To Road Trip or Not
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My mom was amazing at keeping us entertained on the road. My grandparents lived miles and miles away so a visit to see them would always involve the longest road trip (my dad did not like to fly).
Years down the line, I have learned a few tricks to help keep my brood under control when we are on the road. We travel by road for fun because we feel it is a great way to see the country.
Here are a few ideas that might help you on those long road trips with children.
1. Pack lots of food and drinks
For the first leg, until you can make a stop to get something to eat, make sure you have lots of supplies. It is amazing how much more cranky children (and some adults) get when they are hungry. Snacks are always my first line of defence. When their mouths are busy they cannot use them to complain!
2. Stock up on age-appropriate games
Be prepared to play with them and referee! “I spy” is popular with all ages and older children love to show off with naming games such as alphabetically naming countries, cities, boys’ names or animals. One of our favourites is “When I went on vacation, I packed a.......” You go around each player naming random items in alphabetical order and the next person has to recite the preceding items and then add to the list. So someone on letter C would say “When I went on vacation I packed an Atlas, a Beach ball (assuming that is what had been said before) and a Camel”. You get the idea!
3. Pack some toys
It is amazing how long Lego will keep a child quiet! You can also pack books if your children are readers or even audio books that you can all listen to or sing along with.
4. Plan some fun time
It is very boring (not to mention unfair and unhealthy) to stay in the car for too long at a go. Try and schedule your trip in such a way that you have pit-stops at least every few hours where you can get out and stretch and hopefully do something fun too. Whether it is just trying out some wacky restaurant or visiting places the children find interesting, do something!
5. Share the drive
As we got older and got our licenses, we would be allowed to drive for stretches at a time. Always make sure that one of the adults is in the front as well and stay alert (that usually is not a problem when your nineteen year old is at the wheel!).
Hopefully these few tips will help make a difference.
Remember, the whole point of a road trip is actually the trip itself, not the destination, so do not try to rush through it. Some families are good at it, some are less so.
Of course, if you are not willing to
subject yourselves to days and days in the car, the same tips apply for
air travel. Truth be told, my husband does not love to travel by air,
but his reasons are much more due to finances and the dislike of paying
for air travel.
I’d prefer to fly, but he dislikes the cost of paying for all of us. I solved the problem of cost by switching over to an airline credit card recently (see more info on airline cards). While we still drive a lot, every once in awhile I am treated to the perks of the card which allow us to fly rather than drive. My very logical husband saw my point of view after I made mention of the fact that free or reduced tickets usually trump refilling the gas tanks multiple times for travelling greater distances. You get the idea!
If you do decide on the long drive though, take plenty of things to keep the kids happy. Mom was smart when we travelled long distances. She’d let us blow off steam in the pool and then get out one of our favorite family games or cards in the evenings to help us wind down. There are lots of good options to choose from, but with the advent of video games your kids may not know them.
Happy travels!
