Hey y’all. Alyssa here. The Road Trip “Expert”. HA! If you’ve been following along over on Instagram stories lately, you’ll know that expert isn’t exactly the term I’d use, but, hey, we did it! And that’s what matters, right? It was probably one of the most challenging things we’ve ever done as a family. Being stuck in a car for over 20 hours one way is some serious togetherness, especially when you add two, can’t-sit-still toddlers into the mix. But we’ve been home for about 2 weeks now, and I’ve had some time to reflect. So let me save you the stress and share my top 5 road-trip survival tips.
Make the car ride part of the “vacation”.
Don’t think of the car ride as a means to get to the actual vacation. Do your best to treat the road trip like it’s all a part of the vacay. I know it’s easier for some people to pretend that they’re sitting under a cabana drinking a Margarita, when in reality, they’re trying to catch Child 1’s vomit in a bag from the front seat of a Honda Odyssey, but between some serious guided meditation and the tips in this post, I hope you’ll feel confident enough to load your 6 screaming kids (ages 10-1 yr old) on a cross-country road trip…(silence? nobody?). Ok. Moving on.
Come prepared. And think ahead.
I can’t stress this enough. I thought I was prepared, both physically and mentally, for the long road ahead (pun intended), but I wasn’t really. As far as mentally preparedness, I’d say it’s healthy to have a certain amount of low expectations mixed with the hopes and prayers that things will go swimmingly. All about the attitude, people. It really is! Go into it thinking that even if your entire car and the contents of your kids’ diapers hits the fan, it’ll at least be a good story and funny memories to look back on.
As far as physical preparedness. Well, that’s another story. You can download the packing list from my last post. And as far as how to be prepared on the actual drive? Think ahead. Leave out extra clothes, towels, socks, diapers, wipes, etc because you’ll likely need it on hand, and you won’t be able to take apart your entire trunk at a rest stop on I-80, unless, of course, you forgot to do the above tip and this happened to you…
Prepare to entertain your kids for 5 extra hours than you think it will take you to get there.
Top 20 Road Trip Activities
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Talk up the fun.
If you’re being negative, your kids will pick up the vibe — they’re annoying like that, aren’t they?! It can be easier said than done, and I’m a victim of this too, but even if you’re in the middle of nowhere mountains NY at midnight and you’re literally 30 minutes from running out of gas, try and put a good spin on things. I was pretty lucky that my kids were asleep for this near-catastrophe — yup, it happened to us. I found that every time my kids would start to get antsy, I was able to come up with something “fun” to look at outside the window, or we would start talking about what we were going to do when we got there. This was especially helpful and distracting to Miri, who’s 2.5. Even at 1.5, Azi could be somewhat entertained by looking at all of the trucks and cars out the window.
Set small windows of time instead of harping on the drive as a whole.
I find this to be THE most important tip, even as an adult. Little brains simply can’t handle the concept of time, and if you tell your 2.5 yr old that she can get out of the car in 12 hours, well, I’m not surprised when she starts kicking the back of your seat. Break up the drive into mini-parts, and focus on that. If your kids are too young to grasp any amount of time, then focus on physical stops. With Miri, we used phrases like “at the next rest stop”, “when we stop to go potty”, and “when this show is over” to help get her mind off of her immediate need to get out of the car and to focus a few minutes in the future.
I actually had a reader suggest something that I definitely plan to use on future road trips. She suggested setting a timer for short periods of time, and every time the timer went off, the kids were able to pick a treat. There was a balance of healthy snacks, junk food treats and little prizes, but she says it helps get the kids through the long haul, little by little. Loved that tip, so thanks for the share!
Food glorious food.
If there was ever a time to be lenient about the amount of cornstarch and trans fats that go into your body, I would say that a long road trip is certainly one of those times. Let’s just admit it. Fatty, delicious, not-so-good-for-you food is a glorious part of life. G-d gave it, we eat it, ya here me? Of course, all in moderation, but keep some extra special treats separated for both you and the kids for when the going gets rough. Every couple of hours just bust out some dried fruit with added sugar or a bag of mini Oreos (you can guess which team I’m on) just as a little incentive to keep going, to be happy and that there is light at the end of tunnel. Even if that light is lined in a halo of Pringles and Sour Patch Kids.
I’m fully aware that my last point may be a bit controversial. Food is controversial. Take what you want out of my post, but I think everyone knows where I stand when it comes to eating healthy and living a little in moderation. All mama’s sayin’ is that if you’re going to allow yourself to let loose with the mini Entenmann’s Donuts, well, ain’t no better time like road trip time.
Don’t forget to subscribe and download my Top 20 Road Trip Activities from earlier in this post for even more ideas that I haven’t mentioned in the post.
I’d love to hear how you do road trips! Or trips in general! We’re going away again in a few months, and I’ll need all the tips I can get for the airplane.
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