Clear blue sky, traffic-less highway, wide-opened windows, favourite heavy-metal music, your loved-ones chilling next to you, endless driving… Is there anything better that you can ask for?
Yeah! that sounds great, but that never happens in real life😌 . And it gets even trickier when you travel with your family of kids. I’m not a full-time traveler, but from our last 5-6 long road Trip experiences with our Kid, we’ve learnt a few deals of turning your family road-trip into an enjoyable one.
Travel and driving documents, Insurance papers, Navigation systems, Phone chargers, Flash lights...no..no.. I am not going to list them, not even wipes or emergency kit. I know, obviously you won’t step-out of home without them! But my essentials list is little different, especially when you travel with kids. Here you go:
1. Flexible plan to accommodate "spontenity"
This is the area I failed badly in the beginning periods; my tightly-packed schedules and ambitious tick-lists not only bothered my wife and kid, but used to make the whole trip experience so tired and soar. It’s quite impractical, thus very important not to over-plan your schedules with kids onboard.
Just be ready to embrace the "change" and have enough room to accommodate the "unplanned" pit stops, that's where the happiness lies oftentimes. You don't need to arrive at your destinations on-time; its ok to make more stops than what you'd initially planned.
Some of the unplanned stops we made at a local animal form, a small family-run restaurant, a short football game you played with your kids on the beach along our journey, .. were not at all present in our original itinerary, but those were the moments which made the trip more cherish and memorable.
2. Kids Activity Kits / Games / Books :
There are numerous creative activities that can make the Road Trip with kids more engaging for my children while still allowing us to concentrate on the drive and enjoy each other. You, kids and the whole family can enjoy more if you carry a car games/ activity set or even some books.
3. Fruits & Snacks :
4. Cozy Clothing:
Kids, as well we have to be on comfortable dressing, especially on road trips. Can you imagine you driving for hours with your tight jeans? then imagine how crazy kids can go when their dressing is not comfortable.
Ofcourse, weather decides it all. But when it supports, always pick the most comfortable dresses possible. I’d prefer to leave them bare-foot, but if your AC blasts, you can leave them with socks on. Also, never forget to carry enough extra dresses for them, they can mess-up their dresses faster you could think.
5. Comfortable Seating & Sleeping :
When kids sit in car for long hours, it’s important that their seat are comfortable and safe with head supports. Choose car seats which are suitable for their age/weight. Carrying window sunshades is also a good idea – preferably the transparent one. They keep us cool from sun / UV rays, but still let the kids to enjoy the outside views.
When tiredness hits, help the little ones with a supportive travel pillow (if they like blanket too). That can give them a peaceful nap time and keep them fresh when they wake-up again. It’s never a bad idea that one of you – mom/dad to get-in the back seat when they are tired. A few tickling, little smooching, face-to-face contacts can help them to calm-down happily.
That’s from me. Just try them in your next trip. I hope you’ll hear lesser screams of "Are we not there yet?"😛. Good luck!
Just be ready to embrace the "change" and have enough room to accommodate the "unplanned" pit stops, that's where the happiness lies oftentimes. You don't need to arrive at your destinations on-time; its ok to make more stops than what you'd initially planned.
Some of the unplanned stops we made at a local animal form, a small family-run restaurant, a short football game you played with your kids on the beach along our journey, .. were not at all present in our original itinerary, but those were the moments which made the trip more cherish and memorable.
2. Kids Activity Kits / Games / Books :
Most of the family trippers choose to go with start a "DVD player or Tablet PC" for the kids; but I'll not. You don't need to completely abolish electronic gadgets from your car, you can use movies when the drive is really really long. But if it's only 2-3 hours, why should you plug your children into gadgets and isolate them from the ‘family’?
There are numerous creative activities that can make the Road Trip with kids more engaging for my children while still allowing us to concentrate on the drive and enjoy each other. You, kids and the whole family can enjoy more if you carry a car games/ activity set or even some books.
3. Fruits & Snacks :
I am not a snack monster (won’t comment on my wife here😜), but will definitely recommend taking generous (healthy) snacks and fruits along. Kids and hunger are always a bad idea when you are traveling, they can get so cranky!. You can’t expect to get proper food & snacks all along the way; it’s always wise to carry your favorite snacks with you.
4. Cozy Clothing:
Kids, as well we have to be on comfortable dressing, especially on road trips. Can you imagine you driving for hours with your tight jeans? then imagine how crazy kids can go when their dressing is not comfortable.
Ofcourse, weather decides it all. But when it supports, always pick the most comfortable dresses possible. I’d prefer to leave them bare-foot, but if your AC blasts, you can leave them with socks on. Also, never forget to carry enough extra dresses for them, they can mess-up their dresses faster you could think.
5. Comfortable Seating & Sleeping :
When kids sit in car for long hours, it’s important that their seat are comfortable and safe with head supports. Choose car seats which are suitable for their age/weight. Carrying window sunshades is also a good idea – preferably the transparent one. They keep us cool from sun / UV rays, but still let the kids to enjoy the outside views.
When tiredness hits, help the little ones with a supportive travel pillow (if they like blanket too). That can give them a peaceful nap time and keep them fresh when they wake-up again. It’s never a bad idea that one of you – mom/dad to get-in the back seat when they are tired. A few tickling, little smooching, face-to-face contacts can help them to calm-down happily.
That’s from me. Just try them in your next trip. I hope you’ll hear lesser screams of "Are we not there yet?"😛. Good luck!
