My kiddos are old enough now that traveling is no big deal, but I do remember the scheduling required when I wanted to travel with them when they were little.
Of course, you can limit your car-imprisoned-interaction with your kids to things like
"I'm the parent, that's why."
"You should have peed before we left."
"We will get there when we get there."
"Be Quiet."
While the whole "I'm the parent, you're the kid and I don't want to be in this car any more than you do... so be quiet" might insure you a mostly quiet car ride... it isn't much fun... for anyone.
Here are a few kid friendly traveling tips that most parents (except for the newest ones) have figured out. Maybe they will help with your holiday travels. If you have others, please share in the comments!
Let them sleep. If you have little bitties, or if you have grumpy older kids, your best defense may be to travel while they sleep. I have often left late or left really early so that mine would sleep most of the way. My Christmas trip is about 6 hours, so if I could work it out so that they slept the first (or last) 3-4 hours, I could manage the rest.
If sleeping isn't an option... or if your trip is longer, maybe these ideas will help.
Give yourself enough time. I started enjoying my trips home when I stopped limiting the drive time to the exact number of hours that the GPS said it should take me. I give myself enough time to stop along the way. Few families enjoy being rushed, even if a few members do.
Stop along the way. Last year we stopped at Enid Lake. Nothing spectacular or life changing, but I'd been passing the exit to Enid lake for about 30 years and wanted to see what it looked like. We enjoyed getting out and stretching our legs and the scenery was pretty. It only set us back a few minutes and... well, we ENJOYED it. There is an outlet mall along our route as well. If the timing is right, we may stop there this year.
Pack snacks and drinks. I saw the cutest thing on Pinterest. Have I done it? Nope. (Have I done anything I've pinned? Prolly not.) But I might. Maybe this year. Maybe not. Who knows? I do take snacks tho.... just not packaged as cute as these.
Sing.
Play games. The Alphabet game gets brutal with my bunch. There are tons of games to play in the car. You can find some for the littles here. Some for older kids and adults can be found here.
Tell stories. Tell the kids about the day they were born, how you met your spouse, things they did when they were little. Share your favorite childhood memories or stories about your siblings (especially fun if they are going to be seeing them at your destination)
Just talk. I will never forget, once I was talking to my older child about what he wanted to be when he grew up. He gave me a long and thoughtful answer. I then asked my younger child. She promptly replied "I'm gonna be a frog." The car is a great place to find out why they like their best friend, who their fave teacher is, what their top 10 favorite foods are, etc.
It's all too easy to miss the opportunity to enjoy your family on road trips. How many other opportunities do we have these days where we are together got multiple consecutive hours with no distractions? Take advantage of the time!
Much love and big hugs!
K
Of course, you can limit your car-imprisoned-interaction with your kids to things like
"I'm the parent, that's why."
"You should have peed before we left."
"We will get there when we get there."
"Be Quiet."
While the whole "I'm the parent, you're the kid and I don't want to be in this car any more than you do... so be quiet" might insure you a mostly quiet car ride... it isn't much fun... for anyone.
Here are a few kid friendly traveling tips that most parents (except for the newest ones) have figured out. Maybe they will help with your holiday travels. If you have others, please share in the comments!
Let them sleep. If you have little bitties, or if you have grumpy older kids, your best defense may be to travel while they sleep. I have often left late or left really early so that mine would sleep most of the way. My Christmas trip is about 6 hours, so if I could work it out so that they slept the first (or last) 3-4 hours, I could manage the rest.
If sleeping isn't an option... or if your trip is longer, maybe these ideas will help.
Give yourself enough time. I started enjoying my trips home when I stopped limiting the drive time to the exact number of hours that the GPS said it should take me. I give myself enough time to stop along the way. Few families enjoy being rushed, even if a few members do.
Stop along the way. Last year we stopped at Enid Lake. Nothing spectacular or life changing, but I'd been passing the exit to Enid lake for about 30 years and wanted to see what it looked like. We enjoyed getting out and stretching our legs and the scenery was pretty. It only set us back a few minutes and... well, we ENJOYED it. There is an outlet mall along our route as well. If the timing is right, we may stop there this year.
Pack snacks and drinks. I saw the cutest thing on Pinterest. Have I done it? Nope. (Have I done anything I've pinned? Prolly not.) But I might. Maybe this year. Maybe not. Who knows? I do take snacks tho.... just not packaged as cute as these.
Play games. The Alphabet game gets brutal with my bunch. There are tons of games to play in the car. You can find some for the littles here. Some for older kids and adults can be found here.
Tell stories. Tell the kids about the day they were born, how you met your spouse, things they did when they were little. Share your favorite childhood memories or stories about your siblings (especially fun if they are going to be seeing them at your destination)
Just talk. I will never forget, once I was talking to my older child about what he wanted to be when he grew up. He gave me a long and thoughtful answer. I then asked my younger child. She promptly replied "I'm gonna be a frog." The car is a great place to find out why they like their best friend, who their fave teacher is, what their top 10 favorite foods are, etc.
It's all too easy to miss the opportunity to enjoy your family on road trips. How many other opportunities do we have these days where we are together got multiple consecutive hours with no distractions? Take advantage of the time!
Much love and big hugs!
K
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