When it comes to travelling for vacation, we are a road trip family. We just ventured from Texas all the way to Michigan, and you asked me for my best road trip tips with kids. I can’t promise you it will all be rainbows and butterflies (it won’t), or that there won’t be tears at some point (there will). But I can offer you my thoughts and advice for how to spend long hours in the car with your child(ren), somewhat successfully.
For perspective, on this most recent road trip, we broke it up into an approximately 9 hour drive from Texas to Mississippi, and then another 15 hours up to Michigan. Some folks will cringe at those numbers, I know. But I grew up doing long road trips with my family, so I guess I am used to it. My husband didn’t grow up with quite this long of road trips, but he’s a pro now, too. Let’s dive into my road trip tips with kids!
Pack a Toy Bag
This road trip tip may not be too surprising, but I recommend packing a toy or activity bag for your child. I like to include things that she is particularly interested in at the time of the trip, plus one or two new things that may hold her attention a little longer. Some ideas are favorite books or picture books that can be looked at independently, stickers, an age-appropriate activity book, favorite stuffed animals or dolls, a blanket, etc.
Another tip for your toy bag is to invite your child to help pack it. At 4.5 years old, my daughter packed almost her entire toy bag all by herself. She chose a few dolls, a stuffed bunny, a couple blankets, and a pretend phone. I added in a LCD writing tablet (something new – like a modern etch a sketch), and her activity binder (more on that below) for this trip.
Beginning at around age 2, I invited her to help pack. Letting your child help gives them some feeling of power and control over the situation. It will require more supervision during the earliest years, but I think it’s worth it. It also begins to teach the child valuable skills for his or her future.
Activity Binder or New Coloring Book
At the very least, I recommend getting a new coloring book (or three) for road trips with kids. It can either be a surprise or you can let them pick out their favorite ones. Either way, a new coloring book is almost always exciting for a young child. Add in a fresh box of crayons or markers (whichever you prefer) and they are all set.
If you want to take it a step further, I began making my daughter an activity binder for trips when she was not quiet two years old. It’s a one-inch binder with age-appropriate activities she can work on in the car (or at home). I always update it before a road trip to keep it interesting. I used to laminate the pages, but honestly, I quickly realized that it is way easier to simply put them in page protectors, especially since we rotate them frequently. Then I give her dry erase markers to do the activities. You can use alcohol wipes to clean them.
Depending on the age, activities could include coloring, letter tracing, mazes, line tracing, matching, number activities, or a cute printable and graphics about the place you are going or nature and animals in that area, etc. When I first made her binder, I searched and found all the printables for free online. Many from homeschooling websites for free. Or look for homeschooling printable bundles that pop up a few times per year. I’ve been able to get a ton of resources for about $20 this way. Really you can make it as simple or elaborate as you wish. Half the fun is the child getting to use dry erase markers!
Audio Books
My next tip for road trips with kids is audio books. This is a great modern alternative to screen time in the car. It’s also a great way to enjoy family time together, quietly. You can listen to your favorites or choose a few that are age appropriate. It’s so fun to see your own childhood favorites come alive for your child(ren).
Some of our favorites are Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, Brambly Hedge, Frog and Toad, Winne the Pooh, and books by Thornton W. Burgess such as The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse.
Road Trip Tips for Little Ones
Do you have an infant or toddler? My best road trip tip is to try and bring whatever you normally use for nap times. If you usually play lullabies or use white noise, bring it. Play it at the appropriate times. Also bring comfort items such as blankets and loved stuffed animals, etc. Try to mimic your nap environment at home as much as possible for those sleep cues.
Purchase screens to block the sun from the windows next to the car seat and keep the temperature in the vehicle comfortable. Remember that an infant or toddler may warm up faster in a car seat than you do in your seat. While you do not want your little one too warm, you also do not want him or her to get cold. We always cranked the air conditioning so that I could also tuck in my daughter in her car seat when it was nap time, or when she fell asleep.
Plenty of Favorite Snacks
In our home we have “road trip snacks.” These are special snacks that I typically only buy or only make when we are on a road trip. This makes them more exciting and special to have. I will make things like veggie tots, cookies, and muffins for the road.
In general, I do recommend bringing plenty of snacks, and plenty variety for road trips. This isn’t the time to limit snacking, in my opinion. We bring pouches, apple chips, raisins, plantain chips, gluten free crackers and cookies, etc. Anything exciting I can think of. Individual portions of fresh fruit or cut veggies work too. Read this post for how we eat healthy on the road.
