Family Holidays: How Can You Make a Road Trip Enjoyable With the Kids?
Going on road trips is one of the best ways to bond with your family. It allows you to discover new places together and enjoy getting there. However, going with your kids can be a rather challenging task. Your dream road trip can become the best experience with proper preparation and knowledge.
To help you get started, here are a few things you can do for a memorable road trip with your family.
Prepare Your Car
You must understand that kids, especially younger ones, have special needs. They'll probably need more items than a usual adult, so as a parent, you must ensure that you have everything prepared before you start your trip. Remember that this is crucial since you can't just stop anywhere while on the road, not to mention turn around for an item you forgot to pack.
Also, ensure that your car is filled with items to keep your kids comfortable and entertained throughout the ride. You can prepare a convertible baby car seat and a box filled with food and toys. Since you'll have most of your attention on the road, you can place them somewhere the kids can easily reach.
Map Out Your Route
If there's one thing you'll need to know about kids, most of them can't sit still for a long time, and your road trip can become long unbearable hours for you and them. The best thing you can do is figure out how to make your trip fun for them. One of the things you can do is to prepare the areas where you can make a stop and scout places where your kids can walk around and discover new things.
You can download a mobile app that can help you figure out the directions that also presents stores, restaurants, spots you can play and visit in, and the like. This way, they'll have a chance to take a breather and bathroom breaks.
Figure Out Your Child's Limits
As mentioned, some kids can't sit still for a longer time. It can be because they can easily get bored or they have the constant need to go out or take bathroom breaks. Whatever it may be, the best thing you can do is to figure out their limits. If it's your first ever road trip with them, it would be preferable to start not too far away so that you can test the waters.
You can start a nearer city or destination and eventually build up the distance. Not only will they get used to it, but you'll also discover their traveling habits.
Download More Mobile Games
If your next stop is farther, you might need to prepare other options for the remainder of the trip.
What else would it be for Generation Alpha but the good old mobile games? Kids today are more familiar with the technologies and easily get entertained by mobile games. Thus, if you're planning a long road trip, it's best to prepare various mobile games they can enjoy!
Aside from that, you can also download video clips or a good selection of movies while you're at it. Ensure you've also packed a power bank that you can use if the battery phone's near critical. Since you'll only be using the power bank in your car, it's manageable to get a heavy power bank. The power bank tends to get heavier as its capacity increases. Thus, 20,000 mAh should be enough for longer rides.
Let Your Kids Pack Their Bags
Another way you can increase their excitement is by getting them involved during the preparation. As you try to pack the things that your kids will need during the ride, give them their bags and let them pack by themselves. You can limit what items they can and can't bring and inspect them before loading them into your car.
This involvement will let them look forward to the day of your road trip and keep their excitement as they count the days. You can inform them where you're going and what to expect when you get there. It's best to take your time to explain and ensure that they properly understand. Also, this is to prepare themselves and their bags for the day.
Prepare Fun Activities
If mobile games get old, there are still various fun ways you can get your kids entertained. If the technology doesn't work, you can have fun in the "traditional ways." To give you some ideas, here's a list of fun activities you can do with your kid while on a road trip.
● Mad Lib. This starts with the narrator, who will tell a prompt or a random story. Then, the kids can participate by filling in the plot with random adjectives, exclamations, colors, nouns, etc., to complete the story. There are no winners or losers, but an enjoyable moment filled with laughter that they can remember.
● I spy. A player will silently select an object or anything they see on the road. For instance, if the player chooses a car, they will say, "I spy with my little eye something that moves." Then, the other players will take turns guessing your object.
● Road Trip Bingo. This activity will allow your child to be more attentive on the road and have fun looking out the windows. Before starting your trip, you and your kids should write things you'll expect to see on your journey on a 5x5 board or any available board. Then, as you start your trip, you cross down each box as you see them. The first one who can make a straight or diagonal line wins.
Final Thoughts
Going on long road trips with your kids can become one of their core memories growing up. Thus, if you can, it's something that you wouldn't miss for the world. Moreover, once you can experience it the first time, you'll no longer have a hard time during the second. You can follow the tips and tricks above and start building new memories with your kids now.
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