7 Tips for How to Take a Road Trip with Kids and Not Go Insane

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The thought of taking a road trip with kids can be daunting, can’t it? Especially when you have young children. It’s TOUGH to keep them occupied when they’re cooped up for so long, especially if you’re on a multi-hour trip.

We have family in Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas, and since we live in New Hampshire, we’ve taken quite a few road trips with our kids. (It’s just too expensive to fly a whole family these days, especially when there’s six of us.) We’ve had some decent trips and then some downright nightmarish experiences.

Our last trip to North Carolina was over 2 years ago and our kids were 10, 6, 3, and 1 years old. The drive down (about 800 miles – 15 hours of driving time) wasn’t too terrible. But the kids all caught the stomach flu while we were there and our trip was anything but expected.

The drive back was awful. Everyone was worn out from being sick and still not feeling great. And Joshua, who was (is) already prone to getting car sick, got sick again when we were 5 hours from home. We didn’t know if the stomach flu was back or he was car sick! Between his wailing (because he can’t stand to be sick), the other kids yelling and whining, and my quickly developing migraine headache, I told Nate it was going to be a LONG time before we did a road trip with kids again.

Now it’s been two years and I’m feeling up to the challenge again. {I think.} The kids are a little older and it’s time to do it.

So this summer, we’re planning to drive down to North Carolina.  Grandma and Grandpa and the aunts and uncles and cousins (there’s 3 new cousins since we were there last!) are waiting for us and it will be great. If we can just get there in one piece…

I’ve made up a list of 7 tips that I’ve learned throughout my  years of traveling with four young children and this time, we’ll have a great road trip with kids!

7 TIPS FOR TAKING A ROAD TRIP WITH KIDS

1. Start packing a travel tote or backpack for each child a month ahead of time. You can set aside a couple favorite books, toy cars, squinkies, or other small items that will keep your child occupied. Do this ahead of time so it will be more exciting when your child does get to dig into his or her special bag. You can even buy them something special and make it a surprise. A new coloring book or silly putty can be cheap and still exciting.
2. Make a dollar store goodie bag with a few fun items for each child. They can earn prizes for good behavior (I am not above bribing kids for road trips!) or as you travel along and pass certain points.
3. For older kids, find or buy a map of the area you’ll be traveling. You can highlight the route and encourage them to follow along. This is a great way to not only pass time, but to teach kids how to read a map.
4. Make a list of road trip games that don’t require anything but your imagination. A few suggestions:
   • the license plate game: see who can find the most states
   • I Spy – each person can take a turn “spying” things. It could be outside or inside the car. Make it easy or challenging. Or, they can play on their own with my Travel iSpy printable game for kids!
   • Story Telling Roll-Along- have one person begin telling a story from their imagination, then each person in the car takes a turn adding to the story. You’ll be surprised at how much fun this simple idea is!
   • Slug Bug – you all know it – slug someone when you see a VW Bug. But we don’t need children slugging each other all over the car, so try a different variation like tapping someone on the shoulder or simply announcing that they see a “bug.” Award bonus points for certain colors. My kids LOVE the yellow VW Bugs and call them “Bumblebee cars.”
   • Spelling Bee – pick a letter and have each person spell out a word with that letter.
5. Bring a “car sick bag” for just in case. (It’s when you don’t have it, that you’ll need it.) Pack Dramamine, plastic cups with lids or Rubbermaid “twist and seal” round plastic containers (you can find these at Walmart for a couple dollars each), baby wipes, and a small towel. Hopefully if you bring it, you won’t need it. Better to be prepared then not!
6. Invest in a DVD player for your vehicle. We did one year and it was worth every penny. We still saved tons of money instead of buying tickets to fly and it made life much easier. If you only have a few hours trip, you probably don’t need it, but anything more and you’ll be so thankful to turn on some tv. Of course older kids may not want to watch repeated Jake and the Neverland Pirates for hours, so if you have a kindle or tablet, that’s a fun option for them to keep busy.
7. Lastly, pack an emergency care kit for yourself. If all else fails, you might need it. Pack some pain relieving medication like aspirin or excedrin migraine, ear buds with soothing music downloaded onto your phone or ipod, even an eye mask (obviously only when hubby’s driving), and anything else that may help you relax.

