Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Tips on a Long Road Trip with Kids

Let's face it, traveling with kids is not always pretty especially if you are taking a long 7-8 hours of r driving.    My family love traveling, it's one of the many  pleasures in life that we enjoy as a family.  We love to go on a road trip especially if we can't afford to go on a  major vacation.  Local trips or just plain  JoyRides is fun with these  Burritos of ours.  These photos were taken when we were coming home from our one week getaway in Ocean City this year.  That's a very  long  drive so hubby and I make sure that we are ready to deal with the travel woes.  Below are some of the  tips  that really works for us when we go on  long road trips.
 1.  Bring Music CD and Movies - Listening to music or watching movies can really occupy their time.
 2.  Bring Coloring Books or Crossword Puzzles - My kids love these kinds of stuff so I make sure that I pack  these with our stuff.
 3.  Pack some  Finger Foods - Bringing some snacks  during the trip is a must when you have kids because they tend to get fuzzy when they get hungry.  A well-fed tummies  means happy travelers.  This also eliminates the need for  stopping at food chains.  Cut up fruits and veggies are great to keep them full.
 4.  Keep them Engage - Engaging them in a conversation makes the trip really exciting.  We  sometimes challenge them to look for certain color of cars or type of car.  It makes them aware and alert.
 5.  Ask Trivia Questions - Even on  road trips, we  somehow incorporate learning.  My husband would always asks about certain characters in a movie and stuff like that.
 6. Tell a Story - Hubby is a great story teller so the kids always ask for stories when we go on road trips.  You can share your childhood  memories and  life experiences,  our kids love to listen to that.
 7.  Bring some Board games that they can play.  - We let our kids bring their favorite toy or games when we go on a road trip so that they could play with it when they get bored.
 8.  Are We There Yet? - This is the common question that kids ask when  traveling so  tell them the location, things that you see, and  the time period that you still need on the road before reaching the destination.
 9.  Riddles i this plays a big part as well when we are traveling.  Hubby has a lot of these lol.
10.  Point Out to them the beauty of nature.  Luckily for us,  both of our children love outdoors/nature so they enjoy what they see especially farms with animals.  Industrial buildings is also one of their favorite topic.  If you involve your kids in a conversation, they would surely show enthusiasm and boredom is unlikely to happen.  
11.  Lastly, make sure that they are well-rested the night before the trip so they won't be so tired and fuzzy.  

41 travelers' comments:

mhie said...

I bring loads of entertainment when we hit on the road. My husband is not a story teller but he loves to listen.

Lynndee said...

Great tips, sis. But I've never had problems with Yogi when it comes to any of our road trips. He's such a good boy when it comes to that. When he's not sleeping, he would just be talking with us or munch on something.:)

traveling morion said...

Exactly! Very helpful tips- thanks for sharing. Every time we travel with my baby girl I make sure that gadgets are fully charged to avoid bagot moments ni kiddo :)

Nova said...

such a very helpful tips, this will truly be one good ideas for those parents who never tried and were not pro when travelling kids...

Unknown said...

Helpful tips sis - my niece tend to be bored whenever we are on long trips - this should help.

papaleng said...

Helpful tips sis, I keep them in mind if ever we will have a trip with my apo.

Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen said...

Thanks for the tips mommy Rose! Looks like the two didn't get bored at all.

jo said...

Thanks for the tips! :) I think I'll use them soon! LOL! Always on road trips and hoping for more next year... If I can. ;D

Maria Teresa Figuerres said...

How about Knock-Knock questions? My son loves those. Lol! You've shared some very helpful tips here, sis, on how to keep kids preoccupied/engaged during long road trips. I can definitely use some, if not all, of these with my 8-year-old son. Thanks!

Alli Smith said...

And lots of bathroom breaks! These are all great ideas to keep kids occupied on a long car trip. We always had the best times traveling with our kids when they were young.

Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle said...

These are great tips. We always try to find new ways to keep the kids entertained on road trips. The last thing you want is a car full of bored kids.

Terri Ramsey Beavers said...

Thanks so much for the great tips. I always take finger foods but quit taking coloring crayons when one of the kids left one on the seat and it melted. I take a lot of bathroom breaks so my back doesn't hurt as much and I think that really helps the kids.

CourtneyLynne said...

Ahhhhh traveling with kiddos can be tough!! I've been traveling with my princess since she was a month old, so she's a pro at this point, but I always tell parents, traveling with infants is the best! Take advantage of the sleeping baby lol... Once they are toddlers.... Ughh.... Snacks and lots of entertainment is key ;-)

Aduke Schulist said...

