Are you taking the family on a road trip this spring or in the summer? If your kids are twelve and younger, chances are extra effort will be needed to keep them from getting restless. We all know restless, fidgety kids are no fun to be with in confined spaces, right?
Make sure this aspect of your road trip planning is well covered.
Here are 5 tips to get your brainstorming started:
1. Give everyone a chance to pick a stop.
While it’s true that not everything goes exactly as planned, least of all a road trip that involves kids, do it anyway. Plan your route a few days ahead and let everyone family pick somewhere to stop along the way. It doesn’t matter what the spot is, as long as it has caught their attention and they want to see it. This is the spontaneous part of the trip that makes things fun. So be game to stop at a park, an ice cream parlor, a fairground, anything interesting. This gives the kids something else to be excited about, other than the trip itself.
2. Prepare kid-friendly audiobooks.
Audiobooks are great for keeping kids engaged and offer topics for discussion where everyone is encouraged to throw in their two cents’ worth.
3. Pack your kids’ phones/tablets with a variety of apps.
In addition to audiobooks, make sure the kids have plenty of options when it comes to the apps on their phone or tablet to keep them occupied, especially if your route includes a rather unexciting stretch of road as well as highways.
4. Let the games begin (and have the rewards ready).
During the longer legs of your trip, keep the kids entertained with games. Popular road trip games include the License Plate Game (the family member who spots the most number of states license plates first wins) and Scavenger Hunt, road trip edition. For the second game, list in advance the items you’re likely to see on the road. Let the kids look out for these items and keep track of what they see. If they find everything on the scavenger hunt, they get a reward.
5. Get the karaoke going.
Turn your car into a mobile karaoke booth. If you’re a musical family, this should be a hit, pun intended. You might want to invest in a mic like Carpool Karaoke the Mic, a glammed-out microphone to make the occasion festive.
Putting extra thought into keeping your kids entertained when you’re on the road is worth it to ensure that your time together with the family is one for the books for all the right reasons.
Make sure you and your family get the most out of your spring or summer road trip by making sure you’re covered, down to ancillary services, including road assistance—or especially road assistance. For great savings on repairs and maintenance work, especially if your manufacturer’s warranty is running out soon, consider purchasing an EverCare vehicle service contract. Check out our products today.