Road Trip Tips
• Try eating while you drive, stopping to play.
• If you’d rather stop to eat, go somewhere fun for the kids (like a Chuck E. Cheese or a McDonald’s with a play center).
• Provide a steady stream of snacks to the kids as you drive.
• Pack a few "forbidden" snacks.
• Make stops at roadside diversions, such as a fresh fruit stand, a playground or freeway rest stop.
• Pack rest stop toys, such as an inflatable beach ball and bubbles.
• Play a sing-along CD of children’s music (or pop music, for older kids).
•Play a lullaby CD or other calming music to induce kids' naps.
• Time the journey to take place during nap time. Or avoid nap time if you have a child who refuses to nap while buckled in.
•Pack a travel potty for little ones who can’t hold their bladder until the next rest stop or who can’t hover over soiled toilet seats.
• Play travel games. Visit MomsMinivan.com for 101 games and ideas for road travel with children.
•Put the kids in their pajamas and depart after dinner so the kids sleep while you drive.
• Save the DVDs, television, Gameboys and iPods as a reward for good behavior for use as you near your destination.
• Don't forget the bucket! You never know when car sickness will strike and if it does, you need to be prepared.
For more information on this topic see:
• A Road Trip with Children Experiment: Eat While You Drive. Stop to Play.
• Mother Knows Best: An Old School Road Trip
• Road Trip Resources
Have we missed something? Let us know if there is a travel tip you particularly love and why so we can add it to our list!
