How we survive a long drive

Ana's Advice:

The girls and I are headed on a long drive next week (anything 6+ hours is long for us, though I know many people drive much longer distances), so I thought I would pull together some of my personal advice for surviving a long drive alone with kids. Now, obviously this varies drastically by age, so right now my advice is applicable for children in the 2-5 range. In a few years, I'll have to update this with advice based on their ages then. And under 2 is always about just hoping they sleep a lot or are entertained by the views outside the window or siblings next to them.

So, this is what I plan to do to try and survive the trip with as little frustration as possible (fingers crossed for no traffic):

1. Media is the automatic choice when thinking about how to entertain kids in a car, but I hate to have them mindlessly staring at a screen the whole time. So, we have been watching a lot of Preschool Prep DVDs in our car. They are great because they help with sight words, phonics, numbers and letters but are also interactive because the kids like to shout the sounds and words out loud as the DVDs play. Honestly, my girls love it so much and don't seem to realize they are learning. I highly suggest trying them out! Books on tape are also an awesome way to pass the time. 

HOWEVER...

2. I personally enjoy some quiet time in the car too, where I can listen to music and focus on the drive with no loud noises in the back, so it is useful to pack a few things to take a number of media breaks (other than the nap(s) that every parent hopes for):

• Make a snack box or pack a few bags of different snacks that you can pass back from time to time. This is super helpful in case of traffic or if one child wants to stop and get lunch but the other child is sleeping. We use a craft box with lots of different sections and Aria passes snacks to her sister. Also, my girls are hungry all of the time, so car snacks are a must for them.
• Pack coloring books and crayons/markers (Color Wonder might work best), etch-a-sketches, car travel bingo games (there are some cheap ones at the Dollar Store where kids look for different transportation vehicles or road signs), easy workbooks, mini felt boards and characters, or magnet boxes (use an old metal lunchbox and play with fridge alphabet magnets)- I like to keep all of these items in a bag next to me and pass them back when the girls seem to get antsy to spread out how quickly they go through the toys, though you could easily place bags on the back of seats in front of them.
• We also have started playing I-Spy or In My Father's Grocery Store, will sing songs, or will tell knock knock jokes, all of which are wonderful because you don't have to pack anything at all yet it entertains the kids. 

​​3. Be smart about planned stops. Hate driving through a large city on your route? Plan to stop for lunch or dinner as a reward for making it through that area. Know that one state or area of the highway has cheaper gas? Make that a planned bathroom stop while the gas tank fills up. However, my best advice is that even with all of the best planning, the best thing to do is be adaptable. If there is traffic and the kids need a break, find an area to run around for 5 minutes. If the kids are being awesome and don't care about getting out of the car, power through on the snacks you brought rather than stopping for lunch so that you get where you are going sooner. Just like with flying, expecting the unexpected is truly the best way to survive! 

Hope this helps you on your next long drive! I would love to hear your best suggestions for making car travel easier so that perhaps I can have some new, awesome ideas for my next car trip with the girls!