Hi There Mamas!
We are now getting into the SUMMER months and we all know what that means. Kids are home from school, they are board and you may or may not be pulling your hair out by now. I know, you love you children, but summers are tough. I get it, I am living right there with you. So, what do you do? ROAD TRIP!
Road trips can be super fun but extremely stressful. Let me help you figure out how to make a road trip easy with kids. You got this Mama!
This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase using these links, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting Messy Mama Nest! Please read my disclaimer for more information.
How to make a road trip EASY with kids-
To get you started planning your road trip, I wanted to give you a HACK that works wonders for our boys. It’s the “Road Trip Chain”. It is where you make a countdown chain out of construction paper that has all of the activities listed on each link, so when the kids get board instead of asking you what they should do, they just take the next link off and it says the next activity. The things you can list on the links are the things listed below, but have fun with it and be creative! This is a hack that you have to try!!
Planning ahead will create less stress on road trips- Ideas Below!
- Get a few thing to wrap in fun wrapping paper and let them unwrap one every few hours. Pick out stuff that will keep them busy for a while, like:
- Re-usable sticker books.
- Drawing Pad/ Writing Tablet. These keep my kids busy for a long time.
- Rubik’s cube.
- Coloring books, we like these water ones.
- Magnets (I bring a cookie sheet so they stick) or you can buy the magnet books.
- I spy Travel game.
- Audiobooks. Audiobooks can save you and if they are in the right age range, this will keep them occupied for a long time. A good one is The Chronical on Narnia. This also helps if your kids get carsick. They are not looking down at a screen, they are simply listening. It’s magic! If you need an Audible membership- Click HERE!
- Listening to Podcasts. This like audiobooks keep kids attention for a long time on road trips. Try Podventures in Odyssey or Brains On.
- Snacks!! Here is a list of Mess-Free snacks:
- String Cheese.
- Fruits like sliced apples, grapes, blueberries.
- Beef jerky.
- Dried fruits (raisins, cranberries, apples).
- Wheat thin (less crumbs).
- GoGo squeezies or gogerts.
- Peanut butter packets.
- Trail mix.
- TIP- Separate out individual portions help with mess and spilling (not as much to clean up for those “oopsie” moments.) Another great idea is to pack snacks in a tackle box. And if you need to keep snacks cold try the Bento Go Box.
- Storyline Online is an online reading program. People read kids books with animated pictures.
- Classic Car Games, if you are wanting to go “old school” and limit screen time. Try the classic car games like:
- “Would you rather” Download HERE for free printable!
- I Spy game.
- Car Bingo. Zero mess!
- Road Trip Scavenger Hunt- Download HERE for free printable!
- Carpool Chaos game.
- Sing Songs together.
- Know the limits and plan out park stops and places to stretch legs and get some wiggles out. Bring bubbles to play with when stopped outside. A picnic lunch is always fun too!
Last thoughts for making a road trip easy with kids-
Ultimately we want to have the smoothest, easiest, stress-free road trips with our kids and sometimes that doesn’t happen. That doesn’t mean you are a terrible parent it just means LIFE, right. But, I do feel like taking on a road trip with kids does take some extra effort and planning so here are some last minute thoughts to make your road trip easy with kids.
Depending on the child’s age, bring a potty or a “pee pee” jar for those emergencies, lots of wipes and hand sanitizer, bring “barf bags” if kids get car-sick and do not forget headphones for them when they are watching or listening to something, so you can have a peaceful drive. And probably the most important on the list above is number 7. KNOW YOUR LIMITS and plan out places to stop along the way to get wiggles out. It is a game now at our house to find the best parks to stop at on our road trips.
I believe that having a smooth road trip with kids IS POSSIBLE! Bring out that bad-ass mama planning skills and get to work. And if you need some help I’ve got you! Print out this FREE Road Trip Checklist!
TIP- Laminate your checklist so you can use it over and over!
P.S. Subscribed to my email newsletter and you will receive a FREE family planner to keep your life a little more organized!
Leave a Reply