Ah, vacation season is upon us. Traveling with kids is a whole other ballgame than without kids and I want to share my experience!
Our most recent “vacation” was just a few weeks ago. I use quotations because it was actually a trip for my husband to meet with a potential employer in person. Nonetheless, we packed up the car and our babies and drove 835 miles to Minnesota. (That’s 835 miles there and another 835 miles back.) It took us just over 14 hours, which was pretty impressive since our kids are 2 and 6 months.
If you’ve downloaded my printable by subscribing, you know some of the tricks we use for long car trips. I want to go further into detail on those and a few other tips that help when you’re taking young children on a long ride. If you want that printable, subscribe for access to the link!
Preparing to Travel with Kids
I’ll be honest: I was pretty much dreading the long drive ahead of us with 2 kids. As someone who has always enjoyed long car trips, it was a relatively new feeling. That feeling was probably attributed to our first trip with a kid back in 2017. Our son was 5 months old and we drove 6 hours to Nashville, one of our favorite cities. The first 4 hours were great – he just slept. He got fussy when he woke up, as it was time to eat. Naturally, we stopped so I could feed him.
Even after the 20-30 minute break to eat and change his diaper, he was sick of the car seat. We were only 2 hours away, though! When you’re adults, a 2 hour car ride is nothing. But for our little guy, it was miserable. Add in the fact that we were new parents and those 2 hours were horrible for everyone. I can’t remember how many additional stops we made trying to calm him, but every time we got back on the road he started crying again. It. Was. Awful.
Thus, my fear of traveling with kids. We’ve taken other trips since then, but nothing more than 4 hours. For our daughter, however, this was going to be the first. So, with this 14 hour drive dangling in front of me and I was in preparation mode.
I’m a list maker, so that’s where my prep started. From packing to car snacks to activities, I wrote down everything. I knew what to leave in the trunk and what needed to be within reach. Listing it all out made it far less stressful for me. It made me feel prepared, which for me is half the battle.
Exhaust Kids before Travel
I don’t want to say that you should run your kids ragged, but…run your kids ragged. Seriously. Having tired kids in the car is key to passing several hours without needing to entertain, feed, or stop. We leave just before bedtime so that they are used to sleeping at that time, anyway. If that’s not an option for you, take them to the park or play in the backyard before leaving. Avoid anything that is going to give them an energy boost – no candy or sugary drinks. If at all possible, wake them up early or skip nap time. Make sure they will want to sleep in the car when you get going.
Traveling with Kids in Diapers
Both of my little ones are still in diapers. While it makes stopping for bathroom breaks that much less frequent, it can be messy when there is a blowout. That’s why we use Huggies Overnights for long trips. My son can sleep for 13 hours straight (and he does 75% of the time) and these diapers are the only ones that work for us. They are super absorbent and have a great fit. We put the babies in a fresh diaper and comfy clothes right before we left and they were good to go for several hours.
Eat before Traveling with Kids
The worst thing is having to wake up sleeping babies to eat just a couple of hours into the drive. Or, having them complain about their hunger until you can stop. Our 2 year old is constantly hungry. He already eats as though he is a 13 year old boy (seriously dreading that grocery bill 11 years in the future). If we want to combat that at all, it is best to feed him (and ourselves!) before we even get in the car. My little guy is a frequent vomiter (seeing GI specialist for that…) so we have to be careful with what he eats. My advice for eating before travel is to feed your kids something that will be easy on their stomachs and easy to digest. Heavy or spicy meals are not generally recommended.
During the Drive
There are a few items that you should have handy for a long drive with kids. You can alter many of these to fit the needs, interests, or desires of your own kiddos. These are the ones we used for ours. If you plan to travel with kids, these are highly suggested.
Aim for Comfort
If you want your kids to sleep through a good portion of the drive, comfort is essential. Have blankets available for them and allow them to remove their shoes. When you’re stuck in a car for a long period of time, comfort is valuable.
Have a Stock of Snacks and Drinks
While I had planned on baking a bunch of treats the night prior to save us some money, my in-laws surprised us with bags of snacks before I even stepped foot in the kitchen. Bottled water and juice boxes allowed us to keep driving without stopping. As did single-serving snacks that were easily cleaned if any were dropped or spilled. Be sure to keep them within reach!
Music!
Like any good road trip, music is a necessity! For our kids, that means Patch the Pirate and GT and the Halo Express! These are both Christian-based children’s music and vocal scenes. My husband grew up listening to Patch the Pirate and it has become a favorite of our son’s, too! Each track is broken up by a storyline that teaches kids a lesson with Christian values. GT is a similar experience, although we are still breaking that one in, as it was a recent gift from a church friend!
Car Activities are Vital to Traveling with Kids
Be sure to bring a variety of activities for your kids to do during their waking hours. For my little guy, this was books, his tablet, and his favorite small toys. Look and find books really keep his attention! They have so much color and so much to look at – our son doesn’t get the concept without help, but he looks anyway!
While I love activities that do not include screen time, a tablet on a road trip can be so helpful. We really love our son’s Leapfrog Epic Academy tablet because of the parental controls and settings as well as the availability of educational apps. Our son can be pretty hard on his and it has held up so well!
A couple of action figures and his favorite toy car kept him busy for a good hour or so, as well. Even though the car makes noise and drives the rest of us crazy, it entertains him. On a long car ride, it is far better than crying!
Stop for Walks
We made sure to drive without stopping as long as the kids were asleep. When they did wake up and start to fuss, it was easy to stop at the next exit for gas, bathroom breaks/ diaper changes, and a quick walk. It was also the time to feed our littlest since she’s breastfed. These stops would last for a good 30 minutes but seemed short in the grand scheme of things.
Letting our 2 year old stretch his legs was a big deal. About 13 hours into the drive he started complaining about a sore back, so a walking break was the best part of his day at that point! Since we traveled overnight, his walks consisted of walking through the aisles of gas stations, but he didn’t mind. He was just happy to be out of the car for a while. When he got back in the car he was in a much better mood – the snack he got when he got buckled in helped, too!
During Vacation
My kids get sick of the car after long trips, as most people do. This means that traveling even the shortest distance for vacation activities is difficult for them to comprehend. Because of this, I recommend trying to avoid the car as much as possible the day after arrival. That was easy for us since we drove all night and just wanted to sleep when we arrived. We checked into our hotel early, turned on a cartoon for the little ones, and hubby slept (he drove the full 14 hours) while I dozed off and on.
By the time we went out the following day, the kids didn’t fuss about the short car rides we went on to various locations. They were extra happy for the time out of the car, though! Our vacation was wonderful and everyone enjoyed themselves. The car ride back was just as long, but the same tricks worked just as well!
Do you have any additional tricks or tips for traveling with kids? Share them in the comments!