3 Tips For Surviving a Road Trip With Kids

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Who doesn't love a road trip? The journey to and from your end destination can sometimes be just as fun and exciting as the actual holiday. There's just something exciting about getting out on the big wide open road and making memories with your family, even if you aren't cruising down the all scenic route 66. But when there are kids involved, there are also more challenges. Rise to them and survive any road trip with these three tips below: 

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Snacks

Snacks are your temporary new best friend when road tripping with kids, but that doesn't mean that they have to be unhealthy. Try and stay away from the sugary snacks as these will cause blood sugar levels to spike and then crash, meaning your kid will go from bouncing off the car walls one minute to being irritated and emotional the next. Plan ahead and make lots of homemade snacks that you can keep in the car with you, such as healthy popcorn, fruit, and veggies, healthy oatmeal cookies, or your own oven-baked vegetable chips. If you don't have the time to do food prep in your kitchen and have to pop to the store instead, try and look out for options that are low in sugar and are relatively healthy such as yogurts that you can keep in a cooler or granola bars. 

Plan some meal stops along the way as well, even if it's just one to get some warm food into their bellies. 

Entertainment

Pack different options to keep the little ones entertained throughout and look up and print various games you find online. General knowledge quizzes and trivia games such as hard Disney trivia questions and answers are great to get everyone involved!

Another great tip would be to see if you can find some inexpensive new toys before the trip. Because they are brand new and have never been played with before, the novelty factor will keep them engaged for longer compared to toys that they might have played with a hundred times already. If you are still stuck on ideas, technology will help you out instead, making sure that you will never be short of games again. Download them onto your phone or tablet before you set off or your kid's favorite films and TV series to watch. This will go down a treat and is guaranteed to keep them quiet at least for a whole half hour (which is a lot when you have kids). 

Stop for regular breaks

It's important to stop every now and then so that the children can stretch their legs. This is every bit as important for them as it is for you. By stopping regularly and getting the kids to have a little run-around, you are increasing the likelihood of them behaving and being less fidgety in the car while giving you something to look forward to, especially if you are on the road for an extended amount of time. 

Plan and research your stops ahead of the journey as well and see if there are any points of interest along the way, like an activity center, an exciting landmark, park or green space to really let the kids go wild for half an hour. If you can't find anything or have run out of time to do some research beforehand, you can always try and use Google maps, which will highlight any local sights that might be near.