8 Tips and Tricks for a Stress-Free Family Road Trip
One of the best things you can treat your family with is a road trip. Kids love the adventure, adults love the money savings, and everyone is happy at the end of the day. However, your road trip might start full of excitement, but the road is unpredictable, and many things can happen on your way to your destination: your car could break down, you could get lost, your kids could get hysterical, and your packing might be subpar.
So how do you ensure a safe road trip with your family that's also free of stress? There's no guarantee that you'll have a smooth road trip, but with the following tips and tricks, you have a much better chance of success:
1. Pack smartly
Going away from home with kids requires a ton of luggage; however, try your best to travel light. Pack the necessities you can't live without, and always try to choose items designed for travel. If you practice this habit of packing light, you won't be overflowing with junk, and you'll always have everything you truly need at your arm's reach. Acquire a minimalistic lifestyle for this road trip, and you can avoid a lot of stress (being buried in stuff for hours at a time can cause a lot of anxiety and distraction).
Next, it's essential to prep your car by taking the inventory of all the things packed there. Do you have jumper cables? What about flares, tools, flashlights, and other emergency items your life might depend on if you get into trouble? Aside from these items we've just mentioned, it's also wise to have plenty of antibacterial wipes and other COVID-19 prevention items, a first aid kit, umbrellas, a few blankets for warmth and picnic, and plenty of charging cables and USB plugs for devices.
2. Plan your stops
It's safe to say that you won't be leaving without a destination in mind, but what about stops on the way? Before embarking on your road adventure, map out the entire journey and find suitable stops along the route. Through Google Maps or other mapping websites, you can get a good picture of the length and look of your trip and plan pitstops in a much more accurate way.
Check out all the towns and villages you'll be passing through and Google them for fun things to do. And make sure to stop at a national park or at least a regular park. Both kids and you will appreciate some time in nature so you can stretch, catch some sun and enjoy the fresh air. You can always find extra luggage space for a ball or a Frisbee to have plenty of fun, even if your parks are not equipped with playground equipment.
3. Keep everyone safe and comfy
When we adults were kids, times were much different, and car safety was not such a priority. Many of us used to jump around the car or even climb back into the trunk and have ourselves a little fort. Luckily, today parents know much more about car safety and the importance of being seated and safely buckled and restrained.
All kids below 4 feet 9 inches in height and between 8 and 12 years of age must be placed in either car seats or booster seats. These can get a bit uncomfortable because they don't allow a lot of movement, but you can make the trip more comfortable for your kids by using neck pillows, plushies, and their favorite blankets.
4. Rent a bigger car
We keep talking about packing, taking plenty of exciting shops, and keeping everyone safe and cozy, but how can you do that in your tiny car? Instead, set aside a small portion of your budget and rent a more comfortable vehicle. Luckily, it's possible to find 5 seater SUV hire that's perfectly affordable, with hire rates going down for longer engagements.
An SUV will provide you with access to more diverse destinations and give you and your family much better comfort and safety. With a bigger trunk, you can organize your luggage better and prevent your suitcases and bags from tumbling down. Also, modern SUVs come with various safety features like traction control, cruise control, better braking system, collision mitigation, etc. The best models also come with child seat anchorage and child restraint top tethers to ensure everyone's safety.
5. Stock up on snacks
Kids don't just get hungry. They get hangry! And you don't want to have a hangry child in your car because they will cause an absolute storm. And keep in mind that you can't always make a quick stop at McDonald's when you're on a road trip. Therefore, pack plenty of snacks for the road so your kids can fuel up on healthy things instead of fast food and gas station snacks.
Keep a small cooler filled with freshly chopped veggies and fruit, homemade cookies, chocolate-covered nuts, beef jerky, fruit bars, crackers, and chickpea puffs. A small cooler usually fits perfectly under the seat or between seats, so you can distribute snacks to toddlers and keep everyone's tummy calm until the next restaurant or picnic stop.
Kids on board mean that food and drink spills are unavoidable. These may leave blemishes and odors that are impossible to remove unless expensive industrial cleaning services are used. Consider looking into high-quality car seat cover selections to protect your upholstery and make cleaning an easy task later on.
6. Set quiet time
Singing together in the car and playing road trip games is an excellent way for the entire family to bond and have a ton of fun while driving, but you also need some quiet activities kids can enjoy on their own. Some of the parents' favorite quiet-time toys for travel are magnetic doodle boards, magnetic animal toys, stick and peel stickers, and pop-up books. These all require focus and imagination and often cause kids to calm down and go quiet.
Another quiet activity you can practice in the car is listening to an audiobook. There are plenty of convenient stores for kids yet interesting for teens and adults like Harry Potter, the Hobbit, Charlie, and the Chocolate Factory, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc. A boring stretch of the road can be made much more enjoyable with a story to follow, and it's the quickest way to put kids to sleep.
7. Bring electronics
Your family doesn't go on a road trip every day so that the kids can get a little treat from time to time. When you have nowhere to stop and nothing fun to see outside, your kids can use their tablets and smartphones to play fun games, watch movies and cartoons, and read e-books.
Even if you don't allow your kids to use too many electronics for too long, pack all the fun devices and distribute them while road tripping. Contact your network and internet provider and see whether you can up your data for a month so you can hot spot everyone in the car and provide them with internet access. Just remember to bring your data plan down after the road trip, so you don't have to waste money on unused data in the future.
8. Let everyone participate
Both you and your kids would have a much more exciting time if everyone in the family participated in the road trip planning and execution. For instance, you can give your toddlers a few destinations and attraction choices.
You can let your older kid be in charge of music (for the road portion). Or you can let your teenager go shopping for snacks or even let them drive during the road trip from time to time. This way, everyone will have a better road trip experience, and you won't be forced to make all the decisions.
Final Thoughts
A family road trip is guaranteed to make memories that will last a lifetime. And if you follow these road trip tips and tricks above, your beautiful memories won't get tarnished with stress and anxiety. Keep In mind that road trips can be more expensive than what you've planned, make sure to find a part-time job in case your money runs out.
So keep these tips in mind, pack your kids, and have an adventure on the open road.
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