Taking a family road trip is so much fun, but it can also bring it’s share of difficulties! If you have ever traveled with kids, you know that things can go bad quickly! My family has traveled across the country multiple times we have travel as long as 14 hours in one day.
We love packing up the car and hitting the road. But when you pack your family in a tight space for hours, patience can wear thin and emotions can get the best of all of us. It’s hard on kids to have to sit still for long periods of time which makes long road trips with kids challenging for both the parents and the children.
However, over the years our family has learned some tips when traveling with children. So whether you are visiting family for the holidays or traveling for vacation, here are some of the best tips I’ve come up with for surviving long road trips with kids.
1. Bring activities for the car.
You will be 15 minutes down the road and start to hear, “Are we there yet?” So it’s imporant to have things for your children to do in the car.
Of course, the activities you choose will depend on the ages of your kids, but here are some general ideas. Break up your trip by rotating these activities.
Audio books or favorite music
Road trips are a great time for listening to things as a family. We will listen to kids books or music, and then we will also listen to our favorite music. It’s nice to have a variety while on a trip, so you don’t get bored listening to the same children’s music CD over and over.
Games
If your kids are old enough, one way to keep them entertained is by playing car games. It helps pass the time and you get to know your family better. We have had some great laughs as a family when we play these car games.
We like to count certain things that we see such as semi trucks, farms, or windmills.
Sometimes we will play “I spy” or we’ll try to guess an object a person is thinking of by asking “yes” or “no” questions.
Another favorite game is “Would you rather…”
You can also purchase a fun Scavenger Hunt for road trips. (affiliate link)
Toys and Books
About a week before a trip, I ask my kids to pack a few small toys and books for the trip. They have their own backpack for the things they choose to bring on the trip.
That way when it comes time for the trip, they aren’t used to playing with the toys or reading that particular book. It feels newer and they are more likely to want to play with it in the car.
The toys they bring have to be small. Usually, my son packs a few cars and a stuffed animal. My daughter will often pack a small doll and pony. They play with one toy at a time and return them to their backpacks when they are done.
Stickers
One of my kids favorite things to do is put stickers on paper. I love that it isn’t messy. The rule is that they have to keep the stickers on their paper not the car! You can get packs of stickers and a sketch pad at Dollar Tree. This activity keeps them busy for a good amount of time.
If you want to get extra creative, you could draw letters ahead of time and have your kids put stickers on the letters.
Crayons and Coloring Pages
Another great option for road trips is coloring pages. I have purchased new coloring books from the Dollar Tree and saved them exclusively for the road trip.
Other times I have printed off 5-6 free printables from the internet that are things my kids really like. So for my son I printed off trucks and lawnmowers. For my daughter I printed off Elsa and butterflies. As we travel, they work on coloring through the packet of coloring pages.
2. Plan for breaks on the road.
It’s hard for kids to sit still for any amount of time, but being buckled into one place for hours is even harder. So plan for lots of breaks. Whenever we stop, we make sure everyone gets out and tries to use the restroom. Otherwise, you’ll get 15 minutes down the road and someone will have to go to the bathroom even though you just stopped.
Use these times to get out and move around a bit too. If the weather is nice, allow the kids to run around a little bit at a rest stop.
If time allows, we even like to stop for a meal or to check out a local attraction. This helps break up the trip for everyone. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on local attractions. Look for free places to visit along the way. That is one way our family travels on a budget.
3. Bring snacks and drinks.
You know how your kids are always hungry at home? Well, they will always be hungry on your trip too! I’ve found it helpful to pack individually packaged snacks. Even if they don’t come that way, you can pack them in snack bags before your trip. I try to pack healthy road trip snacks. You don’t have to eat badly just because you are traveling.
- granola bars
- apples
- grapes
- Goldfish crackers
- trail mix
- water bottles
- juice pouches
4. Keep essentials on hand.
So you’ll know what your family needs, and it may differ from my family but here are 2 things that I always bring on a road trip.
- Baby wipes. They come in so handy for messy as we travel.
2. Plastic grocery bags. I use these as trash bags. The kids are constantly handing me their trash, so it’s nice to have a bag to put it all in.
5. Bring your patience.
No road trip is going to be perfect, so go into the trip with the expectation that there will be things that don’t go as planned. We’ve had to pull over for sick kids, spilled drinks, and multiple bathroom breaks at the most inconvenient times.
There have been sibling fights and cranky, bored kids every single trip we have ever taken. And I’m sure there will be more on our next trip!
As you face difficult situations with your kids, have your patience ready. It takes practice and lots of intention, but you’ll be so glad you chose to be patient with your kids instead of yelling and loosing your cool.
Something what helps me with my patience is to think about my child’s heart instead of their actions. You can always clean up a mess, but you can’t take back the words you say.
Another thing that helps me is to take deep breaths before speaking and allow myself to choose quiet purposeful words rather than quickly reacting in anger which is easy to do on road trips.
What other tips do you have for family road trips? Leave them in the comments!
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