Does the thought of traveling with your children make you cringe? Being locked in a car for hours on end does not have to be a bad experience. Everyone can enjoy family time on those long drives. Get prepared. You don’t have to have as much as you think. There is no need to go crazy packing toys. You will end up having to clean it all up. Keep things simple. Here are some tips to get you started.
Snacks
Snacks are the best part of a road trip. All the food we don’t usually let our kids eat every day will be a great treat. To prevent the snacks from getting too messy, prepackage them into individual servings. Making them easier to pass out and eat without making a huge mess. Ziploc bags will work. Or, if you want to be environmentally conscious, try Ziparoos. Reusable bags with a different pattern for each child. Have everyone’s favorite snacks ready to go. With less mess to clean up, no wrappers to pick up off the floor of the car. Remember to pass them out slowly, or you will be out in an hour. With a car full of stomach aches.
Drawing
Making beautiful pictures is a great way to pass the time. What is not fun is losing pencils all over the car. Kids will be whining for you to get them. Parents will spend more time stretching and turning around to find lost art supplies. Try these LCD writing tablets. Make picture after picture without all the paper mess. It comes with a lanyard to keep the pen connected to the board. They will never lose a thing drawing with these. Drawing can be even more fun by playing a game. Give them topics and have everyone else guess what they are drawing. Be creative, and everyone will have a great time.
Movies
All the new technology that cars have already makes travel more comfortable. We should use it. If you don’t have a DVD player in your car, try this one from Amazon. Hooking to the back of the headrest makes it easy for multiple kids to watch. To avoid kids getting bored with the movies, get DVDs they haven’t seen often. Have movies set aside just for long drives. When they haven’t seen the movie hundreds of times, their attention span will last longer. And the ride will go by faster.
Headphones
No matter what device your children use, get headphones. With multiple kids, this is a must. One child will always be complaining that the other is being too loud. Wireless headphones are the way to go. You won’t have to worry about the cord, not reaching or getting tangled. Headphones also make it more pleasant for the parents. The kids will be listening happily in the back, and you can enjoy your music in the front.
By car, plane, or boat, these activities will make it more bearable for all. It will also keep it cleaner. Less work for you and more fun had been everyone.