“No! We’re Not There Yet!” – Surviving the Family Road Trip
I don’t know if you’ve ever traveled with kids but on a road trip it can get bad. But with a little careful planning you and your kids can have a wonderful time. If you don’t have one I strongly suggest you purchase a good quality global positioning system so you can be directed right to Aunt Gertrude’s back door. A good quality GPS can save you time and frustration especially when your going to a distant city or other location where you’ve never been. Just program in the address where your going and the GPS will usually take you with in a few feet of your destination.
Be sure that you stop smart. When you stop at a rest stop insist that each person including the children wash their hands before they return to the car. You can keep a container of sanitary hand soap and a box of baby wipes to clean up any mess. Also be sure to keep a roll of paper towels in the car and have another roll in the trunk for back up.
Beat the boredom of the road by bringing coloring cooks, crayons, and activity books for the children. Bring hand held games for the older kids. You should also have a couple of battery operated radios and headphones so the kids or teenagers can listen to the radio if they wish. The more things you bring along for the kids to do so you can keep them busy the happier everyone will be. If you plan to keep the children busy along the way you won’t have to keep hearing, “Are We There Yet?”
You can always stop along the way for a fast food snack but you should also keep chips, fruit, fruit roll ups, string cheese, bottles of water, cookies and etc. in the car with you so you can offer the kids or your spouse a quick snack. Buy loaf bread, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, sandwich meats, and any other item you can think of and have a picnic at a rest area some where down the road. You can pack a nice picnic lunch in an ice chest to have at a rest area some where down the road.
Be sure to pack a bottle of window cleaner in your car so you can stop along the way and clean your car windows. Keep a supply of grocery bags in the car so you can have everyone in the car help with a quick clean up of the car along the way. If you keep the car clean and everyone’s hands clean you’ll have a fun healthy safe trip.
Be sure to take your camera or camcorder along so you and other family members can take photos of interesting things you see along the way.
Plan for a short break at least every two hours or so. Try to get everyone to get out and walk around each time you stop for a break. Most state rest areas have a large map indoors where everyone can walk in and see where you’re at on your road trip and how much further you have to go.
If your going on a long trip of 500 miles or more it’s always a good ideal to start your trip at night and that way you’ll arrive early the next morning. There’s a lot less traffic at night and most times the kids will eventually go to sleep. Just be sure the driver gets plenty of rest before the trip and stays awake during the trip.
If you follow the above tips I bet you and your family will have a fun trip and everyone should have a fun adventure. We often drive from Charlotte to Key Largo and after we started planning our trip it was a lot more fun.
