8 Tips for Road Tripping with Kids

My husband’s family lives in Chicago, so we make tons of road trips as a family.

Over the years, I’ve discovered some tips and tricks to make road travel go a little more smoothly. Hopefully you’ll find some nuggets of wisdom in this post that you can use the next time your family piles in the car for a trip.

1) Pass the hours by playing! We like the standard ‘find the alphabet on signs’ game, anything that involves memory and taking turns, and making up new endings to songs. When it’s time to be a bit more quiet, a magnet board is fantastic (and saves me the work of turning around to pick up a favorite toy time and time again). You can hot glue pretty much anything to a magnet, and they can keep track of it throughout the ride.

For older kids, laminating a map of your travels so they can outline where you’ve been is super fun. My oldest daughter likes to keep a list of all the states represented on the passing licenses, and she gets excited every time she discovers a new addition.

2) Nothing makes time go by like eating! Obviously, you’ll want to pack some snacks. I like to pack as many healthy options as possible for the ride there, like carrots, cheese, grapes, etc. I know once we hit our destination we won’t be making wise food choices (deep dish pizza, anyone?), and it makes me feel better knowing we’ve started our journey on a good note. I save things like crackers and granola bars for the ride home since they won’t spoil.

Another thing we like to do is eat our meals in the car – we stop to stretch our legs, use the restroom, and buy our food, then munch while we drive. Since my kids are relatively slow eaters, we get an extra half hour under our belts by doing this.

3) New is better! The dollar store is a great place to stock up on fun new items for kids to play with in the car, like toys, crayons, etc. I also like to pick up a new movie to watch (or at least one we haven’t seen a thousand times already) to capture their attention longer.

4) But there’s nothing like an old friend! Don’t forget important things like lovies and blankies. If you’ve got little ones who still sleep, you’ll want them close by for snuggling.

5) Plan stops wisely! Check out what points of interest are along the way. We usually break up our Chicago trips with a stop at the Wisconsin Dells, or by popping into Madison to visit family. But cheese factories, cranberry farms, and all kinds of other amusements are possibilities just waiting to be explored.

When we make a restroom stop, get creative. Run laps, have a jumping jack contest, play a quick game of tag – get those muscles active and moving because everybody’s backside can use a break!

6) Pack for emergencies! My youngest daughter gets carsick, so we’ve learned to keep paper towels, wipes, and garbage bags on hand. Having things like Tylenol, Benadryl, and various creams and other essentials in your arsenal can be really helpful, too.

7) Give everyone their own suitcase! As soon as my kids were big enough to wheel them along, they’ve been in charge of their bags. They get to choose what goes in (in addition to the necessities like toothbrushes, pajamas, and clothing). They load them in the car, and they roll them into our final destination, which is a huge help to my husband and I.

8) Find alternatives to standard technology! A book on CD is a great swap-out for a movie, and music that involves a lot of action parts can get the whole family involved.

What are your best tips for road travel with your family? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!