How to Take Long Road Trips With Kids

The Misconception

Most parents think driving long distance with kids is next to impossible, especially when they are small. I thought the same when my husband suggested we drive from Toronto to Nova Scotia, even up to the moment we loaded them into the car, I thought, this could be an absolute disaster. But you know what, I was pleasantly surprised. At 2 and 5 years old, they made the 4000 km round trip without 1 tear shed. Crazy right? Here’s how we did it:

My Top Tips

1. Mindset is half of it. Kids feed off your energy, so try not to stress too much or focus on everything that can go wrong. Go with the flow. You’re on holiday
2. Talk to them beforehand and let them know what to expect. Respect their need for a break so their won’t be any tears going back into the carseat
3. You know your kids best, so plan accordingly. My husband initially suggested we could drive more hours a day then we originally planned but after weighing the pros and cons, we felt it wasn’t fair to them to be stuck in a car that long. We capped it at 5-8 hours a day (most of it while they slept)
4. Which brings me to my next point, drive when they sleep; either nap time or bedtime or both. Use bedtime to get in a longer stretch of driving
5. Plan to stay at hotels with pools. Wake up for an early breakfast, then a swim and hit the road with tired kids
6. Take lots of breaks. I don’t even have to tell you this, as you’ll figure out syncing bathroom breaks with small kids can be a challenge
7. Eat your meals in a park or at a restaurant with a decent outdoor area or a play centre. We’d generally go pick up food in a supermarket (rotisserie chicken with baguette and salad, ready made sandwiches, pizza etc.) or get Subway or if there was nothing else, McDonalds was almost always an option. In the park, let them run, chase them around, play games, take advantage of the opportunity to burn energy so they are tired when you get back on the road. We’d plan 1 hour breaks for lunch and dinner
8. Play road trip games like I spy, I’m going on a Picnic, or just have a good old fashioned sing-along
9. Pack lots of entertainment and snacks! Keeping them fed and giving them something to do will keep boredom at bay. Some suggestions are:

• Their favourite books
• New books they haven’t read
• Melissa and Doug Water Pen books
• Messless colouring books
• Regular colouring books
• Travel games
• Mini DVD players or iPads with a variety of music, movies, tv programs and educational programs

Devices:

We let our kids watch movies etc. while traveling by car, air, or sea. It’s one of the biggest reasons it was a tear free trip. Getting into their carseat and being able to choose what they would watch and giving them a snack, to them, was the most comforting part of the trip. Being away from home and everything familiar can be a stressor and anxiety inducing to some children. Depending on the child, holidays can be overwhelming with lots of new experiences and new people. Finding something that grounds them, and calms them whether that be their favourite movie, book, game, toy etc. can be a very powerful tool to have while away from home. For example, when our daughter was little, we took her to Denmark to meet family. Everyone was vying for her attention and as she’s normally quite shy, she got overwhelmed quite quickly. She wouldn’t let me out of her sight. So after taking many breaks away from the crowd in the bedroom, I brought out her mini DVD player and Sesame Street Singing With the Stars (her favourite DVD) and head phones. I placed her on the couch, slipped the head phones on and watched her escape. It was like the crowds disappeared and by sitting next to her, I was actually able to socialize instead of being stuck in the bedroom.

We travelled with another family who didn’t use screens at all and also had a successful trip, so that’s definitely possible if you prefer to limit screen time 🙂

Happy Travels!

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