Yesterday, on the blog, I wrote about outdoor family fun and also confessed that I have no intention of travelling anywhere this summer. ‘Tis true. Ordinarily, we’d be off to the beach for a week, going on weekend excursions to the mountains, and scheduling a few road trips to visit family. Ordinarily, we’d be hitting the open road during the summer. But for my family, this is no ordinary summer.
I can’t wait to get back to our “ordinary” after this baby is born. Sure, it’ll be a different ordinary, but it’s gotta be easier that this. Next summer, I plan to resume our summer travel schedule, and when I do, I plan to utilize some of these Top 10 Tips for Road Trips with Kids!
1. Get your car is ready for distance – Get that car inspection and your oil change that you’ve been putting off. Fuel up your gas tank. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting on the highway and realizing you have to stop at the first exit to refuel. Even worse… a breakdown. With kids. Yikes.
2. Make your car interior kid-ready – I love the Brica product line for organizing my car interior and keeping it tidy. Some of my favorite products are the iHide Car Seat Organizer (which also conveniently holds a tablet or DVD player) and the Seat Guardian which rests underneath the car seat and catches spills and crumbs. I’ve also recently installed the Brica Stay-in-Place mirror which I have next to my rear-view mirror so I can see the child behind the driver’s seat.
3. Make sure your essentials are packed – I always try to make sure that I have a bags for each child in the car, but I double check to make sure they are filled up before long trips. These have an extra set of clothes, snacks, and simple toys. I also keep a personal emergency kit for myself in the car with essentials like deodorant, feminine products, and toilet paper.
4. Load up on snacks and drinks for everyone – I have some great ideas that are easy to prepare in this post, including some grab ‘n go snacks that I keep on hand, and a few extra goodies that I make specially for long trips.
5. Ensure that everything is fully charged and that you have car chargers for important devices (phones, tablets, DVD players, breast pumps, etc.). So simple, yet I cannot tell you how many times as I’m loading up the car I realize my phone is dead and my charger is missing. Grrrr….
6. Be prepared with plenty of road trip games: Here are some great printable games (including “I Spy” and coloring sheets) from Lil Sugar! Love these!
7. Pack your car safely – if you have an SUV or van with open storage in the back, make sure that everything is secure so that if you make a sudden stop, nothing is sent flying to attack a child in the back seat. We had a close call one year with a beach chair, and I don’t plan to make that mistake again! Oh, and you’ll probably want to make sure you can see out the rear view mirror. 🙂 Here to help…
8. Plan out stops before you hit the road – are there any restaurants with play areas? Rest stops with playgrounds? Map these out so you can have exciting countdowns to break up the trip.
9. Decide to Drive – I have made a commitment to be more aware when I’m in my car by doing things like making not texting while driving and not trying to feed my kids while motoring down the highway. Safety first! My teenager self really hates me right now.
10. Be patient. You will be asked, “Are we there yet?” a billion times. There will be a poo-splosion (at least if you’re travelling with one of my kids), and there is a light at the end of the tunnel…. Vacation!
Here’s to happy and safe travels this summer. Once you get there have a margarita (or three) for me!
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This post is being shared as part of the Kid Blogger Network Series of “Top Ten” Posts for Summer. Don’t miss these other great ideas for entertaining young ones during these hot (but fun) months!
Link to List of all KBN Top Ten Posts: http://thisreadingmama.com/summer-learning-activities/
Pinterest Board for more KBN Summer Fun Activities:
Follow The Educators’ Spin On It’s board School’s Out: A Top 10 Series by KBN on Pinterest.
Will be keeping these in mind for our first road trip with our preschooler!
Good luck! 🙂
Thanks for including our Top Ten post!