Enjoying a Road Trip with Young Kids: Tips and Tricks
Michigan summers are perfect for family adventures, whether exploring the state’s beauty or venturing on a road trip beyond its borders. But long-distance road trips for parents, especially those with young children, can easily turn into nightmares. Below, we’ll show you how to survive a road trip with young kids with a few tips and tricks.
Prepare the Car
The first thing parents should do before embarking on a road trip is to ensure the vehicle is readied for travel. The best way to prepare your car for summer road trips is with a full inspection inside and out, including the tires, brakes, fluid levels, and more.
Next, you’ll want to pack a few things for safety and emergencies, including a first aid kit, a tire changing or repair kit, and jumper cables. If you or your kids require medication hourly or daily, you’ll want to pack extra doses along just in case.
Give Yourself More Time Than Needed
As you plan your journey with your family, you’ll want to give yourself a healthy buffer from when you set out to when you need to be there. If the trip normally takes two hours, set out three hours in advance to give yourself more leeway for breaks. Much of the stress from driving with family and young kids comes from delays, but if you allow yourself leisure time for more breaks and stops when needed, you’ll relieve much of that stress.
Bring Games and Activities
Boredom is the enemy when road-tripping with kids, as it can make them restless, irritable, and lead to tantrums. Luckily, in our modern world, there are more entertainment options for kids to stay busy in the car than ever before.
But even games on phones and iPads can bore kids after a while, so don’t forget to bring other activities and games, like coloring books, word puzzles, or playlists of their favorite music. And you can even teach them the classic road trip games we all grew up playing, such as 20 Questions, I Spy, and the license plate game.
Take Fun, Outdoor Breaks
Nobody likes to feel cooped up in a car for hours at a time, especially kids. Take frequent breaks outdoors whenever possible to help the children get their energy out between driving stints.
If you’re planning a lunch break, try to do it at a park or a playground so the kids can have fun. If you hear or feel your kids getting antsy, pulling over for a 15 or 20-minute break at a park can relieve a lot of tension and stress.
We hope our tips and tricks help you survive your next road trip with young kids! Such trips can be maddening for parents, but if you give yourself time to stop, keep them busy, and let them take a few outdoor breaks, your trip has a much better chance of going off without a hitch.
Photo – Ketut Subiyanto
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