Tips on Road Trips With Kids

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1 About
2 General Tips
3 Highlevel Checklist
4 Essentials for the Trip
5 Authors

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About

Tips on Road Trips With Kids: This Tip Article contains various sections, which are about road trips with kids.

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Taking roadtrips with children can be a daunting task for many. Hopefully this Tip Article may help.

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General Tips

Firstly, decide what to take with you. It's not difficult to keep bored children entertained, but you do need to be prepared. Pack a number of games, puzzles and activities for kids and make sure there are enough to go around.

Music and audio books are a good idea, and song singing is also a fun activity - many a long drive has been saved by an extended rendition of The Wheels on the Bus.

There are many in-car activities you can play too, such as eye spy, or using the map as a tool to keep children entertained.

Make the car space comfortable for your younger passengers.

Try not to pack too much into the back seat area, and take cushions and blankets to encourage napping.

Be aware of the temperature in the back seat as it may differ from the front, and always dress children in layers of clothing. Hand-held fans are a great idea for summer holiday trips.

Snacks and drinks are essential, especially plenty of water.

Plan a picnic somewhere along your route, buying provisions along the way or taking them from home.

Motion sickness can be alleviated with peppermint or ginger, so always keep some sweets with you.

Break up a long journey with lots of stops.

Find a playground, a park or recreation area and let off some steam.

Better still, find something worth visiting along your route and make it a focus of the journey.

Above all else the safety of your children is priority number one. Check that they are buckled in properly and if they are in an appropriate child seat that it is not positioned near any or your vehicle's airbags.

Make sure your children are comfortable in the car. Check that they are not too warm or too cold and they aren't exposed to direct sunlight.

Make sure there is a good and constant circulation of fresh air and that they are dressed comfortably.

Some children suffer from motion sickness. Young children may not be able to express this.

Look out for signs like crying and restlessness. Consult a doctor to find out about possible medication for this.

It's a good idea to plan for some breaks along the way.

Stop at a roadside café or petrol station and let your children out the car to run around and let off some steam away from danger and traffic.

Even better would be to joining in with them, it'll help you to stay alert.

Your children will want to know how long this trip will take so keep them informed.

The last thing you're going to want to hear is “Are we there yet?” Tell them exactly how long it'll take, even better would be to buy them a watch.

Teach your children to read a map and show them the route that you'll be taking on your trip.

Indicate on the map where you'll be starting and finishing and let them be the ‘navigator'.

If your child is too young to read a map then get them to look out for landmarks along the way.

Set aside a few soft toys or a blanket that your children rarely get to play with. This will keep them busy during your trip.

You may want to get them an mp3 to listen to music or audio books.

If your child is older you may want to consider some travel games or activities.

You could get your child to look out for particular license plates, vehicle types, trees, buildings etc to keep them stimulated.

Treat this like a treasure hunt with a special prize for the winner.

Remember not to go on for too long as they'll loose interest if you do.

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Highlevel Checklist

What are the dates of our road trip?

How far is this trip?________________

Are we talking hours or days here? Across town or across the country? The longer the road trip the more activities a parent needs to plan.

How much is our road trip costing us?________________
Do we have money set aside for our trip? Do we need a monthly budget for our vacation?________________
How many stops are planned?________________
Bathroom breaks, eating breaks, stretch-our-legs-breaks are all necessary when doing a road trip with a family.
It can be fun for two adults to see how long they can travel without actually getting out of a car, but it's not a great idea with kids?________________
How are we traveling?________________

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