Obviously you’ll want to pack other things – pillows, blankets, snacks, etc. but try not to overdo it. I’ve had many trips where I pack so much stuff we don’t use and it gets in the way. So make what you do pack count.

Before you head out on a trip with your family, you’ll want to make sure your vehicle is ready for travel too.
Our friends at Allstate provided us with a list of things to remember:

TIPS FOR GENERAL ROAD SAFETY:

1. What’s a good checklist for making sure our vehicle is ready for a road trip?

In preparing for a road trip it is essential to make sure that your vehicle is ready. The last thing anyone needs is breakdown on a family trip. Here are some key points to focus on: the tires, the fluids under the hood.

1. 1. Check the tire pressure to ensure all tires (including the spare) are properly inflated (usually 35 psi) and ready for the trip. In addition to tire pressure, it would also be a good idea to check the tires tread depth. The easiest way is to check is to take a penny and put it upside down – into the tread. If you can see the top of President Lincoln’s head your tires need to be replaced.
   2.  Make sure that all fluids are at proper levels:oil, transmission fluid, windshield washer fluid, coolant (radiator – check through the recovery tank, not the radiator cap), brake fluid
   3. Check all lights to assure all are functional (turn the key to the “run” position – do not start the engine to check)
       Headlights (high & low beam)
       Side markers (front & rear)
       Turn signals
       Brake lights (have a friend watch while you press on the brake pedal)
       Reverse/Backup lights
       License plate lights
       It is also a good idea to keep a small canister of wet wipes in the car for quick clean-ups, a can of fix-a-flat for a good temporary flat repair that should be sufficient enough to get you to a repair shop, jumper cables, the spare tire jack and tire iron that originally came with the car and the contact number for your Roadside Service provider, like Allstate Motor Club, in case of a breakdown on the road.

2. What about renting a vehicle? Do we need to purchase insurance for the rental car or does that come standard with regular car insurance?

What car rental companies may not tell you is that their secondary coverage probably duplicates your existing auto insurance protection.

If you are renting a vehicle, rental companies will try to sell you is Collision Damage Waiver insurance. It is frequently as expensive as the daily rental rate and often not needed.

Before your trip, review your coverage with your local insurance agent to make sure that the collision and comprehensive coverage on the vehicle you are leaving at home will extend out to cover the rental vehicle.

Without collision and comprehensive, you will probably want the CDW, Collision/Loss Damage Waiver, for the proper protection. A CDW offers some of the same protection as an insurance policy, but it’s typically not really an insurance policy. It’s technically a “waiver,” meaning the rental company agrees not to make a claim against you if the rental car is damaged or stolen. For more information about if you should buy extra rental car insurance at the counter, you can check out this article: Should I Buy Extra Rental Car Insurance at the Counter?

3. If a friend or family member borrowed my vehicle and they got in an accident, would my insurance cover it? What should we do to make sure we’re covered completely?

If borrowing the car is a one time, infrequent situation this should typically not be a problem. However, if someone is borrowing the vehicle for a long road trip or an extended period of time, be sure to review the situation with your insurance agent in case you need any alterations to your policy before the car is loaned.

If you gave permission for someone to borrow your vehicle and they are involved in an accident there would probably be coverage for the damage to the vehicle. There would also probably be liability coverage for the driver and for you as the car owner. Bodily injury and personal injury protection may be provided.

The insurance that would apply depends on the coverage in your policy, the facts of loss, the laws of the state where the accident occurred and the order of priority for any insurance that may be available. These questions can’t be completely answered until and unless loss occurs and a claim is filed and the investigation is complete.
4. Is there anything else we should consider before heading out on a road trip?

As far as any additional road trip considerations: change for toll roads, maps or a GPS, extra fluids for the car (oil, w/s washer fluid, coolant, etc…), blankets, pillows, 12 volt chargers for cell phones and laptops, spare batteries for kids toys, headphones for cell phones, laptops, aspirin, Tylenol, Pepto-Bismol or Tums, etc… basically an emergency car kit.

This post was written as part of the Allstate Influencer Program and sponsored by Allstate. All opinions are mine. As the nation’s largest publicly held insurance company, Allstate is dedicated not only to protecting what matters most–but to guiding people to live the Good Life, every day.