Several Christmases ago, our family, which then included a five-year-old and a three-year-old, decided to take a road trip up north to see our extended family members. We had made the drive before pre-kids, and thought, “how hard could it be?” We knew that if we made good time, we could get there in two ten-hour stretches, so we counted on leaving in the middle of the afternoon, driving into the wee hours, then doing the same thing the next day. This way, the kids could nap, we could stop for dinner, and they could settle back down and sleep. Perfect, right?
Well, while you veteran parents giggle at our faulty premise, I’ll finish the rest of the story:
Things, as you might imagine, did not go as planned. The kids did not want to sit for 10 hours in their carseats, and they needed potty breaks much more frequently than mom and dad. They didn’t sleep well in the car, and they were each annoyed by being forced to breathe the same air as his or her sibling. The little one got carsick after a greasy fast-food dinner, and the older one talked about it nonstop for the rest of the trip. It ended up being a nice visit with family, once we finally got there, but oh, how we dreaded that trip back!
Since that trip, we’ve taken several other long car rides as a family, and we’ve got a pretty good system now. Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way:
*Little stickers make great backseat toys. Particularly if they are somewhat of a novelty, tiny stickers can be used for hours to decorate the carseat, the window, one’s clothing, one’s legs, one’s face, one’s sister’s face, and whatever random books, papers and toys are within reach. Dollar stores often have large packs of these, with something like 200 stickers per sheet. Stock up.
*Small cans of playdoh, while messy, are another great diversion in the car. Pack several cans in a backpack, and casually suggest that they not mix the colors. This will, of course, entice them to mix the colors, so it ends up being a lesson in “which colors, when mixed together, make putrid brown.” (Answer: all of them!) A dull butter knife and a handheld vacuum cleaner will get most of the playdoh off of the floor mats… but really, even lingering stains are worth the quiet!
*If you have a DVD player in the car, test it out first! Although our player had worked previously, when we took our long trip, it decided to go on strike. Try it immediately before your trip, before you offer the kids a DVD full of cartoons. Trust me on this.
*Pack lots of snacks for the car ride. Things like fruit, string cheese, dry cereal. Plan on the kids eating double or triple the number of snacks they usually do, simply because they are bored. Temporarily eliminate the “no eating in the car” rule, if you have one. It’s just not worth enforcing on a long trip.
*Don’t let them fill up on a fast-food dinner. If you choose to ignore this advice, pack a plastic bucket and several old towels.
*Count on the kids being awake while you drive. This is true even if they historically conk out the minute you pull out of your driveway on the way to the grocery store half a mile away. Just drive during the day… if you drive at night and by some odd chance they do sleep, who is going to entertain them the next day while you catch up on your sleep?
What are your best tips for keeping kids relatively quiet, and yourself relatively sane, during road trips?
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