Road Trips with Children: Five Vacation Tips for a Less Bumpy Ride

Family road trips were a common occurrence when I was young. Visits to the grandparents, vacations, reunions, and weekend outings meant a great deal of hours in backseat of the family station wagon. Road trips with children, however long or short, are what you make of them. A bit of preparation, and some basic ground rules will make miles fly by, and family memories that will long outlast the sunburn on your back and the heartburn from that roadside diner.
1. Start off right, start off comfortably.
Though cars are a great deal more comfortable today than when I was in the backseat, enough hours in any position can make for a real pain. Comfort is key with kids. The more comfortable you can make the trip for your children, then more pleasant the ride will be for everyone. Keeping season and temperature in mind, try covering the backseat with some material. Don't spend a fortune, an old table cloth is perfect. Put a hole where each seatbelt is and you're good to go. This also means less stress at snack time. Your tablecloth should prevent juice box spills and ground in pretzels. Toss an extra cloth in the back seat just in case.
2. Sweet Dreams
Long road trips often require an early morning start. If your schedule includes leaving the house before the sun comes up, you're bound to hear protests. If you can make the switch from the bed to the car seamless, everyone can get a few hours sleep, excluding the driver of course. Changing on the highway is not an option, so loose the pajamas, but keep everything else. Letting each child bring a small pillow and blanket will keep them in dream mode, and be a comfort during such a drastic change of routine. A few more hours of sleep for the kids will benefit everyone. When everyone wakes up, enjoy some breakfast. Consider having a breakfast packed if time is an issue. Or, if your schedule permits, stop and eat.
3. Surprise Surprise
Surprise your kids with a bag of goodies. Prepare a bag for each child before the trip, and hand them out when the miles start to drag. Find some inexpensive items that your children can enjoy. Travel games, a deck of cards, some crayons, a comic book, even some snacks (watch out for sugar, you're all in that car for a while). The actual surprise will surely thrill your children. I still remember finding a bag of surprises on the floor in front of my seat on one of our family adventures. When the surprise itself wears off, they still have the activities and games to entertain them. Boredom has no home here.
4. Gameboy versus Family Games
Today's market is full of products to make different parts of your life easier, road trips included. Portable dvd players, mp3 players, and handheld video games are just a few of the products available today that will help you kill time in the car, if killing time is what you want. Memories are hard to make with your daughter in headphones and your son deep into beating level three of his new video game. If it's quality time with you're kids that your after, leave the batteries at home. Or as a safer option, bring the batteries and insist on some family time in the car too. Compromise is good.
5. Car games and happy kids
Assuming that you choose to spend some portion of your trip electronics free, a few family car games may help ease the pain and get things moving. Most board games can also be purchased in travel size versions, but often it's the old fashion travel games that can be the most fun. The Alphabet Game, 20 Questions, The License Plate Game, State Capitols, Guess Who I'm Thinking Of, and The Picnic Game, are just a few examples of activities your family can enjoy during travel time. Even your youngest ones can participate and your kids will get a kick out of winning a few rounds.
So pack your bags this weekend, and don't worry about spending time in the car. An hour or two on the road and you'll be seat-belt deep in family laughs and childhood memories.