Red Train to the Cave
The trip on the red train to the cave is full of excitement, but the long wait to arrive makes the time in between hard to bear. The visual support below gives the anticipation something to rest on.
♂Train to the Cave
A boy rides a small red train into a cave.
About this visual support
The thrill before the cave is a joy in itself, but it can also become a torment. When the child longs so intensely to arrive, every minute on the train turns into an eternity, and the question of whether we are there yet comes back again and again. Anticipation with no visible end easily tips into impatience that spills over into whining.
Visual support gives the longing a direction by showing the whole journey, from boarding the red train to finally stepping off at the cave. When the child sees the stations laid out in a row up to the goal, the wait becomes measurable, and each picture passed becomes a small victory along the way. The excitement finds an outlet in following the trip rather than just enduring it.
A tip for this journey in particular: let the child tick off each station on the picture as you pass it, so the longing is channelled into something to do. Counting down with pictures gives a sense that time really is moving forward. You can build the whole adventure trip in the Routined app and try it free for fourteen days.