Surviving a family road trip
Load up on the gadgets and snacks to put a lid on the amount of times you hear ‘are we there yet?’
Every summer, Samantha Kemp-Jackson takes a road trip with her family. But an eight-hour drive from Toronto to Quebec’s Eastern Townships turns into 12 hours with her 11-year-old daughter and twin 6-year-old boys sitting in the backseat.
While people tend to romanticize road trips, throw a few cranky, whining, crying children into the mix and that road trip can turn into a nightmare.
“It’s like National Lampoon’s Vacation,” says Kemp-Jackson, a parenting blogger, of her family road trips.
So she’s learned a few survival tips and tricks along the way to make the most of a long journey.
The first step, she says, is to get the kids prepped before they ever set foot in the vehicle.
Let them know what to expect along the way, such as how long they’ll be in the car until each rest or food break. This is par- ticularly important for little ones, since it’s hard for them to conceptualize a long road trip.
“We map out our driving route on Google Maps,” says Kemp-Jackson. If you show kids the route on a tablet or smartphone, it makes the trip more engaging, and they can even use GPS to see themselves moving along the highway.
Some parents don’t allow technology in the car, but Kemp-Jackson says those parents might want to reconsider when staring down a threehour-plus journey. It’s hard to remember the days when “I spy with my little eye” kept kids entertained.
So she arms herself for battle by bringing everything: laptop, tablet, ereader, portable DVD player, smartphone and iPod, all loaded with movies, stories and games, along with headphones for each kid.
Newer vehicles offer everything from built-in entertainment systems to Bluetooth and speech recognition, but gadgets work just fine in an older vehicle. Just make sure to bring a charger, as well as any related cords and auxiliary connectors.
“It sounds so ridiculous but if it happens to you once you’ll never forget again,” says Kemp-Jackson. “It’s a moot point if you have Bluetooth in the car if you can’t charge (your devices).”
But she says parents shouldn’t rely entirely on technology because you could always experience a tech fail or lose a signal, so bring along oldschool maps, books and games as well.
Despite these distractions, kids will still get restless. Kemp-Jackson drives for two to three hours before taking a break and switching off with her husband. Any longer than that — especially for kids under 6 — is too long.
“Be prepared to make frequent bathroom breaks,” she says. (You may need to map out rest stops ahead of time if travelling in unfamiliar territory.) Food will also keep kids happy. “I’m all over food and bribery and kids,” says Kemp-Jackson.
“Bring a lot of snacks. Yes, you’ll pull over and have a meal, but it’s good to have portable snacks, like cheese and crackers and vegetable sticks . . . I’m fully admitting to giving my kids treats and snacks to keep them quiet.”
And always have a contingency plan, she says. If you’re travelling overnight or through an area you’re unfamiliar with, make sure to have an alternate route mapped out. If a child gets sick, you may need to pull over earlier than planned and find a motel.
Some families drive at night so the kids sleep through the drive.
“That works for some people,” says Kemp-Jackson. “It depends on the child and their sleeping patterns.” This hasn’t been an effective strategy for her family, though — once the kids are awake, they’re staying awake.
It’s just as important, though, the driver stays alert and awake, so driving at night may not be the best option for the adults in the vehicle. Switch off driving responsibilities every couple of hours if possible, stay hydrated and take frequent breaks to shake off the cobwebs.
If there’s bad weather, consider that contingency plan — like stopping at a motel rather than pushing through to your destination.
Drivers can experience leg cramps and highway hypnosis if they don’t stop and take breaks, says KempJackson.
And that puts everyone in the vehicle at risk.
After all, drivers want to protect the most precious cargo on board — their kids.
Even with lots of distractions, kids will get restless, so it’s a good idea to take multiple breaks