Unique Ways to Keep the Peace on a Long Car Trip
Keeping the peace on a long car trip can be a real challenge for families. Planning ahead, packing the right supplies, and maybe a few bribes can all keep Mom, Dad, and the kids sane during a long trip. Use these ideas during your next long car trip to keep everybody happy.
Create Excitement. Before you head on a long car trip, get some brochures, maps, etc for the destination where you are headed. For example, if you are taking a vacation, visit the tourism website for your destination and request as many publications as possible. Your kids will love planning and dreaming about what they will do once they arrive while looking through the brochures on the way. Not going on vacation? If you are going to visit relatives, try bringing along photo albums that include pictures of the relatives you are going to visit. Your kids will enjoy reminiscing and will start looking forward to the visit.
Pack Special Snacks. If there are certain foods or drinks that your kids only get to enjoy on special occasions, try packing some of them for the trip. Perhaps you let your kids visit a bulk candy store to choose a half pound of all their favorite goodies. Or maybe you want to get creative and make some snacks that go along with your eventual destination. Do your kids drink soft drinks? If not, let them have a little Coke or even a Mountain Dew. Breaking out the special snacks on a long car ride might just prolong the peace.
Make Activities Ahead of Time. If you get the kids together and make some special car activities ahead of time your kids will look so forward to trying the activities out that they will likely be entertained for hours. Make some car bingo cards together as a family. Print out a grid on the computer then go around to each family member to get suggestions for what to put on the bingo cards. Examples include a motorcycle, an airplane, a swimming pool, a dog, etc. Check online for other printable car activities. Making some activities ahead of time will definitely help keep the peace on a long car trip.
Leave at Odd Times. If Mom and Dad can handle it, consider leaving at an odd time, such as 4:00 AM or even 8:00 PM. If you leave while the kids would normally be sleeping they will likely spend several hours of the trip doing just that. And while I wouldn't put it past some siblings, I don't think they can manage to fight in the car while they are asleep. Just make sure you are safe and alert if driving overnight.
Bribe. A final technique to help keep the peace in the car on a long trip is to simply bribe your kids to get along and behave. A great bribing technique is to give each child a roll of quarters, or a roll of dollar coins, depending on how much you want to spend. Whenever a fight breaks out the kids get one warning to calm themselves and make up. If the fighting resumes, you take a coin from the roll. Obviously the kids want to keep their money to spend on the trip and this little bribe often works wonders to keep the peace during the ride to your destination.
Don't let a stressful car ride ruin your trip! Use these techniques to help keep the peace, and hopefully all of your hair, on a long car trip.
Published by Emily Harmon - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle
I am a happily married mom of an elementary school aged boy and toddler girl. I work full time in the education/library field and part time as a crafter/artisan. View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentGood ones! Having done several 2000+ mile trips with our four-year-old, preparation is definitely key to a sanity-saving trip!
When we were little, my father used to pile us all in the old station wagon (back in the 1960s) and we would take a Sunday ride. As we grew older, we dubbed them the "rides to nowhere." I can never remember fighting or arguing with any of my brothers or sister. We were family, we were together, somehow it was all that mattered. We did that until my eldest brother left for college - the rides continued for a while longer and now that I'm grown, I appreciate that family time more than ever. cheers ;)