Whether traveling to a nearby town or across the country, traveling with children can be a trying experience. With a little planning, a road trip with kids can be made into a fun family adventure.
Before the Trip
Unlike vacation-time, moving brings an entirely new set of difficulties and issues that you'll have to deal with as a parent. It's one thing to plan a fun road trip, it's another kind of "fun" doing this for a move.- Include children in the planning. Other articles on this site state the importance of including your children in the planning of the move. Not only does this allow them an element of control in a situation where they often feel out of control, but also it allows for them to anticipate the event, prepare for the emotional experience of "leaving their home" and allows them to ask questions before you get in the car or on the plane. The same thought applies to the planning of the road trip; show them the route, talk about where you'll be staying, how long it'll take and what to expect along the way and once you arrive. Let them ask questions or build in an alternative plan. Maybe consider a side trip or a stop at a favorite town. Try to be flexible, if you can, to allow for their input.
- Help them create an entertainment/essentials kit for the road. Everyone in the family should assemble their own essentials' kit; this should include those items that are not only practical, but also emotionally supportive. Children should be encouraged to bring sources of entertainment, like puzzles, books, crayons and coloring books, while older children and teens could bring along music, books on tape, reading material, etc... Whatever will help pass the time.
- Plan ahead with games and family entertainment ideas. Hold a family meeting before the trip to decide on games to play together, and how each person would like the road trip to unfold. It was a great way to incorporate all ideas, with the younger and older children expressing their wishes, and then allowing them to respect the other person's ideas. While it won't solve all problems or prevent the unavoidable "I'm bored!", it can provide a common place to return to if problems need to be solved.
- Decide ahead of time how conflicts will be resolved. While this sounds ideal, and it is, if you talk to your children about how problems can be resolved before they happen, it gives them tools (and you as well) to begin to negotiate their needs. Or if you have older children and/or teens, discuss before hand how they think problems can be solved in such closed spaces. You might decide as a family, that taking turns to decide what game to play is the best solution, or perhaps that time is divided into "family time" and individual time for people to pursue their own interests.
- Decide ahead of time where you're stopping along the way. If you create a plan together, as suggested in the first point, then you should have a good idea of what each person wants, and hopefully, you've negotiated what the trip will look like. If everyone has had their say and they know before you leave where stops will occur, what hotels are booked and what attractions will be visited, then everyone can agree that no special stops will occur unless needed. Sometimes disagreements erupt over plans if those plans aren't established from the beginning.
During the Trip
- Allow for lots of breaks. Breaks are essential to keeping everyone happy and healthy, especially for small children and those who are doing the majority of the driving. Getting out allows for some breathing room from each other, along with time to stretch and rejuvenate.
- Keep to a regular eating schedule. Often when we're on the road, our eating schedule gets shifted; we end up snacking more than we should. With children, it's important to ensure that regular meal times are followed as close as possible. Snacking is fine, but limit the sweets and junk food to ensure kids are hungry when dinnertime comes.
- Maintain nap times and/or quiet times. If you have young children, it's important to ensure that nap times are followed even when on the road. Disturbances in sleep patterns will make it difficult later on when you're trying to get them to fall asleep in a strange hotel room. If you read to them before they nap, continue the practice. Or maybe they listen to a favorite song or you sing to them; whatever the process, mimic it as closely as possible.
Source: http://moving.about.com/od/movingchildrenandteens/a/travel_with_kid.htm
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