Traveling With Kids: 5 Hacks You Need to Know
Ok, so I've had a lot of firsts in my life the last year or so...and I'm about to embark on a brand new realm, the long road-trip with a kiddo. Now my family loves music, so undoubtedly there will be longs spurts of singing and dancing, but what happens when you hit that long stretch in Oregon with ABSOLUTELY. NO. SIGNAL. WHATSOEVER? I gotta admit I'm a little nervous about it. Can my bonus kid be entertained enough? Will she get sick? Will I regret doing a 16-hour road trip?
Well, I really hope that my research will pay off. I've been scouring Pinterest in search of life-hacks for long road trips with little ones, and I found some that I will definitely be trying. Here are the five hacks I think you should definitely contemplate for that Spring Break trip coming up.
- Credit: InterDesign via Amazon.com
Credit: InterDesign via Amazon.com 1Suction Cup Shower Basket
Use them on the window for your kids to store their crayons / markers, snacks, etc., so they're not all over the floor of your car! These are awesome too because you can find them at the Dollar Store!
- Credit: Simple Houseware via Amazon.com
Credit: Simple Houseware via Amazon.com 2Okay, when I saw this it made so much sense! Why haven't I thought of this before. Find one of these shoe organizers for just a few bucks and hang directly onto the seat in front of your kid's car seat. It can hold all their essentials (snack, toys, or beloved stuffed animals) at an arm's reach. This blogger suggests leaving it at two rows max.
- Credit: natasa radic
Credit: natasa radic 3Travel Activity Binder
This one seems pretty fun, a bunch of road trip games put in one convenient place. You can add whatever you'd like but my favorite games were Bingo (free downloadable HERE or HERE), a twist on the license-plate game where kids color in the state that car's from (free downloadable HERE), and if (when) you get asked "are we there yet?" just have them check their own map where they can track the progress of the trip (HERE is a cool version to follow).
- Credit: Two Sisters Crafting
Credit: Two Sisters Crafting 4Road Trip Travel Tray
This one I think will be the winning project, and it's SOOOOO SIMPLE. It's an activity tray for your kiddo to draw/color on a hard surface (without losing the markers/crayons), to eat on, or play on. The best part is the bottom of the tray has a simple pillow that will create stability and comfort.
HERE is an amazing tutorial on how to create your own!
- Credit: igorr1
Credit: igorr1 5General Car Essentials
So now that you have some ideas for how to keep the kiddo entertained, here are some ideas to keep YOU sane while you travel.
Trash, get a trash bag and hang it from one of the head rests, make sure it's big enough that your kiddo can reach it so their juice box doesn't end up between the seats.
Bring a small cooler with drinks and snacks that is close enough for you to reach from the front seat.
NAPKINS, NAPKINS, NAPKINS....maybe even wet wipes if the kids have sticky treats. These are essentials.
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