Can Kids Enjoy A Road Trip?

“Are we there yet?”

“Mom, I’m bored…”

And so on and so forth; the exclamations of children that will be well-familiar to any parent who has ever tried to take their kids on a road trip. Or just to the school or mall, in fact; it doesn’t have to be a long drive for children to voice their displeasure at being in a car.

There’s no blaming them really, is there? It’s boring; even as an adult, you can remember the boredom of being stuck in the back of a car with nothing to do. If you tried to read it invariably made you feel sick, which massively limited the options of what you could do.

You can’t really play a game – at least, not one that requires any kind of board to rest playing pieces on. Cards can be tricky. Nowadays there is the option of electrical entertainment, but even that has its limitations in terms of battery life and variability.

Therefore – given all of the above – it might sound like madness to even consider taking a road trip with your kids. Why not just go on a standard vacation instead, where someone else does the flying and you can focus on keeping the little ones entertained? That might be easier…

It’s not like flying is without its problems though, is it? For one thing, there is the havoc that the change in pressure during takeoff and landing causes to young ears. There’s plenty of boredom on a plane, too – and it’s made worse by having to share limited space with members of the public, some of whom can be vocal in their dislike of having kids on a flight with them.

If you choose to go somewhere by bus, you have all the problems of a car journey and it’s further complicated by not being able to choose to stop if it’s all getting too much.

Add all of this up and suddenly, the idea of a road trip with your kids – and all the savings you can make therein – might begin to sound a little more feasible. After all, it’s one thing to fly to a foreign land for a vacation, but there’s a whole different level of excitement that comes with discovering more about your own country. You can drive, stop when you please, save money when you need to, and eventually wind up at your end destination where the fun can really begin. The road is just part of it.

The question, however, is whether or not the road can ever be fun for kids. Given the boredom risk, the confined space, and all the other challenges – it might be the same for other forms of transport, but “same level of misery” is not really a glittering prize for most parents. We want to push it further, but is this one thing that will foil our parenting prowess? Is it ever possible for your kids not just to cope with a road trip, but actively enjoy it instead?

It might well be, especially if you put a few of these hacks into place…

1) Make Sure Everyone Is Comfortable

Sitting in the backseat of a car is not the most enjoyable of ways to relax on vacation time, so it’s worth investing some thought (and potentially funds) into ensuring maximum comfort. For young kids, secure measures such as Diono car seats and booster seats can ensure safety and comfort at the same time.

For older kids, invest in a few cushions to go along with the padding of the seat. If their feet don’t reach the floor, then a pillow in the footwell is beneficial too. There’s more likely to be frayed tempers and irritation if everyone is uncomfortable, so keeping things as soft and comfy as possible is a top priority.

2) Travel Sickness Treatments

There are various non-pill forms of coping with motion sickness, as well as an array of child-friendly medication options. To put it simply: use them, or at the very least have them to hand in case they need to be pressed into service. Children are more likely to suffer from motion sickness than adults, and nothing will make the trip feel worse than the constant groans of nausea.

3) Multiple Options

As a general rule, for every 100 miles you are going to drive, you need three different options for activities.

These activities can be anything that has the power to engage with your kids. Here are a few examples:

• The alphabet game
• The license plate game
• Interactive kids songs
• TV episodes or movies via a portable device or tablet. Each downloaded movie or TV show would count as one individual thing.
• Small crafts – making friendship bracelets works particularly well, as the strands can be easily secured to the front seats.
• Wash-off body paint (just make sure it’ll wash off the car interior, too)
• Music that everyone likes, or headphones to something different for those who don’t want to listen to what everyone else does.
• Stickers and reading books

And so on and so forth; basically, look for things your kids like to do when they’re not in a car and try and replicate car-friendly options.

Why three per 100 miles? That’s roughly two hours of driving on a highway, so you might need three just in case they burn through each activity. It also gives options rather than inflicting a particular activity; sometimes, a little choice is all people need to feel better about what’s in front of them.

4) Frequent Stops

Plan to stop every 50 miles, even if it’s only for a short while. Restroom visits are good, but stopping for 10 minutes for no other reason than “we’re not in the car anymore” is completely legitimate and preferable. At the very least, it gives you all a bit of time away from one another so that no one becomes irritated.

By practicing the above, you’ve a better chance than ever of ensuring your road trip is as much fun as it can be. Enjoy!