Nebka's Nook: Traveling With Children
Author: Nebka Galyn, January 2018
I'm glad to be back with the Tar Valon Times! I look forward to sharing more articles with you!
As some of you know, I take a family road trip every year around Christmas. Since we just finished this trip, I thought I would share some tips with you on how I make the trip less stressful. My kids are older now, but these tips will work for all age groups, even adults.
No matter if it’s your first trip with your first child, or your fifth with your fifth, traveling with children will always be daunting. From what to pack to how to get there, it’s full of potential worries. However, there are some tips that can help you prepare, and save you from going insane. Logging long miles in the car can be exhausting for everyone who's tired of being cooped up, from mom to grumpy teenagers.
While the idea of traveling with children might be overwhelming, the most important thing to remember is:
It will end. You will get there. You will survive.
Here are my top 10 tips to make the trip go smoothly.
- Make sure your road assistance plan is up to date.
- Charge your phone before you leave, and bring a phone charger. Make sure you have enough chargers to charge ALL devices.
- Plan ahead! Know how long it will take, where you will stop, etc. But keep the plans simple.
- Make sure to get plenty of sleep the night before. Sleep deprivation can contribute to frazzled nerves and unsafe driving. It's helpful if your children are also rested at the start of the trip.
- Pack the car before you put children inside – and allow them enough room.
- Don’t forget to keep essential items within reach – wet-wipes, small tissue packs, and pens and paper for games.
- Keep plenty of drinks and snacks on hand.
- Keep a special plastic bag available for trash. This year I used some reusable grocery bags for each person so there was no fighting over throwing away someone else’s trash.
- Pack lightweight blankets, to comfort them and keep them warm when they sleep.
- Don't rush. Leave yourself plenty of time and don't make a strict schedule.
Food that travels well includes pretzels, bagels, granola bars, and cookies for when you need to bribe them. Bring an insulated bag for string cheese, tubes of yogurt, and other perishables. We tend to snack a lot while driving as it keeps hands and mouths too busy to complain about how long we’ve been driving. Consistent meal times and limits are thrown out the window for convenience and peace.
This year we tried something I saw on Pinterest. We used shower organizer trays to put some snacks, drinks, headphones and games in. Each child had one and it worked out great.
Travel Caddies
I also have each child pack their own backpack with small games, toys, and diversions. They will often put their favorite stuffed animal in this as well. Some items that are good to pack are:
- Coloring Books/Activity Books
- Small cars and planes
- Dolls (or a paper doll kit with lots of clothes)
- Mini-pet playhouses with characters and magnetic boards with scenes/animals/people
- And of course technology! My kids each have a kindle and we make sure to download FREE games and activities that don’t require internet access to play. My teenager has a cell phone so I don’t think she brought her kindle. Again, make sure you provide a charger for as many devices as possible. My car has three charge ports and I bought double car chargers so we can charge six devices at the same time.
I hope these tips come in handy on your next road trip! We not only use this list for our trip to Vegas (which is only a six hour drive) but for when we have moved cross country on a three day trip. And I've used these skills from the time my children were very small. It works!
Thanks for reading and see you next time!!!