Limited Screen Time
Every family has different rules around screen time, take what works for you and leave the rest. While we generally try to avoid too much screen time, this is one area that I use on road trips. I say limited because I do not just turn on the tablet the moment we hit the road. It’s also not used most of the time. But I also have a philosophy of “what happens on the road trip, stays on the road trip” for everyone’s sanity. So we may watch more than usual on a very long drive, but we’re going to go back to our normal expectations after the trip, and we communicate this as well.
For screen time, I personally like to vet anything my daughter is going to watch. So we download all the approved shows and movies for the trip ahead of time. Then we all know what the options are and that’s it. There is no real debate about it on the road.
My best road trip tip for screens is to balance it out as best as possible of your family. We try to go through most activities first and then perhaps an audio book. Once my daughter starts getting a little cranky and tired (or I do), that’s when we put on a movie or show. Then I communicate with her that after the movie we are going to listen to an audio book (and hopefully nap😉).
If those expectations are communicated up front, I find there are less arguments about when and how much gets to be watched. So again, we tend to rotate through the toy bag, audio books, movie, audio books, and a good healthy dose of “look out the window.”
For shorter trips, I avoid screens altogether. But anything beyond 3-4 hours and we are probably utilizing this tool. When my daughter was a toddler, I kept screen time in the car shorter than I do now. Again, do what you are comfortable with.
Age-Appropriate Road Trip Games
My daughter is just old enough to begin playing road trip games, which adds a little bit of fun and an alternative activity or two to do. We have played a good amount of “I spy” on this trip and on the way back I will be giving her a “scavenger hunt” of things to look for. You can cater this to things you know are on your route like a cornfield, cows, a stop sign, a red car, a maple tree, etc.
Depending on the age of your child(ren), your family can play the alphabet game, the license plate game, car color search, twenty questions, name the artist (of songs), etc. Hopefully this list gives you some ideas as a starting point.
Acknowledge Feelings
This road trip tip for kids is something you may or may not have thought of but it’s important to acknowledge their feelings about the trips. Is she excited? Is he anxious? Are they tired of sitting for so long? Do they get car sick? Road trips are fun, but they are also at times exhausting, long, tiring, etc.
We know this as adults, but sometimes expect our kids to just suck it up and not complain. We can model acknowledging feelings as valid without catering to complaining. You may find that simply listening and allowing your child to be heard for a moment helps her to calm down and complain less over the long run. We can also model ways to cope with all the hard things that come with being in the car for hours on end.
Road Trips Tips for Potty-Training
If you have littles in the potty-training years, I have a few tips for you. First, keep a portable child’s potty seat in your vehicle for emergencies. Be prepared for extra stops. You will also want to keep an extra change of clothes or two easily accessible.
Another tip is to use disposable changing table pads in the bottom of the car seat for accidental leaks and uh-ohs. The last thing you want is to be stuck in the middle of no where with a sopping wet car seat. That wouldn’t be comfortable for you to smell or your child to sit in for hours down the road.
If it’s early on during potty training, don’t be afraid to put the diaper back on (especially if you know you’re approaching nap time or night sleeping in the car). For those a little more confident in their bladder control, a disposable changing table pad lining the bottom of the car seat allows for empowering your little one without having to stress over the whoopsies. But the spare potty seat can be used for a couple of years for added security during emergencies. 😉
Another note, if your child is potty training, she may be more excited to get to stop at rest stops and use the big bathroom. This can either be a pro or a con, I’ll let you decide. My daughter sometimes asked to go to the bathroom just because she was bored, so we had to use our best judgement. You know your child. I also preferred to stretch out the time using the child potty in the back of the vehicle before taking her with me into gross gas station bathrooms and repeatedly reminding her “please don’t touch anything.” Do what works for you and your child.
Set Low Expectations
Finally, my last road trip tip for kids is to set low expectations. This might seem like a silly tip, after giving you all these other tips about how to make this a more enjoyable experience for you and your family. But, if you set the bar low, then odds are your expectations will be surpassed.
Expect that there will be tears at some point. Also plan for an extra stop of two, add and extra hour or two to your travel time. It’s an adventure and you will get to your destination eventually but try to have age-appropriate expectations for your child. With this outlook, we have always exceeded our expectations and celebrated those wins! Like this trip for instance, with only one stop on the 9-hour drive to Mississippi and only 3 stops on the 15-hour trip up to Michigan. Feels like a miracle! We didn’t plan for that at all and are grateful. This has been the least number of stops on a road trip, which I think comes with her age, temperament, and ability to hold her bladder much longer.
Final Thoughts
I know road trips with kids can seem very intimidating to many people. Hopefully some of these tips have encouraged you that it is possible to make the journey with your little ones in tow. Give everyone lots of grace and make it as fun as possible, communicate expectations, but don’t set those too high, either. Who knows, maybe your family will invent another fun road trip game along the way!
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