How to Keep Your Kids from Driving You Crazy During Road Trips

Road trips are long. Kid’s in the back of the car asking, “Are we there yet?” every five minutes can make them even longer. If you can keep your kids occupied and happy you’ll be able to stay sane for the ride, as well as remain less distracted. Howstuffworks.com came up with a list of the top 10 things you can do to keep your kids happy on the road. In this blog we discuss some of the highlights:

·         Set Expectations – It’s almost so easy that you wouldn’t even think of it. Make sure before you leave for your trip your kids already know how you want and expect them to behave. Make sure they are prepared for a long ride, and give them incentive to be good, for example: allow the kids to bring their two favorite toys with them as long as they promise to behave during the ride.

·         Bring along plenty of toys – Some kids like dolls, some like sports balls, some even like books. Whatever it is they like, let them bring it. If it is something that can be played with inside the car it will give them something to occupy their time with. If it’s something involving an outdoor activity, like a Frisbee or a soccer ball, set aside 15 minutes during rest stops to let them play with it. It’ll even give you a chance to play with them and ease some of the travelling tension.

·         Reward good behavior – If things aren’t going well give kids an incentive to clean up their act. Good behavior means they get to choose where you eat that night, or else it warrant a stop at the next ice cream stand you go by. You can also use this tip in reverse. For example if your child won’t stop complaining tell them they won’t get to swim at the hotel pool that night.

·         Let the kids have a say – If you allow the kids to make decisions for certain parts of the trip it’ll keep them happier and give them less things to whine about! Let them choose the road music for an hour or two or allow them to pick a few road games to play while you drive.

·         Don’t skip the pit stops – This one is important. Too much time in the car will make anyone unhappy, kids and adults alike. Make sure to stop every two or three hours to go to the bathroom and stretch a little bit.

Click the link to read all ten tips: http://bit.ly/X1DJik