Oh the days pre-kids when road trips were as easy as picking a spot on the map, filling up the tank with gas, and hitting the road! Since things are SLIGHTLY more complicated these days, I’ve put together a few tips for planning a road trip with young kids. It may seem overwhelming at first, but with a little work up front and some flexibility along the way, you can set yourself up for the most epic kid-friendly road trip ever! Here are 5 tips to keep in mind when planning:
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Have a schedule, but leave room for flexibility!
Know where and when you want to arrive somewhere, but allow yourself enough time each leg to pull over when the kids get restless and find something to do. Whether it be a park on the side of the road, a hike through a National Park, or a cute local ice cream shop you pull in at, leaving room for spontaneity is half of the adventure! -
Pack a Potty & Pull-Ups.
Okay, okay, okay this isn’t the most appealing tip, but it is practical. Because with all certainty, if you have children who are potty trained, there WILL be a point on your road trip where despite the fact you made every child go to the bathroom before you left, you’re on a stretch of highway with no sign of life anywhere near and one of your children will have to pee IMMEDIATELY. Having backups gives you the flexibility to pull over anywhere, get the job done, and continue on without too much disruption. -
Pack “new” entertainment.
Leading up to road trips, I keep a cardboard box on my husband’s work bench in our garage. Any time I’m out and about and see something that’s compact, not messy, and easy to play with, I grab it and put it in the box in the garage. I also look through toys in our house that would be good for independent play and pull them from our regular rotation and stick them in the box. Then, when the time comes for the road trip, I have lots of “new” (even if they’re not) toys, coloring books, and activities for the kids to have fun with and explore during the many hours we plan to log in the car. -
Plan lunch stops near parks/playgrounds.
Whenever we road trip, we generally try to get on the road early and log the majority of our miles before lunch. This usually means that by the time lunch rolls around, the kids are tired of sitting and ready to run around. For this reason, lunch stops during our road trips generally involve grabbing sandwiches or something portable and hitting up a park or playground for an impromptu picnic. The kids burn some energy, and we enjoy being outside. It’s a win-win! -
Set boundaries for electronics.
In my mind there is nothing worse than driving through this beautiful country and seeing my kids in the back zoned out watching a movie rather than looking out their windows. Because of this, we set parameters around electronics in the car. I have another blog post about those boundaries, but for the most part, the kids are allowed 1 hour of with something electronic a day during road trips. Whether that be watching a movie for an hour or playing on an ipad for an hour, it’s up to them. But by sticking to these rules, our kids tend to get creative with games, coloring, and reading and look outside more often to take everything in. They also tend to eat more snacks this way, so make sure you’re prepared with a stash 😉
