It takes a bold parent to ply routes for hours on road trips with kids bombarding him or her with questions about whether they have reached their destination. The truth remains that a family’s road trip can be exciting if properly planned with minimal preparation. That way, the experience becomes more enjoyable than the destination in view.
Well, for those set for the journey, here are 7 hints to ensure an awesome road trip with the kids:
Get all Outfits in Order and on Time
It must be borne in mind that road trips involve early mornings and late nights and the need for a change. Fresh clothes and clean night wears are paramount.
Packing cubes offer a hassle-free arrangement as it ensures order and organisation made easy by colour schemes. For instance, there will be a separate cube for shorts, under-wears, clean clothes and shoes with labels of each child’s name and the days they are to be worn. This way, it saves time and brings some semblance of order on a road trip with the kids.
Have a Potty Handy
The presence of a potty, baby wipes and plastic bags is essential if you have kids between ages two to four. This makes it handy and easy to do quick stops as it serves as the kid’s restroom.
Prepare to Play
Having kids means having play bunnies who are eager to play happily anywhere. A parent should be ready for anything fun. Bear in mind that you’ll be out of the car with them in a minute leaving things unpacked for a quick dive in the pool, and be back with wet clothes to hit the road in a blink of an eye. To avoid such mess in advance, be sure to pack an ensemble of swimsuits, splash bags, towels, hats, wet bags and sunscreens in the car boot.
Pack worn clothes neatly to avoid stains and damage which if occurs should preferably be recycled or discarded.
Kit Up with Toys and Tools for an Amazing Trip
It can be quite an uneasy task to combat backseat boredom amidst the noise and mess of kids on a road trip. However, there are certain products available to ease this discomfort that arises when travelling with kids.
In recent times, popular toys and games exist to relegate backseat boredom to the background among which are mad libs, travel bingo and mobile art stations such as Crayola Colour, Mess-Free Activity Set and Wonder Makers.
To avoid spills and other kids’ messes, one can have recourse to seatback pouches, organisers and Graco car seats specially designed to keep your kids smug during the ride; contain your kid’s snacks, games and toys.
Keep Everyone Well Fed
Feeding well cannot be overemphasized. Road trips require lots of eating because everyone keeps getting hungry. Therefore, ensure you pack double of everything from nutrition-rich meals to those low in sugar. Also include snacks that are likely to last the entire trip such as rice cakes, rice crackers, nuts, protein bars and popcorn. Avoid foods high in sugar if you don’t want the kids complaining of headaches on a long trip.
Prevent Motion/Car Sickness by all Means
Road trips can be exhausting and challenging. Having a kid prone to motion sickness requires one ascertaining its trigger. Luckily, research in recent years has proven helpful in identifying the triggers of motion sickness.
Several tested methods now exist to prevent motion sickness in children including recourse to orthodox means where medicine is administered for prevention. Feeding a kid ginger and peppermint has also been proven to be preventive. On the contrary, spicy meals fed to kids bring on motion sickness.
Make a Stop and Relax
To make the most out of a road trip requires wise planning and a lot of exercise for the kids. Make sure to consider roadside parks for hasty picnics, theme parks and other attraction sites for your leisure trip.
And if it happens to be a hot summer day, you might want to consider jumping in the pool, relaxing around a quiet river or sliding down water slides and speed coasters. Remember, the fact that there’s a water park in every state means you can choose your relaxation as you please.
Finally…
Always remember that the essence of family road trips is to present kids an opportunity to study their environment and the world at large. In other words, engage them with activity sheets that educate them about the places you intend to visit. As you go along, give them a daily update of the journey. Create maps for the younger kids as landmarks to look out for, they’ll enjoy looking out for them while on the go. This way, you are assured of an amazing trip with the kids.
