How to Travel With Kids

actually, a more appropriate title would be “How to Travel With My Kids”, or possibly, advice on traveling long distances with a toddler and a 7 year old.

anyways.

as i’m sure you’ve already noticed, we very recently took our first long road trip as a family. it wasn’t our very first, but i don’t really count our move from Tennessee. 6 years ago, we packed every worldly possession of ours onto a U-Haul truck, and drove from 8pm to 4am straight to our new home. the baby, strapped into his carseat between us, slept the whole way. which was why we left at 8 at night.

this time, we not only had a toddler and a 7 year old, we also did not leave at night. in fact, we got up at 5am, and was out of the house by 6. we drove for 11 hours, stopping 3 times, with relatively minimal fuss. the way back was a little harder- 5 stops, more exhaustion, but still relatively fuss-free.

i know. i can hardly believe it either.

mostly? it was the dual dvd players. a couple years back we got a dual dvd player that had 2 screens that strapped onto the back of the front seat headrests. sure, they were cheap and due to lack of age and abuse had pixels missing. when posed properly, Tinkerbell looked like she had a hole blown through her gut and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a constant jack ‘o’ lantern carved into the center of their screen… but i don’t think the kids even noticed. it was just too cool to have movies in the car.

mostly? we passed the time with the kids favorite movies.

my daughter napped, watched tv, munched on cereal, and napped some more. when we stopped at gas stations i walked her in and let her jump up and down.

my son watched tv, then played his nintendo DS for about 9 hours straight. man, those batteries last long.

of course it could have gone much worse than that. the kids might not have been satisfied with movies and munchies.

which is where my list comes in. there are some things i think that everybody should pack when they go on a driving road trip…

first and foremost is paper towels and toilet paper. keep them in reach, preferably under the front seats. if they don’t get any use your entire trip… great. but if you do need them, you’ll probably need them badly.

also pack several plastic grocery bags. these come in handy for several things, first and foremost being garbage bags for all the bottles and wrappers, peels and cores that are bound to build up throughout the trip. they also make great on-the-fly vomit bags. with children, you never know until it happens…

i also bring a wide variety of munchies. preferably, munchies without a lot of sugar. the only thing worse than a car trip with a kid on a sugar high is a car trip with a kid getting sick because they’ve had too much sugar. lots of water and clear juices, because spills will probably happen and the last thing you want is a big red fruit juice stain on your nice beige upholstery, or some milky drink spoiling in the fibers of the carpet. one of my favorite snacks is ginger cookies to help soothe the tummy, and small cereal boxes or baggies of snacks to keep the kids happy.

the kid’s loveys are also a must have… in times of desperate need, they will calm a child, and sometimes even lull them to sleep.

i always bring twice as many changes of clothes than what i will need for the actual days i will be there. it pays to be prepared. at best, you’ll have a lot of options for your kid’s outfits. at worst, you’ll need to change them into something other than the shirt you wore on the second day of vacation that didn’t get too dirty, after a poo-splosion.

which brings me to TONS of diapers and TONS of wipes.

the kids favorite small toys, as well as a few new ones that they’ve never seen before [if you can afford it] usually go over well too. if we had the money, i would have bought my daughter some Tinkerbell dolls to pull out at our moment of need… luckily, i wouldn’t have needed them even if i did bring them.

i brought crayons and coloring books, although never had to get them out.

i also packed reading books, although i am leery about giving them to the kids. i get car sick if i read anything other than a text or a road sign while we’re moving, and i don’t know if the kids are similarly afflicted yet.

at the last stop of the day, just before our destination, i will sometimes let them pick out something special at a gas station to break the monotony… a candy bar, cookie, or bag of chips or something like that. the idea of picking out something special to have in the car gives them a reason not to complain when it’s time to get back in, and can sometimes hold off the whining until we reach the end of the journey.

for yourself, i recommend packing plenty of germ-x, sanitary wipes, car deodorizer spray, and enough feminine products to take care of the spontaneous, unscheduled appearance of aunt flo. especially if you have a teenage daughter who hasn’t started her period yet… mine started in the middle of a vacation to florida, so i am speaking from experience on that score.

oh, and done forget the medicines. trust me, it’s worth it to pack a mini first aid ziplock bag with pain relievers/fever reducers for every age in the car. also don’t forget the pepto bismol, vitamins, and bandaids.

make sure everybody’s dressed comfortably, and don’t forget mints, or some sort of sugar free gum.wear shoes that you aren’t afraid of getting wet in the event of bad weather. then buckle up and sigh deeply, because no matter how prepared you are… road trips still suck.

that’s all i got.

if you want to add anything, all other tips and tricks are very welcome! anything i haven’t thought of this time around might come in handy the next time around.