My children are now teenagers, so they pretty much pack for themselves. My thirteen year old still needs some prompting though. One of the first things I do is make a master list of everything we need to take on Cozi. You can see one of my previous posts about Cozi tips on the subject. I also make out an individual list for my son so he can cross out each item.
Here are some of the other things I have found to be helpful with my children:
1. Buy some toys from the Dollar Tree. Wrap them up and hide them in the car. Don’t tell the kids about them. When they start fighting or getting bored direct them to the presents.
2. Let them pack their own backpack with coloring books, crayons, small books, gum, wet ones, etc.
3. Depending on how old they are they can pack an i-pod, nintendo, etc.
4. I hate to say it, but when we purchased a portable dvd player it was a life saver. All of a sudden the kids were quiet and content!
5. Make sure they each bring their own pillow and a small blanket. They can even make a tent with it!
6. Have snacks ready and packaged. Dry cereal, fruit snacks, pretzels, and bottled water work well. Make sure you have some plastic grocery bags for garbage.
7. Bring some of their favorite music cd’s. You can handle it for a little while!
8. Pack an emergency box for those unexpected times.
9. Make sure each child packs a stuffed animal. It might help when they get cranky.
10. Have them start a travel journal. Depending on their age they could either draw or write things in their journal.
What are some of your travel tips when traveling with children?
I should use these tips on my husband… 🙂 Popped in from SITS!
That is too funny!
Great tips! Wish I had thought about some of these on our last road trip!
Visiting via SITS. 🙂
regarding #1 – I don’t direct my kids to gifts when they fight, that seems like rewarding bad behavior. I do stash gifts though.
I have a series of gifts and clue cards prepped ahead of time (like for a scavenger hunt). Each time we make a potty stop, the kids pick one envelope. It’s everything from dollar store stuff to a new game for their ds to a special snack treat (or gift cards for mcdonalds for lunch). They have to decipher the clue and figure out where the gift is hidden. This takes work, but the scavenger hunt process takes up time.
We listen to books we download from audible.
I also keep a small kite and inflatable ball in the car. Stopping at a small town park can be a great way to get the wiggles out of the kids. Add a some drinks and snacks from the cooler and you have a picnic in the park.
I guess I didn’t think of it as rewarding them. I can see how it may of come across that way. I just remember when we drove to Disney when they were really little ( a twenty hour drive). They were bound to get cranky. I guess I should of worded it differently. Thanks for the great tips!
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My kids love, love, the Dollar Store tip! I do that on every trip and that is one thing they look forward to every time. I follow most of these tips and I also bring my iPad for them as well. They can play games, read, watch movies, and watch TV through the Dish Remote Access app. A co-worker at Dish told me about this option and with the Sling Adapter hooked up to my receiver the kids can access all our subscription channels from anywhere we can get a Wi-Fi or 3G connection. The kids love being able to watch all their shows live and they keep busy for hours. Thank you so much for some of the tips on here! I am going to have my daughter start a travel journal on our next trip.