Car games they might actually play, and a few ideas for keeping the peace when the back seat is full of long legs and short tempers.
If you have teenage brothers and sisters who fight or niggle at each other, it may be worth splitting them up: put one of them in the front and sit in the back yourself.
Some teenagers need very little entertaining. They read, listen to music, play games on their phone, message their friends or, if they bring a friend along, chatter for the entire journey. Others (in our house it was usually the boys) get bored more quickly and need to stretch their legs more often, so frequent stops are essential.
Letting them choose the radio station can keep them quiet for a while, although the parents might get a bit frazzled with Radio 1 on for the entire journey.
A game of cards can while away an hour or so, and you can make it more fun by playing for something, or by having the loser do a forfeit.
Giving a teenager the job of navigator can work quite well if you ask them to point out landmarks along the way, such as rivers or roads coming in from the left or right, to keep them focused. It makes them feel part of the trip, and sometimes treating a child like an adult brings out the best in them. These days that probably means the map on a phone rather than the road atlas.
It could, however, get very fractious if they are bad at it and send you the wrong way, so it’s a good idea to know where you’re going before you set out if there’s any doubt at all about their abilities!
A book of puzzles or brain teasers can keep them quiet for twenty minutes or so. The really tricky ones might take hours, so it depends how long your children can concentrate for.
Two that need nothing but a good imagination and a sense of humour.
If you are in a traffic queue, making up stories about the people in the car nearby can be funny for a short while: what their names are, what they do for a job, what their hobbies are, what pets they have, what their house is like.
This tends to only work well if someone in the car has a good imagination or sense of humour and can make up outrageous facts.
Pick an object, any object, and see who can find the most uses for it apart from the one it’s meant for.
For example, how many uses can you find for a pair of pants? A donkey’s hat, a handkerchief, a tea cosy, a dishcloth, a duster, a flag, a small bag…
If none of this works and you still have bored, irritating teenagers in the back, try these. They will probably get a huge amount of enjoyment out of them, even if you don’t.
Decide who’s playing, and get it confirmed in blood and agreed by an adult so there’s no comeback! All the players look out for a yellow car. The first person to spot one yells ‘yellow car’, everyone else has to yell it too, and the last one gets punched by the ‘yellee’.
Gentler version for mixed ages: the last one to shout loses a point instead.
Toss a coin to see who serves. Play the rules of tennis with burps instead of balls! This can only be played one game at a time, as in my experience you feel sick after five or six burps!
Think of a shape easily made with your hand and agree that it will be your ‘muppet’. It could be a circle made with thumb and forefinger, a fist, a claw… as long as all the players agree.
The object of the game is to try and make any of the players look at your muppet. If they do, you can punch them! This can be played throughout the entire journey as an aside to other games. Again, decide who’s playing and get it agreed by an adult so there’s no comeback!
Find a flat surface and thumb wrestle. Two players sitting next to each other hook the four fingers of their right hands together, so both of their right thumbs are sticking straight up.
The winner is the player who pins down his or her opponent’s thumb using their own thumb.
Plenty of the classic games work just as well with teenagers, especially the ones with a bit of competition in them.
Guess the mystery object with 20 yes-or-no questions.
Build a story one sentence each. Expect plot twists.
Each country has to start with the last letter of the one before.
“A is for…, B is for…”. Remember the whole chain or you’re out.
Score a run for every leg in a pub name. No legs and you’re out.
Change one letter at a time: games, gates, mates, mites…
Make a spotting list together, then tick it off as a team.
Pot red cars and colours in order. A silver car ends your break.
Who can stay quiet the longest? A parents’ favourite.
Answer every question with “rhubarb”. Laugh and you’re out.
Answer quick-fire questions without saying yes, no, black or white.
Count cows on your side of the car. A graveyard buries the lot.
