Kids travelling in the car on a road trip
Even on a short trip with kids there can be moments of frustration! The best way to minimise this is to be prepared, make sure you have a travel kit on hand, packed with goodies to keep your kids entertained, fed and hydrated throughout the journey, regardless of how long you are travelling for!
Modify the amount of each of these, depending on how long you expect the trip to be.
- Snacks. Packing your own snacks is a nutritious alternative to fast food and means you can pull over where you choose and allow everyone let of some steam. Ideal snacks are cheese sticks, little packets of dried fruit, mini muffins, pikelets, fruit, crackers and muesli bars.
Add a small cool box or insulated lunch box if you also want to bring along yoghurt snacks, rice desserts and sandwiches. - Drinks. Water is the best drink to have on hand but you might also want some juice or cordial as well. Pop these into the cool box as well and maybe add a vacuum flask of tea or coffee for the driver.
- Plastic bags. Very handy for rubbish, dirty clothes.
- Spare clothes. Accidents can happen at the worst of times, be prepared with a change of clothes on hand.
- Toy. Don't leave home without your child's favourite toy, teddy bear or cuddly friend.
- Books. Books are one of the best self-amusement items you can bring along, make sure you have a good selection on hand to avoid boredom.
- Music. It's a good idea to keep some appropriate music in the car at all times, you never know when it mean the difference between tears and happy singing along, or sleeping!
- DVD. If you have a DVD player in the car, or a laptop on hand you could also bring along your child's favourite DVD, even for a short period of time this can be a nice distraction on a long car journey.
- Surprise. Slipping an extra toy, CD or book into the bag can be a nice surprise and good distraction to have on hand if you need it.
- Makeshift bedding. Bringing along a couple of pillows or cushions and a rug or two can make the journey more comfortable for your kids if they want to sleep or relax a little more.
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If you have any tips, advice or questions for travelling as a family, share them with EK members in our Travel forum.
