Family Road Trips!

Kids & Road Trips - They CAN Go Together!

So you've decided to go on a road trip with your whole family? Congratulations! Family road trips can be one of the most wonderful and memorable experiences you'll enjoy together. Traveling with young children can be especially challenging, as minutes seem like hours to them and discomfort and boredom set in quickly. Fortunately, there are many ways to keep them happy and occupied so your family trip can be enjoyed by all.

Odd or Even

What are the chances? This is a game for two players. Have each child guess if there are more license plates that end in an odd or even number. (plates that end in a letter do not count).
Give each child a blank sheet of paper and something to mark with.
Set a time limit, usually 10 - 15 minutes.
Have one child look for plates that end in an odd number, and the other look for an even umber.
A tick mark or dash should be marked for each car they find. (For extra learning, have them group the marks in sets of 5)
At the end of the time limit, have the children add up their marks. (Counting by 5's if grouping was used.) Then see who guessed correctly.

Give each child a "Trip Bag"

This can be a backpack for each child, or a canvas bag or even a big plastic bin that is used specifically for road trips. Kids can load it up with all their favorite road trip stuff and other toys so they can have it all handy and easily accessible to them in the car. You can even decorate the bag to designate it as their special trip bag and use it to collect stickers or pins from various trips.

And Last But Not Least, Bribe Them ...

Plenty of parenting books have admonished new parents for bribing their children to be quiet, and they probably have a point, but thousands of hassled parents the world over have given in to the temptation just for some peace and quiet. If you'd like to join them, then here's how.

Give your kids a roll of nickels, dimes, quarters, fifty-cent pieces, or dollar bills. (However much money you think is right or they can extract from you). Then tell them they must give you "x amount" back for every tantrum or fight, and at the end of the trip (or the day), they can keep the remainder.