Keeping Your Children Safe and Comfortable on a Road Trip

Planning a road trip with the kids? Road trips can be cool ways for your children to get to learn more about the world around them. However, if you’ve heard anything about traveling in a car with kids for several hours you know exactly how uncomfortable and unsafe it can be. Though taking shorter trips and making frequent rest stops along the way can help, here are some other solutions for keeping the kids comfortable on the open road:

Wear Comfortable Clothing

Your kids need to be comfortable to sit through a ride that could last hours. Dressing the kids in comfy clothing can ensure that they remain calm during the trip. When you’re in the car for a long time, having on clothes that itch, irritate the skin, or make you feel too hot can make the experience even more frustrating. From feeling overdressed with too many clothes on to being disturbed by the seams in their socks pressing on their tiny toes, there’s no denying that after a while any kid will try to undress.

If you have children with certain sensitivities, retail sites like smartknitkids.com sell products such as seamless socks and undies. Other comfy options might include wearing a sweat suit for trips during colder seasons, and cotton shorts and tee-shirts during the warmer months. You’d be surprised how many back-seat arguments and shouts you could avoid by allowing the kids to wear something comfortable during the ride.

Get the Right Car Seats

You’re going to be traveling for miles. While you may consider yourself to be a safe driver, it is imperative that your children have age-appropriate car seats and that they’re properly strapped in at all times. If you’re not sure which car seat is right for your child, here’s a bit of advice:

• All children should remain in a rear-facing car seat until they are two years of age.
• Children over the age of two should remain in the back seat in a front-facing car seat
• Preschool age children will need to sit in a booster seat with a secure car seat belt strapped across their lap and shoulder.

There are height and weight requirements for car seats. Therefore, you’ll want to do some research to determine which seat your child should be sitting in. The further you drive, the more chances there are for you to get into an accident. With the kids strapped into the right car seat, you can ensure that they’ll be secure in the event that something does happen.

Choose a Car with Enough Space

Whether you’re taking your own car or you plan on renting one for your family road trip, be sure that you select a vehicle that has enough space for everyone to fit properly. Trying to smash a family of four with car seats and luggage into a small sedan might make for an uncomfortable and unsafe ride. While you may not need to rent an RV, getting a van or SUV for additional space can ensure everyone has a little wiggle room for the long trip ahead.

Pack Some Snacks

What could be more uncomfortable than riding for hours with a rumbling tummy? If you want to keep the kids happy, safe, and comfortable while on your family road trip, you should probably pack some snacks. It shouldn’t be anything to messy or heavy. You can pack quick snacks like fresh fruits, veggies, and juice boxes. This will keep the hunger pains away and allow you to travel a lot further. It couldn’t hurt to pack a few snacks for yourself either. You’re going to need the extra energy to entertain the kids on the ride.

Don’t Forget the Meds

You never know when you might need medication while on a road trip. Car sickness, allergies, and even an upset stomach could happen at a moment’s notice and you’ll want to be prepared for it. Be sure that before you hit the road that you’ve packed all the kid’s medications. Place them somewhere accessible so that you don’t have to dig through all the luggage to find them.

So, can your kids have a good time on a road trip? The answer is without a doubt, yes. The key to a successful family road trip is making sure that everyone is comfortable and safe. By making sure you’ve got the right car seat, the right size car, snacks, and comfy clothes on the kids you minimize a lot of the back-seat drama that can go on during a road trip. While it may not stop the constant, “are we there yet”, it may slow them down a bit.