A Case of the Summertime Road Trip Blues for Moms!!
Traveling with children will no doubt make for some lively stories to share at the end of the trip.
Grandparents love to hear about their escapades. But when youngsters are confined to a car seat or in a plane seat for more than five minutes, boredom can set in faster than the speed of light. At least if you are in a vehicle, you have an option to stop for a while to give everyone a chance to stretch their legs. Airplanes are another story. If you are able to keep your child – or multiple children – happy and entertained for two hours, you deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. If you achieve the same results on a flight that exceeds five hours, you should be awarded the Hope Diamond. Then you can sell it and buy your own plane to fly you on your next vacation.
The sad state of the iPad
The time to think about planning for their travel entertainment – as if you had all the resources of Disney World – happened long before the doors were closed and locked. As wonderful as they are, iPads can soon lose their magic. When did you think they would ever tire from that? Certainly not when you wanted them to put it down to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner. Or go brush their teeth or take a bath. Or clean their rooms. But I digress. But now that you are cruising at 30,000 feet, they hate it because it doesn’t download as fast as their friends’ (fill-in-the-name-here-of-friend-with-perfect-parents).
On the road or up in the air
Somewhere in all the pure joy that you are experiencing while placating the dissatisfied child, you discover one, two or more of your offspring complains of a sore throat. When they turn down a soda, an Oreo that you unscrewed, or a French fry, you know they are serious. This may end up on the evening newscast as a breaking news alert. If there’s a fever (where is that thermometer) it may be a bacterial infection. Hopefully, your pediatrician can prescribe an antibiotic medication for your patient, which can be filled when you reach your destination.
If you are on the interstate, you are actually in a mobilized living room/kitchen. Except the entire family is strapped into a space smaller than a bathtub. Having fun is a priority, but safety tops the list.
5 safety tips if you are on a road trip
- Have a vehicle check-up before the trip
- Take an extra phone charger
- Keep a supply of drinking water inside the vehicle
(Note: Kids won’t drink it but at least you can check this off your list. It’s further proof you are a perfect parent). - Remind all passengers to straighten their posture. If your children are older than 8, avoid looking in the mirror. Otherwise, you may see eyes rolling.
- Driver – stay off the phone
Making a digital photobook
Once you are safely at home, and people are speaking to one another again, suggest an evening to come together and create an online vacation book. Give everyone a turn to select their favorite photos. If there’s any money remaining from the vacation funds, you can get a jump on the Christmas rush and order personalized gifts for family.
When the items arrive in the mail, you can recall some of the wonderful memories you had on your vacation.
11 Comments
Kelly O
I love the idea of a digital photo book. Involving the kids in taking photos would make it even more fun.
Deanna
I love taking road trips with my family. We always find ways to have a good time and try and make the trip seem quicker. Bringing water and snacks is a must! It’s important to stay hydrated. Everytime we go on a road trip, you can find multiple phone chargers around the car because there can never be too many chargers.
Sarah L
Take food and water on car trips. Stop often. Run around.
michele
As a child we took many car trips and the biggest advice my mom gave me was do not rush getting there.. enjoy the way there… and I did and trips became a great deal of fun….
Jasmine
I support the digital photo book idea! Pictures are truly a wonderful invention. Also bringing an extra memory card for the camera never hurts too.
CJ
I enjoyed family road trips when I was a kid. Beautiful scenery…. and I had my Walk Man on jamming to my mixed tapes and daydreamed….
Rosie
These are good suggestions. People shouldn’t let their guard down on a long trip, safety is essential!
Edye
All great tips! A phone charger is essential for my family as well 🙂
Tamra Phelps
Like Kate, I was a kid who got car sick, but i had one of those Dads who intended to get there without stopping for anything! You can guess how this usually ended, right?? Yeah, definitely take bags of some sort! Oh, and those of us who get car sick do better in the front seat if possible (I know kids under a certain height shouldn’t be in the front seat.)
Ryan Biddulph
Hi Connie,
Good note on that tune up pre road trip. Just had a 12 hour road trip over the weekend; I felt confident because we had the car checked out just last month. Also had all the bags, wipes and snacks you could ever imagine. But still had to stop at Crackerbarrel 😉
Ryan
Kate Sarsfield
As a child I was constantly car sick so may I take this opportunity to suggest that you always have some plastic ‘sick bags’, wet wipes & water close to hand!