Taking a Fun Family Road Trip

Remember the lovable Griswold family from the National Lampoon Vacation movies? Poor Clark Griswold just wanted to take his family on a cross-country trip to Wally World. He envisioned the perfect family vacation but instead their ill-fated trip was filled with mishaps and family squabbles.

Your family road trips hopefully aren't quite as terrible as the Griswolds. However, being locked up in the car for 12 hours with kids battling it out in the back seat and the endless echoes of "Are we there yet?" and "I've got to go to the bathroom" is enough to make you just want to stay at home. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are ways to make road trips with the kids fun and filled with pleasant memories.

Plan Ahead

When traveling with children it is important to plan your route ahead of time. Do a little research and find interesting and fun places to stop such as parks, museums or other attractions. It is important to take breaks every two to three hours so everyone including the children can get out and stretch their legs.

Departure time is also very important. Leaving early in the morning is a good plan. The kids will be tired and probably sleep in the car for the first part of the trip at least.

What to Do About Those Backseat Battles

If you keep the kids entertained, backseat battles will be less likely. However, one incentive for behaving is to give each of the children a roll of quarters and each time they misbehave take a quarter a way. You can also give the quarters back for good behavior. Of course this idea would not work with very young children or teenagers.

What to Take

Bring along some blankets and pillows since the kids will more likely take a nap if they are comfortable.

Pack plenty of snacks such as cut up veggies, fruit, crackers, sandwiches and drinks.

Surprise the kids with a new toy or a bag of goodies that they've never played with before. Some ideas are those wonderful water-based drawing boards, doodle pads, activity books, and crayons.

Hand-held video games can provide hours of entertainment.

A portable DVD player can be a lifesaver! Maybe purchase some videos that the kids haven't already seen so they will be more interested. Be sure and pack the headphones so the driver won't be distracted.

Car Travel Games

Make the road trip fun by playing some of these travel games:

Tic tac toe

Connect the dots

I-spy

Scavenger hunts- give each kid a list of items to watch for along the way.

Prepare for the Unexpected

Nobody likes to be sick in the car, but it happens. Be prepared for carsickness by trying these things:

Peppermint Candies

Ginger snap cookies

Don't read in the car

Sit in the middle seat in the car to prevent seeing scenery buzz by.

Cold water and crackers

Motion sickness lollipops

Benadryl or Dramamine

Seabands, wristbands for motion sickness

If sickness happens, bring along some empty butter tubs with covers. These will help contain the "yuck" until you are able to stop and dispose of it.

Have a safe and fun vacation!

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