Are We There Yet? Car Trips With Kids Can Be Fun... Really!

by Terri Mandell

(this story won a 1998 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Silver Award)

As members of a bi-coastal blended family, our two children (7 and 8) have done a considerable amount of traveling, particularly our daughter, who makes 2-3 trips per year between mom's house in Florida and dad's house in California. Add this to the fact that they're the children of travel writers, and you have two kids who can maneuver through hotels and airports like seasoned pros. Our children have also become adept at long car trips, a skill they developed when we owned a vacation cabin 400 miles away. We spent at least one weekend there every month, and we all got very comfortable with the six-hour drive. One summer we traveled between Los Angeles and Canada for six weeks in a motorhome, and it was after that trip that we officially declared ourselves experts in the art of the family road trip.

Recently we exercised our skills by taking a trip up the California coast to Monterey, where we visited the aquarium (a must-see for kids), and spent the weekend at a super family-friendly place called The Lighthouse Lodge in Pacific Grove (highly recommended). We now share our hard-earned wisdom with you.

Pack For Comfort, Not For Speed

The first order of business is packing the car. Our standard is to put a large, low, flat box on the seat between the two kids. The box holds crayons, books, coloring books, Barbies, Game Boy cartridges and other necessary items the kids can reach without adult assistance. We call this our "entertainment kit," and the kids work with us to put it together before we depart. They also like to bring their favorite stuffed animals to snuggle with in the car, which is a source of comfort and familiarity, and a great help when a child is trying to sleep in a strange environment like a hotel room.

On the floor at their feet we place a cooler filled with healthy snacks, including PB & J sandwiches, carrot and celery sticks, apples, crackers, cheese and juices. As much as you might want these foods to supply all the sustenance for the journey, the truth is they merely serve as filler between fast food stops. Actual meals still need to be purchased in restaurants, but snacking is a good way to keep them distracted for a few minutes here and there. Important... cup holders are mandatory. If your car doesn't have them, you can buy them for a few bucks at any car wash or drug store.

When packing the car, be sure to put jackets or sweatshirts where they can be easily reached if the weather suddenly turns cool. A pillow or blanket is also useful for holding up droopy heads when kids (hopefully) fall asleep. Sunglasses are a good idea, and if your kids are older, bring along a Walkman with headphones so they can listen to their music while you enjoy the silence. Finally, don't forget the baby wipes, even if it's been a decade since you handled a diaper. They're a must-have for cleaning up after snacks or in-the-car meals, and are great for all kinds of clean up surprises (they're real handy for the inevitable emergency poop stop on an isolated forest road).

When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go

Speaking of bodily functions, on road trips with kids, there's a thin line between biology and boredom when it comes to reasons for pit stops, and both are equally valid. We're in the habit, as most parents are, of insisting that the kids use the bathroom at every stop, whether they need to or not. You can usually depend on a kid having a full bladder 5 minutes after you've left the last bathroom available for the next 50 miles. There's not much you can do about it short of demanding that he hold it until you get to the next town, but when it looks like the whining might turn into tears, you know it's serious. So if your kids have never urinated or defecated outdoors, and you're planning a long car trip where you'll travel for long distances with no gas, food or lodging in sight, this is the time to introduce them to wonders of nature. Bring a roll of toilet paper. And the baby wipes.

We're Bored!

Well, who isn't?

They key is variety and patience. Schedule short stops every two hours, even if you don't need food or bathrooms. Find a park or a roadside rest stop, and get out to stretch your legs and breathe some fresh air. The secret is that you can't be in a hurry to get anywhere. If normal driving time between point A and point B is five hours, plan on seven or eight with kids. Being in a hurry spells disaster. It makes the kids cranky and elevates your stress to toxic levels. If you can get out of the car for ten minutes every two hours, you'll be amazed at how easily the kids are revitalized and ready for the next round of driving.

To keep them interested and in reasonably good humor, bring lots of games. Tons of games. More than you think you'll need. Here are some suggestions:

1. Go the library before you leave and stock up on books on tape. Depending on the age of your kids, you can get books like Goosebumps, the latest teen novel, or picture books that very young children can look at while the story is being read on tape. Even tapes that don't come with books are effective, and there are zillions of them on the market. Our local library lets us check these out for four weeks at a time. They're lifesavers.

2. A company called Patch Products manufactures a series of educational games designed specifically for kids in the car. Their products are excellent and are for kids of all ages. Patch games are available in most toy stores, or you can request their catalog by calling 800/524-4263.

3. Most popular board games are available in miniature magnetic versions for car travel. They're available in any toy store, and they're inexpensive. You can also buy activity books designed for education and entertainment. But dole these things out sparingly to your kids, saving them for peak boredom periods.

4. Make up your own games, or borrow some from the ones listed in the sidebar. Give yourself and your kids permission to be as silly as possible. Laughter makes the time fly by.

5. When all else fails, put on a tape of gentle, pretty music that will (hopefully) lull your kids to sleep. Just make sure the driver has had lots of coffee.

Motion Sickness Ugh.

Our daughter gets car sick ten minutes out of the driveway, like clockwork. There are all kinds of over-the-counter remedies, and they all seem to work just fine, but there are side effects. Your best bet is to ask your pediatrician. The biggest side effect with most drugs is drowsiness, which isn't such a bad thing when you're taking a long car trip with children, as long as the dosage is safe. On our last trip, we gave our daughter one Dramamine tablet (the recommended dose is 1-2). Within 20 minutes she was asleep, but it was a very light sleep from which she awoke periodically, completely alert and functional.

There are also non-drug therapies available, from herbs to acupressure wristbands. Visit a health food store or any place that sells healing herbs, and ask about ginger root capsules, aromatherapy inhalers and plum ball lozenges (made from Japanese plum extract and rice flour). Some pharmacies sell acupressure wristbands (also called Sea-Bands or MorningGarde) which work by pressing a small button against a pressure point on the inside of the wrist.

It's going to be trial and error, but the most important thing to remember about any motion sickness remedy is that you need to take it about 30 minutes before you anticipate feeling sick. The odds of success are much lower if you take something after the discomfort has already set in.

A Final Caution

Remember: take your time. If you can't travel at a leisurely pace, then you might be better off springing for airline tickets. A good piece of advice is to plan your itinerary, then reduce the planned activiies by half. Plan your driving trip so that you can spend at least two nights at each destination. A one-night-here, one-night-there approach is miserable for families. Kids need to settle in somewhere and establish a routine they can depend on, even if it's only for a couple of days. Choose hotels that have kitchenettes, or at least refrigerators in the rooms, so that you can supplement the greasy road food with healthy stuff like fruit, vegetables, cheese, yogurt and juice. After a day or more of traveling, kids like nothing more than to flop in front of the hotel room TV munching on something that resembles a home-made snack. That kind of grounding is comforting for the adults too, so bring some of your favorite goodies as well, like some champagne to sip in the Jacuzzi after the kids have gone to bed.

After all, it's your vacation too.

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