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We love vacations and I can’t help but be thankful for how well our kids travel in the car. They’re now 9 and 6 and the only stops we make are to get gas, which doubles as our bathroom breaks. I have heard from some friends that they dread car rides with kids. Some even refuse to take vacations until the kids are older. I don’t know that we necessarily have this mastered, but I wanted to share some tips we have discovered to help our kids travel well. We’ve been doing this since they were toddlers with success. Keep in mind that our goal is to get there as quickly as we can with as few problems as possible.
- My first tip is to maximize your vehicle’s space efficiently. Only take what you absolutely need and will use. While we only have 2 kids, we have a bigger vehicle that provides 6 seats in the back. We leave the center middle seat open for the small bag of toys and jackets. The last row of seats is where all of our cargo goes that we will not be using during the trip.
- For longer road trips, I recommend bringing food. This helps us avoid meltdowns, wasting money, and spending time at fast food restaurants. We always pack a cooler and keep it behind the passenger seat. My 9 year old actually really prefers to have the cooler under his feet. He’s tall and on a long road trip, he loves propping his feet up rather than letting them dangle. Our cooler usually contains sandwiches for each of us, crunchy veggies, grapes, cheese sticks, gogurts, Gatorade, and small containers of milk. We have a recycled bag that we keep next to the cooler of non-refrigerated snacks: bananas, raisins, fruit snacks, chips, crackers, and cereal bars. Remember, only keep items you will actually eat in the car in this bag.
- We bring specific cups that our kids drink out of in the car to prevent spills in their seats. These thermos funtainers are insulated and filled with water when we start the trip. Each of our boys have a 12 ounce thermos funtainer bottle.
- Distractions are necessary for kids. I cannot think of any child that will sit still for a car ride with nothing to do. We are intentional in what we pack for our kids to enjoy on the trip. One thing we will not leave home without, is our portable DVD players (one for each child). The DVD players that we own are the Sylvania 9 inch swivel screen and we have them mounted on the back of our seats with TFY Car Headrest Mount Holder for Sylvania. These work so well because I can easily reach behind the seats to unhook the players to swap DVDs! Our kids are old enough now to change their own discs and they use the remote to control their DVD. The remote fits perfectly in their armrest of their booster seats too! I hold a large case full of DVDs in the front seat and offer it to them when they’re ready for some quiet time. Be sure to bring them some headphones if you want some quiet while they watch a movie.
- Our kids really enjoy listening to the music from their favorite movies. I created a playlist for the boys on my iPhone and add catchy songs for them to enjoy on the ride. This helps us eliminate the need for multiple CDs to juggle in the car. None of us can carry a tune but it’s fun to really let go and sing as loud as you can to these songs. They do a lot of laughing and smiling while enjoying the music.
- Save your old phones! We kept our old iPhones when we purchased newer versions. The old iPhones are now reloaded with apps that are child friendly that they can play with in the car. Some of their favorite apps are Potato Head, Mario, Angry Birds, Disney clubhouse, Endless ABC, Jellytelly, and Crossy Road. We have parental locks on the phones so they cannot accidentally download apps, nor can they make in app purchases on anything.
- Our trip is not full of electronics. We also have a bag of toys they can choose from in the middle row. This bag is packed with things like look & find books, planes and cars, Imagine Ink books, a journal to draw, and workbooks.
- Both of our kids occasionally still fall asleep on our drives and really like to have their their special soft toy to hold. They also find comfort in holding these if they start to become agitated or upset in the car. We are always sure to put these things in the seat between them so they can easily grab them when they’re ready to rest or calm down.
- Another thing we have done with great success is play car games. They both really like the game “I Spy” which can be tricky when we are moving but we try to keep it simple by identifying things that can be found anywhere along the road (for example green = tree, white = the license plate in front of us, brown = road sign). We have also played the alphabet game. Starting with the letter “A”, someone has to find something along our trip that starts with this letter. Then we move on to the next letter. Word list recall is also a lot of fun. Someone thinks of a word and the person after that has to say that word and then add a word to the list. The third person has to say the first two words and add a word onto the list. This continues until someone cannot repeat the list. There’s always so much laughter surrounding this game.
- Finally, accidents happen for kids and it is not convenient to dig through your suitcase to find extra clothing. I recommend having a bag of backup clothing, diapers, wipes, and underwear that is easily accessible for accidents or spills. Add in a disposable grocery bag or two to toss out a dirty diaper or hold soiled clothing until arrival so the car doesn’t smell. This has saved us numerous times. From the time the boys were infants to now, we have used this bag instead of a diaper bag to save space. We have a pack n’ pull caddy made by Thirty-One that is filled with a pair of extra pants and underwear for both boys. We still keep wipes in the bag to help with cleaning hands or mouths when we stop. When the boys were young, we kept about 5 diapers in the bag along with their extra clothing. We hang this bag on the back of our 9 year old’s seat so we can access it easily without getting into the back of the car.
These have all really helped our boys stay calm and enjoy the ride to our destination. We have noticed that dreadful question of “are we there yet” has decreased in frequency. Try them out and I’m hopeful you’ll also have some success in your next trip. Also, please share some of your ideas! I’m always looking to try something new for our road trips.
