Tips for Family Road Trip

The best tips for family road trips. Try these simple tricks to make traveling with kids easier. Easy Road Trip tips for Families.

Tips for family road trips

We all know what it is like to be on a long road trip with children. I am sharing helpful things to do on a road trip so that you survive with kids. These traveling tips are practical and easy.

Our family loves to take vacations. With 8 kids, flying just isn’t in the budget. We have returned from our vacation and I wanted to report that the car ride I was dreading was absolutely perfect.

This family will definitely be having more family road trips in our future. I thought I would take a few minutes to give you my tips for things to do on a road trip.

Easy Road Trip tips for Families

Try these easy tips for a great trip.

1. Don’t have high expectations

In general, I try to be a positive person. My primary goal in life is to see good and be happy. However, with a road trip, this isn’t a good thing.

I did the complete opposite and expected the worst. I anticipated the worst.

We had a first aid kit ready to go, paper towels ready for a spill and baby wipes ready for sticky fingers. It might seem quite negative in preparing for your road trip, but it will make the trip a much more positive experience.

2. Plan Activities – Play Road trip games

Planning is crucial to a successful road trip. Grab a variety of activities for your children to do in the car. After all, you can’t expect them to entertain themselves for 15 hours.

You need a big variety of activities.

Here are a few ideas:

• Movies. Bring movies on the trip. We have a dvd player in our car that makes trips much easier.
  
  However, if you don’t have one, borrow a portable DVD for the week from a friend. You can also download movies on your devices such as an iPad, phone or tablet.

• Road trip games. We like to play I spy, the alphabet game, and more.

• Books. We brought children’s books and a chapter book to read to the kids.

• Activity Books and Coloring Books. I purchased activity books for each child at the dollar store. They have activities for kids of all ages.
  
  I also bought clip boards for each child so it was easier for them to write. Amazon has several for cheap too .

• Traveling games. These are perfect for road trips. Amazon has tons on sale right now. Don’t forget about classics such as license plates games.

• Hand held video games or iPads. These are definitely handy for the car on long trips.

3. Schedule out your time

This might seem weird but just like a school has scheduled classes, you should schedule out your driving time. For example, I basically told everyone when they were allowed to do what activity.

For example, when it was movie time, they only could watch a movie. When it was reading time, everyone read, etc…

It might look something like this:

• 1 ½ hours -Watch a movie
• 30 minutes – read books
• The next 30 minutes –  Activity books
• 30 minutes – screen time

Now, I didn’t really write anything down, but I just told the children what we were doing. If it was time to play the video games, they knew they only got 30 minutes with them.

You didn’t hear whining, fighting and complaining, because they wanted to get as much playing done in that small amount of time.

We also had a mandatory resting time. Since our daughter still needs a nap, after lunch we had a mandatory quiet time. The boys knew that once she fell asleep they could play games or watch a movie (as long as it was quiet).

This guaranteed a good 1 to 2 hours of peace for the parents. Even if your children are too old for naps, a mandatory resting time is still a fabulous idea.

As soon as it appeared that the kids were getting bored, we switched! Rest stops also make great places to stretch legs and use the bathroom.

4. Give Rewards

Some call this bribery, but I call it smart. The favorite thing our kids loved during the road trip was getting to pick out a sucker at the gas station.

Sure, it is an overpriced treat for this frugal family, but our kids loved it. They knew that if they fought and argued that day, they would not get that special treat the next time we stopped.

This resulted in better behavior and no one arguing. Older kids might like rewards such as fast food on the family vacation.

Tips for Family Road Trips:

Now, I want to share with you a few items that will make your family road trip easier.

Refrigerator

Check out this cool fridge that will make road trips a bit more fun! Amazon has several to choose from and they are perfect for long trips in the car.

Travel First Aid Kit

You can order a this 121-Piece Road Trip First Aid Kit that has everything you need. It is a very nice comprehensive first aid kit.

Trunk Organzier

Snag this Collapsible Folding Flat Trunk Organizer. It is a great size for cars or SUV. You can easily sort lots of items in this.

Try these tips for family road trips.

I hope these tips will help you as much as they have helped my family. We have had a lot of successful family road trips thanks to these tips and tricks. Just have fun and take time for roadside attractions such as National Parks. Don’t forget about bathroom breaks and the occasional pit stops.

Everyone will need to get out of car seats and stretch their legs. Occasional breaks can also help with car sickness.

What tips do you have that work for you? Hopefully this list of things to do on a road trip will help you survive your next family road trip.

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