I remember driving cross country with my parents once. It was fun and boring all at the same time. We slept, and played lots of games. Your trips are spot on!

Kori at Home said...

I took a lot of road trips with my grandparents and one cross country trip with my aunt and cousin. We did take quite a few stops along the way- either for tourist attractions or so everyone could stretch their legs.

ricci said...

I don't have kids but I do have nieces/nephews and have traveled with them. When I am alone with them I like to listen to audiobooks! They really get into them and I do too and it keeps them relatively quiet! Win/Win!!

Liz Mays said...

I think I get just as bored as the kids on long drives. It definitely helps to have games or something to listen to.

Elizabeth O. said...

I just bring the iPad. It was created to entertain kids during road trips hehe!

Nina Say said...

I love road trips with my kids. Those moments are always when we connect the best.

Cher said...

This post takes me back to when my kids were little. Every year we would travel to see their grandparents over Thanksgiving. It was a 10-hour drive one way, so we tried every trick in the book over the years to keep them occupied and happy.

Tammilee Tips said...

These are great tips for traveling with out kids too! We always seem to get bored when we travel and don't seem to pack enough entertainment.

Emberlinmoon said...

Kids on road trips have it so easy with all their games on a phone or an ipad. Back when I was a kid I would normally sleep half the road trip because my gameboy would die out lol.

Coach Donna Ward said...

First off - you have beautiful children - and yep I remember I had a little backpack of goodies to keep my son busy, when he was traveling long periods with us! Great points and reminders of those times :)

Alyssa Collazo said...

These are GREAT tips! I'll definitely keep these in mind during my next road trip

Bonnie G said...

We have 5 kiddos so it's very hard to travel a long distance. We do love road trips though even though they are only a little ways away.

Lisa said...

We like to leave early in the morning. That way, the kids can sleep part of the trip!

Yona Williams said...

After the license plate games and multiple rounds of 'I Spy' have worn their usefulness, I keep my nephew occupied with the iPad. All the way back from wherever we go, he's usually conked out.

Jesica H said...

It is always VERY important to be well prepared and planned when traveling with children, unless you like to lose your mind! :-) Thanks for the helpful tips and reminders!

DisneyBride2008 said...

We drive for three hours or more regularly and I agree with every tip! Mine love the music and their iPads too :)

Jeanine said...

Great tips! Today I took 3 kids solo on a 2.5 hour train ride home and my youngest who is 18mos cried and screamed most of the time it was horrible. I had the iPad our, snacks.. You name it. It just wasn't a good day today!

Unknown said...

This are fabulous tips! I have three boys so I'll definitely be utilizing them!

C.Mahan said...

Great trips. When I was younger we didnt have gadgets or even portible dvd players. We didn't have walkmans until I was in Jr. High or so. We used to drive back and forth from Oklahoma to Michigan every summer.It was rather boring but I kept myself occupied with books and art projects. Kids today have no idea how good they have it. lol

Unknown said...

We used to bring travel games, coloring books and walkmans with us on long trips. We just to drive down south every summer.

Unknown said...

Oh yeah, we've done all of this! Six kids, we love to travel and our trips to Texas take 18 hours so we've had to get creative!

mail4rosey said...

Road trips were so exciting for my oldest two boys. We used to go cross country (vertically) quite a bit to visit family. :)

Unknown said...

We have car tvs and lots of color books plus we just hang out and chit chat on road trips. Great tips!

HilLesha O'Nan said...

Road trips aren't always the easiest with my children, a 2 year old and 8 year old (that gets bored easily). However, these are wonderful tips!

Unknown said...

This is good info! I foresee a lot of trips with my daughter in the future so I will make note of your suggestions. Thanks!

Roch said...

I think it will be hard to write on puzzles and coloring books while the car is moving. Singing and dancing along with the tunes and eating sound most fun! :)

Anonymous said...

The beauty of airplanes! Not sure I'd ever want to take a long road trip with kids, haha.

Christy said...

These are such great tips. One of my fond memories of road tripping as a child is having my mom make snack bags for all of us. :-)

Post a Comment

I love comments so leave me a line or two and I will follow your trail and comment back.

It's been..

Daisypath - Personal pictureDaisypath Anniversary tickers




 
Travels and Wandering " © 2011 │ Template by Demcy Apdian-Dias │ Tweaked by EnAiRrAh