Travelling with kids can be stressful at the best of times. However, when you’re stuck in the confinement of a car with your impatient, excitable children, it can soon start to feel like you’re losing your sanity!
The good news is, road trips with the family don’t have to be a stressful, torturous nightmare. There are some great tips you can follow to ensure you actually enjoy the road trip and as hard as it might be to believe, have fun along the way.
Top Tips for Taking Family Road Trips
Make sure you have a reliable car
First and foremost, if you’re heading off on a family road trip, you need to ensure your car is reliable. This is especially true if you’re heading off on a long road trip as the last thing you need is for the car to break down part way there.
Take your car for a service prior to going on the road trip or consider upgrading. Some cars are more suited for road trips than others. So, it may be worth investing in a newer model from a company such as AA.
Don’t forget the treats
Heading off anywhere with the kids without snacks is a bad idea! Snacks can truly be your best friend throughout a long car journey with the kids. They keep them satisfied and perhaps more importantly after an hour or so into the journey, it keeps them quiet.
Obviously, it’s best to have a stock of healthy treats as sugary snacks will only cause your kids to become more hyper and even less patient than they were before.
Take a mixture of entertainment
There’s a lot of in-car entertainment you can take to keep the kids happy. For long journeys, consider taking a tablet or portable DVD player. This will allow your kids to watch a movie quietly in the back. You could even invest in children’s headphones, so the sound of the movie doesn’t drive you insane.
You could also play classic car games such as I-Spy, give them books to read, let them listen to music (again on kid-friendly headphones) or let them play games on your tablet or smartphone.
Take advantage of the Sat Nav
As well as keeping the kids happy, it’s also important to make sure you and your partner are happy too. The last thing you need is to start arguing with each other about where you’re going. So, always take advantage of a Sat Nav to limit the co-pilot arguments that are sure to arise.
As you can see, going on a road trip with the kids doesn’t have to be super-stressful. If you follow the tips above, it’s sure to cut down some of the stress involved and keep the kids entertained throughout.
Collaborative Post
Be safe on the road, with or without your BFFs. Do not let strangers know you are traveling alone—If people know you are traveling alone, you may be considered an “easy target.” Stop at places that are busy and well-lit and always look for locations that have other people around. Stay safe! 🙂