While there’s nothing wrong with driving to an airport, parking your vehicle, going through security, boarding a plane, and traveling someplace, sometimes a road trip is more fun.
Instead of sitting on a plane beside someone with a bawling baby for hours or behind someone whose chair is reclined all the way back, you can load family and things into a vehicle and head for your road trip destination. But one question you won’t want to hear repeatedly from your kids when on the open road is, “Are we there yet?”
How can you make the journey kid-friendly if you’re going on a long road trip? Keep reading for five tips to make things more pleasant for your kids.
- Plan Your Route Carefully
When going on an epic road trip, plan your route carefully. Don’t drive super-long stretches without stopping for breaks. Your kids are less likely to get bored if you strategically plan stops. According to one source, you should stop for 15 minutes for every two hours of driving. Let your kids use the bathroom, stretch their legs, and get something to eat during breaks. When your kids aren’t cooped up in the car for hours at a time, they won’t be as restless and irritable.
- Pack Some Entertainment
While you might not want your kids to spend the entire trip staring at their phones, that doesn’t mean you can’t allow them to spend some time playing games, listening to music, or reading books. You might have a vehicle with an infotainment system that includes screens for watching videos — that can be a godsend of a feature if you have kids who might get bored on a trip.
For younger kids, bring along some coloring books and crayons or markers. You can place seat covers on the seats to safeguard them. One way to make coloring more fun for your kids is by finding a company offering coloring book printing services. You can provide the company with a PDF file, and it’ll work its magic and create a personalized coloring book your kids will love.
- Play Games
There are loads of games you can play out on the road. One option is to play a game where you find out who can find the most state license plates on a particular stretch of roadway. You can also play the “I Spy” game, giving clues and seeing who can find what you’re hinting at. Playing games can help keep your kids engaged so they’re not focused on how long the trip takes. Let whoever wins choose what type of food to get at the next rest stop. You can make the road trip more manageable and fun by playing road trip games.
- Pack Snacks and Drinks
Packing food and drinks for your kids is also a good idea. While it’s probably okay to include a few indulgences like cookies and chocolate bars, focus on healthier items like nuts, granola bars, fresh fruit, and other treats. Don’t forget to pack some drinks — in a cooler if you have one. Include water and fruit juice.
Packing snacks and beverages is a good idea since you don’t want to stop every time your kids feel hungry or thirsty. Fewer unnecessary stops will ensure you get to and from your destination more efficiently.
- Break Up Long Trips into Manageable Chunks
Is your road trip destination so far that it might make better sense to break up the trip over several days? It’ll be no fun for anyone to drive 15 hours to get to your road trip destination and then repeat the process when going back home. One rule of thumb is to drive no more than eight hours in a day. So, if you’re 10 hours away from your road trip destination, drive eight hours, overnight it at a hotel, and then get back on the road bright and early the next day.
That’ll be good for your kids and everyone else on the road trip. When it comes to road-tripping, the drive to and from should be part of the fun. But it won’t be if you try to drive too much on any single day. Break things up.
Are you going on a road trip with your kids? If so, follow these five tips. It’ll make for a better trip for everyone And when your kids are in a good mood, the trip will be much better.
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