Surviving a Family Road Trip: Top 5 Tips

Half the adventure is getting there, taking your time stopping at different places, having fun

We make sure to have a big bottle of sanitizer or a bunch of wipes for any spills or clean ups necessary. I've gotten 3 or 4 free packs of wipes now from htTP://tiny.cc/hl68u They have different samples all the time and I was able to get those recently from them. We always keep wipes in the car glovebox. I keep some in my purse too - just in case. Inevitably they're always some sort of spill or sticky hands that need cleaning.

i'm with you! we have the best times going out with our teens and just talking, visiting and laughing. we have a great time and usually even the radio gets ignored. our best vacation pics have come from inside the car as the kids goof off and take pics of each other (thanks to digital cameras - no expensive film). we had a friend bring a dvd player once and it was total quiet and the kids were restless and bored to death.

Not everyone can read in the car, Paul. My middle child would fill our car with vomit after the first 20 miles. We do however play books on tape for middle readers. It works very well at settling them down. Also, looking out the window is lovely for adults, and kids can do this for a while, but after several hours what you suggest is absurd and annoying. When I was a child, yes, all we had was the road to look at and boy was I angry about it!

Carolyn, I hear you about the motion sickness! I got cursed by that tweak in the family DNA (blame my dad's side), and both my kids got walloped with it, so traveling ANYWHERE means loading both of them up with Dramamine (which begs the question, why the hell are we living in a mountainous county LOL). Oh, the problems I wish they'd find a permament cure for! I used to hate road trips because until I got older, the Dramamine always wore off halfway through, and then BRAUGH!

I agree with Paul though-kids don't really need electronic gadgets like DVD players in the car-we got by fine without that sort of thing (not to mention that watching a movie in the car would do the same thing to my kids as reading in a car)! My parents provided tapes with classic radio shows and performances of that nature, and I have fond memories of hearing Abbott & Costello, Bob Newhart, Alan Sherman, and many others on those trips. From somewhere, my older daughter picked up on playing Punchbuggy, and even going to town has resulted in all-out Punchbuggy wars sometimes when she and I are practically competing to spot a Punchbuggy first and score before the "No Punchback" rule is invoked! Granted, I started bringing my Walkman when I was a teenager, but I always turned it off when those classic tapes were played. That was always part of family time, and I hope to someday do the same and "corrupt" my kids too.

That's going to be a while, though. The closest we get to a vacation is when my husband has the day off from work, and even then we don't really go anywhere unless it's to a local community festival. They're close to home, and they're free! Someday we hope to get a small camper trailer and a flat-bottomed boat with a trolling motor so we can take the kids to a weekend at a local campground or a day's fishing on the river, but that's down the road.

Totally agree on this, why use junk as a babysitter? I agree with snacks but the rest-is mindless.

When I was 6 1/2 we drive cross-country in a van with no seats in the back and no AC, but we still had toys and games to keep us occupied. Road-trip games only go so far.

We do not have a lot of money and we avoid all the typical tourist traps when we do our 2 week road trips. We take camping stuff and sometimes we've had to sleep in our car, but you can travel VERY inexpensively. Yes the gas prices don't help, but if you take all your own food---including a burner and grill so you can picnic anywhere---and create your own fun, it can be done. I guess if your family expects luxurious accommodations and to be entertained by all the water parks/tourist traps/etc, then it isn't cheap but our family of 4 never spent more than $800 for the 2 weeks we went on the road...and that was mostly for gas. (We drive 4-5,000 miles, though.) Or you can sit home.....

Nan, I completely understand!

Brenda, I'm sorry, but $800. is not an inexpensive vacation, while it might be a bargain for the distance you traveled that is far beyond my vacation budget.

Our vacations consists of visiting family and friends and taking in free museums, and beaches. We recently spent 5 days near the Gulf (a 7 hour drive, though it is a 9 hour drive traveling with children) and spent less than $300. for the entire trip, including food and fuel. There are plenty of coupons available for discounted admissions, discounts on food, pack a picnic and lots of snacks to save money on food as well.

As far as the article itself, the information was not new to me, my family took road trips when I was a child too and my Mom always bought us new coloring books or activitiy books and crayons for the trip (a trip to the Dollar Tree before you go!)

For those who have a problem with wanting to keep your children happy while you drive, all I can say is that a distracted driver leads to car accidents, I'd rather let my children watch a DVD, listen to their iPod, etc. there is no need to have bickering children distract the driver from his or her primary focus, which is driving not entertaining the passengers. Family time takes place when we are stopped and focus can be on the children rather than on the road.

For those who ask why bother? It's well worth it! Yes, there is a lot of prep work when traveling with children, especially if you need to take a stroller, play yard, diapers, etc. but I wouldn't miss a minute of it! It is worth the effort, like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it.

I couldn't/wouldn't read your novel as one solid mass.

Break it down into concise, maneageble paragraphs and you may be able to get your ideas across to other readers.

I won't read a massive posting like yours, so you make no impact on me.
(BTW - I also don't read comments that are in all Caps.)

Thanks for comment. You were correct. My fault for being in a hurry.
Vacations from my childhood and now as an adult, are where I find the center of quality. That magic moment when a family gels as one, all schedules grind to a halt, the phone and e-mail stop and time again becomes ours.

During a family trip even conflict can cease. The way to stop conflict, is not to start arguing over which generation has the best entertainment, I spy, reading or elelctronics.Some families like show tunes others play checkers, but starting a fight over what kids will not bring, is the best way to build "The great wall", before you see it. Have fun in your adult seats, and if kids join great, but don't play game wardens for a week of vacation.

Don't over plan, have a plan, but be prepared for random fun. Take books for kids for when batteries wear out, be the hero of the vacation. No matter your budget you can have a vacation, one day, two or a week. Fishing, hiking, relaxing,swimming, in state and national parks, in a tent, or with cots, large trailer or small. Most parks have bathrooms and showers and BBQ pits. Camping is not about big trailers or out doing the neighbors, it is about being together.It is the great equalizer when writing "what I did for my summer vacation" what you spent or didn't spend will never be included in your child's report or be noticed, again it is about being together.

Once your settled let the kids explore, give them times thru out the day to appear before you to be checked over. Take items such as sun block and bug repellent and boxed and canned foods with you from local store. Park or hotel, do go to the grocery store as soon as you arrive. (by arrive I mean to map out your nearest location to large town before you arrive in tourist destination.) Purchase healthy, cool down alternatives such as grapes, melon, plums. Take coupons. Try do decide when you will eat out and if you can have a kitchenette,grill or hot plate, when you can eat in. Make vacation meals ,an adventure for whole family by finding new foods. Remember most bagged frozen pastas include all needed for meal come in varieties, and only require one pan and a burner. That with a loaf of french bread and fresh tomatoes, & cookies from home will feed a family of four, under twenty dollars. Do not make meals big productions ! You are there to see and relax not cook and clean.( For your list , one large pan, dish scrubber, dish soap, coffee & filters. Camping you will need a coffee pot which also can be used to boil water, large ice chest ice. Borrow what you can from family or neighbors)Check weather before you leave.

Funny thing is as an adult, I no longer remember the best or worst vacations I had as a child, only a great blur of good time we shared together. Get out of your homes, grab your kids and go see America. Councilwoman Canaday /Okla.