When I was young and care-free, I used to love going on road trips with my family or my friends! Seeing the sights as you progress to your destination, taking in all the sounds and enjoying the stop overs on the way.

Now that we have Children, young Children at that, we have found that we take a lot less road trips. Is that necessary when you have young ones? The real answer is NO. You CAN and SHOULD go on those road trips you enjoy so much! I’ll bet the kids will LOVE it too. Just make sure you are PREPARED with some great Road Trip Travel Tips. 

What to Pack for on the Road:

Pack a Front Seat Backpack or Tote: Make sure you pack a tote or a backpack that can be kept in the passengers side, on the floor or in the backseat underneath the children’s feet. This allows for quick and easy access to things, without having to stop and dig through the trunk. 

Inside Pack The Following: 

Wipes– Things can get messy while snacking in the car. If you pack wipes you can at least pass them back to your Children for some clean up prevention once finished snacking. Otherwise you may just end up with smudgy windows and grumpy cheese puff covered munchkins.

Water– There should be water in your emergency pack as well, but that would be in the trunk. Keep some accessible on the go to avoid too many stops. 

Sun Hats & Sunscreen– If you should need to take a break and get out for some air, having these items at your finger tips, and not lost in the abyss of things in the backseat/truck is a great idea. You can all get some air without having to go through the pile in the trunk and your Little Ones do not get sunburns.

Hand Sanitizer– The possibilities are endless as to what your child will pick up, touch or caress while out and about. If you are not near a clean facility to wash up at, having hand sanitizer accessible will ease your germy nightmares.

 Diapers, Change of clothes and a Towel- I am not kidding. Make sure you have a towel to lay children that need changing down on. You can use the change of clothes for any accidents, and the towel can also serve as sort of a “changing room” for your child if he/she does need to change.

Soundtrack CD’s– Seriously. My Kiddies have certain songs that they just LOVE from movies and they beg for them ALL the time while we are listening to the radio. Best of all I like them too so it’s not sad to listen to them. 

Pack Individual Bags for Your Kids: I dislike fighting. A lot. I dislike it even more when the kids are arguing about something as small as a pink crayon in the backseat of a car. To avoid fights, we pack individual bags for each child, usually full with pretty much the same items to avoid arguments. I use plastic baggies and labels with their names on them to label each of their items. The Labels keep them from fighting and helps me to know who’s is who’s to be able to settle arguments. QUICK. 

Inside Pack the Following:

Puzzles, Crayons, Colouring Books, Any Electronic Games they enjoy, Books to read and Healthy Snacks. 

Bring Their Comfort Items: It is always a good idea to bring your children’s comfort items in the car with you, this helps to promote NAPS in the car. Which I NEVER argue with! 

Bring the Following:

Pillows– They can cuddle with their favorite pillow in the car. It can also help to keep their necks from sitting in funny positions when and if they falls asleep. Pillows can also be used as a desk on their lap for playing games, reading or colouring. 

Blankets– If you Children love their blankets, let them bring them with them in the car to keep them snugly and warm.

Stuffed Animals– DO NOT pack their favorite stuffed animal in a bag in the trunk. Especially if you anticipate that they may falls asleep! They will be grateful to share the road trip with their buddy… and probably some of their snacks too. 

Making sure that we have done these things for our road trips has led to very enjoyable endeavors for ourselves and our Children. We have done smaller trips as well as driven 26 hours across Ontario using these methods and the trips have been pleasant with a 5 and 2 year old!

What is an In the Car Must Have for Your Road Trips?