

• Children"s puzzles. You can take large puzzles for children from 1 year old, or you can make them yourself, simply by cutting the picture into several large pieces. Small puzzles are not suitable for children of this age, their assembly will tire the baby, it is still too difficult for him.

• Cardboard box. If you have a small box, you can take large buttons and other harmless objects in addition to it, which the baby can put together and the box. Usually this simple activity is very exciting for little ones.

• Pyramid on a stick. A famous toy familiar to many generations of people does not lose its relevance.

The top games for a lengthy trip in an automobile, train, or plane are shown in the following video.

2-3 years

A child of this age will not get bored if you give him multiple toys, but in this case, it’s crucial to get involved in his game so that he can rapidly pick up on concepts like big-small, hard-soft, flexible, and not so.

• Children"s books. On the road, you can take books with stickers that need to be combined with the corresponding picture. By buying a book with almost identical pictures in general, but different in details, you can train the attention and memory of the baby, and if there is no such book, then simply collect several objects, first show them all, and then remove something and give the baby the opportunity to determine what is missing there.

• Construction set. It will allow the child to do an important children"s activity for a long time – creating everything that the imagination suggests. But avoid construction sets with a lot of parts, so that you don"t have to look for them all over the train car.

• Drawing album. In it, you can try to draw a whole group of little people, consisting only of circles, triangles or squares.
• Board games. If the child already knows how to play checkers, take them with you. Board quests-walkers are great, in which you need to throw a dice and make a designated number of moves forward with a chip.

• What do clouds look like? Ask the child to describe what the clouds outside the train car window look like. Take the most active part in this, the winner of this game will be the one who comes up with the most comparisons.
• Cartoons. To show your child favorite cartoons on a tablet or smartphone of parents on a train, of course, can, but not for long, no more than 15 minutes a day. Small screens can quickly tire a child"s eyes, even if he doesn"t realize it. Long-term viewing of a cartoon on a smartphone monitor can even cause a headache and disrupt a child"s sleep.

4-5 years

Children at this age still grow very quickly and ask a lot of questions, the most common of which is "Why." Here, it’s critical to exercise patience and provide thorough, vivid answers to all of the why questions while monitoring the child to prevent distractions.

• Poems and fairy tales. Take a book with your child"s favorite poems and fairy tales on the road. You can also learn a rhyme or tongue twister and compete to see who can recite it faster.
• Hide and seek. To play hide and seek on a train, you don"t have to run and hide all over the car and lock yourself in the toilet. It is enough to stipulate more modest conditions of the game: you can hide either toys or some objects and not go beyond the compartment. One hides, the second is looking for.

• Board games. Checkers, “corners”, tanks perfectly train memory, logical thinking, perseverance.
• A book with the drawings "Find ten differences" will help practice attention.
• Sea battle You can take both ready in the box, and play with the child, as they did before – with the help of paper and two pencils.

• Sets for creativity. The child will really like not only albums and pencils, but also ready sets for creating sand paintings, sequins, prefabricated models of brown-mass aircraft for boys, sets of bright fabric applications for girls.

6-7 years

Electronic devices have been a major factor in the severe lack of complete communication that modern children face. And just like a century ago, kids today need to learn how to articulate their ideas and feelings in a logical and competent manner. For a preschooler or younger schoolchild, make sure the games on the train during the trip are specifically targeted at this.

• "The Wizard of the Emerald City". This game can be of interest not only to your child, but also to fellow travelers, if they are traveling with you in the same compartment. Players need to join forces to achieve victory.

• The board game "Imaginarium Childhood" is aimed at active communication between players. In the game you need to guess the pictures. According to the rules, each player is dealt several cards. The host comes up with a confusing description for any of his pictures and puts it face down on the table, while the rest, despite the host"s confusing explanations, must choose from their arsenal a card whose picture best fits this description. The players" task is to confuse others and win as many cards with pictures as possible. This game has many options – adult, travel with spare parts, and others. The theme is just as diverse.

A more adult child

The interests of the child himself determine a lot of what to do when taking an older child out on the road. At this age, some kids enjoy reading, some enjoy drawing, and some don’t mind playing games like "cities," "edible-inedible," and other activities with their parents. The child will probably take care of everything amusing that comes along for the ride.

If you have a girl, prefabricated equipment and transportation models are excellent, which the student can carefully put together piece by piece. You can also get embroidery kits with ready-made patterns.

Combining enjoyable and captivating activities according to the child’s age and interests can make keeping them occupied on a train effortless. They can stay occupied with simple games, drawing, reading, or listening to music, and they can also prevent boredom with snacks and leg breaks. Bringing along a few of the child’s favorite toys or downloading a few kid-friendly apps can also help to make the trip more pleasurable for the parents.

If you have the appropriate activities ready, taking a child on a train ride can be enjoyable and unforgettable. Your child can be entertained the entire way by combining a variety of media, such as games, books, and snacks.

Incorporating your child into the process is also beneficial. Permit them to select a few toys or pastimes they like. This maintains their interest and increases their enthusiasm for the journey.

Last but not least, don’t forget to take pauses, extend your legs, and take in the surroundings. These exchanges can make an ordinary train ride into a meaningful time spent together.

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