Long Car Drive | ADHD Information

Sounds like a great plan! I think I will use that one on our next road trip!

We will be leaving for our vacation soon and it is a 13 hour drive.  The girls will be at each other's throats by the time we get there.  In addition to all the diversions we provide them (movies, gameboy), I decided to try an incentive system.  The first one is actually a disincentive.  We are giving each of them a roll of quarters at the start of the trip.  If they fight, they have to pay us a quarter.  Any remaining money is theirs at the end of the trip.  We have done this before on a 4-hour drive and it worked pretty well.  I'm also adding a reward system for good behavior.  On an hour-by-hour basis, if they don't fight, they get to pick a prize out of my prize bag (dollar store stuff).  I'll let you all know when we get back if it worked or not.

dd 7 ADHD

dd 5 1/2 neurotypical

Love those ideas! My kid is 17 and still sometimes whines about a long trip. We have gone to Colorado which is 12 hours. We will be going to Montana in a few months, which is a bit longer. My son loves money. I think I will try it with him. I use to do the dollar store prize thing when he was little, in elementary school.

I love your ideas.  We are planning a 14-16 hour trip and although my kids don't fight with each other ( yet).  I am sure my 7 year old will  whine so the quarter system will come in quite handy ( he is just starting to love money).  The present system will help keep my two year old entertained.  She loves presents and dollar store stuff

 

When I was around that age, I would have looked at that system as a golden opportunity: I could hit my sister for only a quarter a pop, AND mom gave me to get started!

I wasn't the easiest kid to raise. ;)
Ok, gang, we're back!  And guess what....it worked!  The car ride was sooooo much more pleasant.  Also, we ended up breaking the ride into 2 days, each day 6 hours.  They hardly bickered at all.  All it took was a warning, and they actually obeyed!  We will be doing this on every road trip from now on, that's for sure!

  Fabulous suggestions !

 

  Thank you.