Tips On Traveling With Youngsters
Tips On Traveling With Youngsters
If you have done any long distance traveling, then you know how difficult it can be. Packing, loading your car or van, driving hundreds of miles, securing a place to stay, setting up a temporary home while you're there, then conducting the whole process in reverse when it is time to go home. Now, try throwing a couple of young children into the mix. Your day just got a lot more interesting.
That being said, it is possible to make long distance travel easier for everyone, you, your children, and the people who find themselves sitting near you and your offspring. As we hit the open road this holiday season, a few tips for traveling with the kids in tow:
A word about car seats: When traveling by car, make sure they are secured and remain in their car seat the entire time the car is in motion. If I see you doing otherwise, then you can thank me for the state trooper who will shortly be pulling you over. I've called in and ratted out more than one brain dead parent, and wear my tattletale pin with great pride.
Pace yourself. For guys, a trip is getting into your car at the beginning and getting out at the end, preferably with the shortest amount of time possible between those two points. Don't subject your kids to that torture. Be kind. Drive a couple of hours and then let everybody out for a break.
Pack for the kids: Have a small backpack loaded up with small toys, games, books, Valium (oops, did that just slip out?), crayons, stickers, etc, and hold back a few surprises. Giving them something to do, keep them occupied. This particular lesson was learned the first time I heard "how much longer?" 20 minutes into an eight hour drive.
Audiobooks: kids love these, and they are readily available on CD at your local library, and it will keep them occupied.
Playrooms: free play areas are available at pretty much every Burger King and Mickey D's; both have very nice indoor play areas where your kids can blow off energy. You can order food to go for them. If you're not fond of the idea of food being spilled in your car, I've found that threatening them within an inch of their lives works wonders.
If you have very small kids, a training potty might be a worthwhile investment before a long trip. In a pinch, a plastic cup in the glove box will suffice. Yes, it's a little embarrassing, but it beats having "goodies" in your upholstery.
I was never a big fan of car mounted DVD players until last summer, and I do not recommend them for short jaunts around town (how do you spell "ADD"?). For long trips, though, DVD players are wonderful things.
So there you go. I hope it helps. I'd like to think that nearly twenty years on the road traveling with kids taught me something, and as they get older and more independent, I feel it is my duty to pass along the wisdom to the next generation that felt the need to propagate themselves.
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