Preparing for a Road Trip with Your Kids – 5 Tips for Proper Fun
Guest Post By James Barnes
A lot of people use their winter and summer vacations to take their families on road trips.
For many parents and children, these are only two parts of the year they can spend together.
However, if you don’t prepare properly for this trip, both you and your children might get bored with it. That’s why we’ve put together five simple tips that should ensure constant fun during your trip.
1. Include kids in planning
No matter how old your children are, you should include them in planning.
You can bring up the subject of the family car trip months in advance. This will give the kids enough time to come up with their original ideas about the entire adventure.
Also, ask them to write a list of their personal belongings they’d like to bring to this trip. On the one hand, you’ll give them enough time to prepare and you’ll be able to reduce the number of things each family member can take with them.
2. Install a tablet in the car
Some older generations remember the times when the only source of fun in the car were audio cassettes or CDs.
Today, however, children find fun and entertainment in many sources.
If you’re planning to travel with toddlers or preschoolers, install a tablet in your car. That way, you can play their favorite cartoons and songs. Older kids can even play some video games along the way.
When you’re traveling in your car, you don’t always have an Internet connection. Since toddlers can get annoyed if their beloved cartoon stops playing, think about downloading several episodes.
The same goes for their most preferred songs, as well. That way, you’ll ensure a backup plan if you don’t have an Internet signal.
3. Pack a couple of board games
We all know that most modern kids need to use their gadgets everywhere. That’s why we suggest that you let them spend some time on YouTube and other online channels. However, you should put your condition on the tablet, as well – one or more board games.
From traditional board games, like Monopoly or Scrabble to role-playing games, you can teach them a lot of things. What’s more, you can play some games that require only a piece of paper and crayons or pencils. You can read some interesting ideas for such games in the post on the Parenting website.
This balance of online and offline activities should provide enough interactive and cognitive fun for all family members.
4. Visit places along the way
When you’re planning a road trip, it’s important to write down some sort of an itinerary. Some families like the trip more than their destination where they spend most of their vacations. So, it would be nice of you to visit some places along the way.
For instance, if you’re traveling along the Californian coast, visiting Sacramento would be a great thing. Not only that it’s the capital of this federal state but it’s also one of the coziest towns in California.
On the other hand, people traveling around the South can make a break in a genuine Texas environment, like the exclusive wedding venue in College Station. While children can have fun playing in the park, parents might think about renewing their vows.
5. Give kids some time
Parents are sometimes assertive during family vacations. We all love our kids and most of us can’t spend enough time with them. That’s why we so often insist that we spend every single moment together on vacation. This can be tiring for adults, as well, let alone children, who are more focused on technologies than on their parents. Because of that, it would be best to balance time apart and time together. This goes without saying especially if your kids are teenagers or close to that age. So, give your children enough space and time to do their own things on your vacations. As a result, they’ll be more open to spending some time with you, as well as to take part in some common activities.
Conclusion
Even though modern children are under the strong influence of technology, parents can still influence them. Still, it takes some wisdom and diplomacy to spend some quality time with them on a road trip. You should allow them to plan the trip with you and occasionally play their own music/videos in the car.
Also, bring some board games and show your kids that these activities can be entertaining, as well.
Finally, choose a few places you can visit or stay in during the trip-All these things will help you and your kids strengthen your bonds and have some fun time during the road trip.
Author Bio:
James Barnes is an experienced wedding organizer and blogger at theannexevents.com. He specialized in organizing outdoor wedding events. When he isn’t writing about weddings and marital life, David usually goes swimming or playing squash.
*Photos courtesy of James Barnes
