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Ah, the open road, the wind in your hair, the sounds of cars rushing by—and what’s that? The sound of cars rushing by is being drowned out by the sound of your kids fighting each other in the back seat? Keep calm, and whatever you do, don’t remember that this is only hour two of a twelve hour drive to make it to the beach.

Seriously though, this is every parent’s nightmare. A long road trip with children in the backseat is a recipe for spills, tantrums, and tears. Sounds rough, right? Well, we’re here to let you in on some trade secrets—namely, how you can keep your children from losing it during a long road trip, and save your sanity as well.

  • Bring them into the loop. Even if they’re pretty young, you can tell them exactly what to expect. You’ll be driving for so many hours, and you’ll stop for lunch and restroom breaks. Yes, they’ll still ask if you’re “there yet,” but you can firmly remind them of the expectations you set earlier.
  • Keep them occupied. Distraction is paramount when it comes to road trips, and you can provide that in plenty of different forms.
  • Toys are always going to be your go-to on a road trip. That means you should definitely do a quick double check to make sure you’ve got your little one’s favorites before you get on the interstate. A child missing his or her favorite stuffed animal when traveling is not a happy child.

    You can also go electronic with your distractions. Some parents don’t want their children buried in a phone or tablet playing games for hours, but this might be a time when you relax those restrictions. If that still doesn’t sit right with you, then try getting a book on tape that you know they like, or a new book from a favorite series.

  • Pack your own food. There are a few advantages to packing things yourself. The first is that you’ll definitely end up saving money, and possibly time if you don’t want to stop off at a gas station or fast food joint every time someone in the back pipes up saying, “I’m hungry.”
  • The second benefit is that you can pack healthy food for your children—with some sweets to hold back as bribes. As with the electronics rule, this might be time to relax some of your healthy food standards. Not only can a favorite snack quiet down your little ones, but they’ll also associate road trips with a little bit of freedom and fun.

  • Also, don’t forget to bring a first aid kit, as well as some kind of upholstery cleaner. There’s roughly a 97% chance that some kind of spill or accident will occur in your backseat, and you don’t want to be 100 miles from the nearest store when it happens.

Family road trips don’t have to be a pain if you plan them out and prepare your kids properly. And you’ll have plenty of amazing photos to show when you get back, so check out our selection of crystal clear digital frames.

Bea is Nixplay’s Social Media Manager. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading about wars, and writing stories. Send her a message at beatrice.bisais@nixplay.com.

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