As I sat, once, 300 miles from home in my hotel room with three of my kids bouncing off the walls while I am trying to get some work done, I suddenly feel inspired to write a blog! Who knew I’d ever wish for some solid time in the car with the kids all strapped into place?!
Anyone who says bribery is not your friend during a long car trip has never traveled with my kids! When they are bored, they don’t whine (very much) or throw fits (except the baby). They get loud and obnoxious and generally make me crazy. Claustrophobia takes on new meaning when confined inside a small vehicle, belted in, with lots of kids. Don’t forget to alleviate headaches and frustration by doing the following:
- Bring snacks and drinks. I suggest the small hand-sized bags of snacks, particularly otherwise forbidden indulgences! We also carry lots of sippee-topped bottles of water.
- Haul out the Game Boys. If you don’t otherwise allow them, this might be a great car diversion. See if you can borrow one from a friend especially for the trip. It will also come in handy while sharing a hotel room when the kids wake up at 5am and everyone else wants to sleep a few more hours.
- TV is your friend. Whatever your feelings on TV, car travel is the time to put them aside! If your car does not have a built-in television, you can pick one up for around $150. A friend or relative may also be willing to part with theirs for your vacation. We weren’t so lucky but found a very cheap solution. We took our laptop computer with us instead! We bought a power converter at Radio Shack for about $35 and converted the cigarette lighter into a power source. We stocked up on DVDs and the kids were happy for hours. The screen size can’t be compared to the televisions made for vehicles, either!
- Sleep only sometimes make a good travel companion! Plan your trip for hours that the kids will most likely doze off if they tend to sleep easily and well in the car. If your kids resist sleep or you have a baby like mine that just gets irate and screams instead of falling blissfully into slumber, another idea is to leave as soon as he wakes up in the morning when he’s fully rested and in a good mood. We found that travel was pleasant this way but torture while leaving at nap or bedtime.
- Plan for stops along the way. This way you won’t feel stressed to meet deadlines that aren’t always realistic with kids in tow. You can even make it fun by pre-planning what interesting or educational stops are along your travel route.
- Bring a potty! This is especially good advice for folks with newly potty-trained children but might come in handy for older kids too. It is sometimes easier and more practical (not to mention time-saving) to pull off to the side of the freeway to pee in the potty in the back of the van than it is to find a rest stop in the middle of nowhere. And it’s a little more discrete than the infamous peeing on a tree!
- Play car games. The license plate game, the ABC sign game, there are a million of them. We like to check out books with car games and songs before we leave and refer to them along the way.
Good luck on your travels and remember that getting there can be as fun and enjoyable – sometimes – as the destination!