Whether you're headed south to the Big Mouse's House or north toward the mountains, Tallahasseeans are blessed with a wide variety of road trip options. But add kids into the mix and you really need to make sure you're prepared to be in the car for any length of time.
If possible, choose an interesting route.
The Interstate may be faster, but it's deadly dull. And you never know when a bizarre and previously unknown landmark might inspire an impromptu family excursion and photo opp.
Do your research.
Find out which fast food restaurants along your route have playgrounds or plan to picnic at a convenient park, so you can release the caged animals into the wild. If there's an important landmark in an area, discuss it with your kids ahead of time. Let younger kids draw pictures of local wildlife; older kids might enjoy looking up landmarks on the Internet and creating a "tip sheet" for the family.
Assign tasks.
Explain that every member of the family needs to work as a team on a road trip. A teenager might be given the task of keeping up with the digital camera at each stop, and even finding a good photo spot. A younger child could be assigned the job of cleaning up the litter in the car at each stop, putting it in a plastic bag and finding a trash can.
Keep a "treasure box."
This is a place where everyone's absolutely essential I-would-be-lost-if-I-lost-this stuff goes. Medication, cell phone chargers, non-refundable tickets, and other stuff that tends to go missing if it doesn't have a home. Anything that comes out of the box is marked and checked off again when it goes back inside.
Journal your trip.
Journal with pen (or crayon) and paper -- or create a video journal of your trip. Or both! The important thing is that every member contributes. In a written journal, you might ask a question at the top of the page, like "What was your favorite thing we did today?" and record each member's answer. Even a baby can contribute: draw an outline of the little fellow's hand or let her scribble with a crayon on the page.
Comments (2)
Good tips. Personally, we like to drive at night as much as possible. We load the kids up with glow sticks then wait for them to fall asleep.
That's probably the best tip yet!
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