Tired from traveling? The best travel times during long holidays and three tips to soothe your baby – a complete guide

Yuting Tsai

Are you already excited about the Qingming long holiday? Taking a trip during the holiday has become one of life’s small joys for small families or office workers...

The Qingming long holiday has you pumped up yet? Using holiday time to travel has become one of life’s little pleasures for small families or office workers, but this is also when crowds and traffic are especially heavy. If all your time gets eaten up by traffic jams, that would really spoil the fun. Below are the relevant road use regulations from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ National Freeway Bureau for this year, including high-occupancy vehicle periods, toll-free times, and roads expected to be closed, so everyone can travel more efficiently and with less hassle. For parents traveling with young children, there are also various tips and little activities to help “keep your baby well-behaved in the car,” while also training your child’s responsiveness during the trip.

Image courtesy of / National Freeway Bureau official website.

Also, using the Qingming long holiday to go cherry blossom viewing is another great option. Places like the Yangmingshan Calla Lily Festival and Tainan Baihe Kapok Flower Season are perfect for family trips. But long car rides can be quite a test of patience for kids. Below are a few methods to help parents soothe their babies and drive with focus, as well as some car games to shift your child’s attention.

1. Sleep: Sleeping is the best way to pass the time. To avoid children crying or fussing, parents might have to endure a bit and choose to hit the road during the child’s sleep time, such as in the evening or during nap time.

2. Familiar items: Kids may feel scared leaving unfamiliar surroundings. Parents can prepare their child’s usual sleep or play essentials in the car to ease anxiety and insecurity.

• 3. Activities: It’s almost impossible to keep kids sitting quietly in their seats. To prevent them from constantly asking questions or getting fussy, parents should also prepare some in-car activities to shift their attention.Sing specific content:
• Prepare a container with slips of paper that have random words written on them. Adults and children play rock-paper-scissors to draw a slip. The person who draws must sing a song whose lyrics contain the word on the slip.Hum the tune and guess the song:

• No singing of lyrics allowed. The person giving the clue can only hum the melody of the song. This can help train the child’s musical sense. The first to guess the song title wins. Parents can start with simple children’s songs, then take turns giving clues with their child.Improvised chain:
• A variation of the chain game, where whatever is said must be related to people or things that appeared during the current car ride. This game can help train the child’s observation and memory skills.Guessing game:

The person giving the clue thinks of a noun (like: dad’s shoes, a peach, a puppy, etc.), and others ask yes-or-no questions. The person giving the clue can only answer “yes” or “no.” Everyone has to guess what it is within 15 questions. This game helps train the child’s judgment and reasoning abilities.

Remind parents that going out to travel is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen family bonds. During the trip, please put down your electronic devices and spend more time observing the surroundings with your child. Don’t end up handing your child over to an “electronic babysitter” just because you’re busy navigating, asking for directions, or handling things.