Virtual - various times
Virtual - various times
Virtual - various times
Virtual - various times
Virtual - various times
Virtual - various times
Virtual - various times
Successful Road Trips With Kids
Spring is coming! Spring is coming! SPRING IS COMING!!!!
It's that time of year...time to get out and about! Because both of my parents were teachers, my childhood years were full of road trips. Many were the times that we packed up – two parents, 3 children, and an incessantly panting dog – and headed west to Colorado, and a few times, even all the way to CA. These trips were both horrible and wonderful at the same time. Horrible in that they involved hours of fighting with my two brothers, the inevitable boredom of the Kansas highway, and occasionally a very gaseous dog. Wonderful in that we saw every nook and cranny of this country, felt insignificant in the shadow of the Rockies, and marveled at the sheer awesomeness of Crater Lake.
What I did learn in my many family road voyages were the essential ingredients of every road trip. Because, really, whats the point of heading to a great destination if getting there makes everyone cranky and irritbable? As spring approaches (I promise…it’s coming!), we will be getting ready for some of our favorite local day trips (Connecticut College lacrosse game, Old Saybrook, Mystic Seaport, Kent Falls), keeping these essentials in mind:
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1. Research restaurants in advance: Wherever we have headed, we always pick out two restaurants that look like they might work for our family. This is a must. Nothing spoils a family outing more than over hungry children. Furthermore, we try hard not to eat any fast food, so I always go on yelp.com prior to a road trip to find two restaurants where my family could east happily and healthily. And I highly recommend finding two restaurants – you never know if one has closed unexpectedly.
2. Prepare for carsickness: 3 out of the 5 members of my family get carsick. Regularly. We’ve learned to roll with it. I always have a multitude of plastic bags in the car, and everyone keeps one near their seat. I also keep a travel pack of Clorox wipes in the glove box. And just last year, we started wearing these anti-nausea bracelets. I don’t know if it’s psychosomatic or not, but they seem to make a difference.
3. Entertaining the troops: Many years ago I swore we wouldn’t ever have a DVD in our car. Two years later I bought a car with a DVD player, and started letting the kids watch movies incessantly on road trips. I finally wised up to a great compromise. We now watch one movie, and then everyone listens to some audio books (we can’t read in the car because everyone gets sick…see Item 2!). Audible.com sells audio books that you can download to your iphone, i pad, i pod or mp3.
4. Snacks for the car: Apples, pretzels, gummy bears for a treat. The goal is as few crumbs as possible, nothing that melts, and nothing that anyone can choke on. For drinks, I only bring water, and only in water bottles that have sippy cup or sport tops. Why tempt fate? Naturally, for myself I bring the largest coffee that can fit in my cup holder. Nobody wants to see me before I've had some caffeine.
5. Pack a road atlas. A real, old fashioned, paper road atlas. Unfathomable as it is, sometimes GPS systems and smart phones stop working. You'll probably never need it, but if you do - won't you be glad you packed it?
6. Practice changing a flat: As soon as I got my license, my dad made me change a tire every year just to make sure I knew how to do it. As a teenager, I found it absurd, but as an adult, I sure am glad to know how to do it. Thanks, Dad!
Have fun and safe travels!
