Monday, May 18, 2015

How to Keep Your Kids Entertained and Happy on Road Trips

Summertime is the perfect time for a family vacation. You can show your kids natural wonders or enlighten them with cultural and historic points of interest. However, whether you are traveling to the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, Yellowstone, or your family cabin up north, your memories can depend on how fun or how big of a headache the journey was. Below are some tips to keep your kids entertained and happy on road trips.

Help Them Visualize
Provide your kids with a map of your trip, pit stops included. It will help dampen the incessant “Are we there yet?” questions if your child can visualize where they are and where they are headed. Plus, being able to read a map is a useful life tip that they can learn. In addition to providing a map, give your child a briefing of the itinerary, such as how long the trip will be and how much time there will be between stops.

Set Expectations and Reward Good Behavior
Kids are never too young to learn a lesson. In addition to practicing patience, setting expectations on how to behave on a long trip can help your child practice good behavior especially if they are awarded. No complaining from “point A” to “point B” can be rewarded with an ice cream cone or control over the radio. Being helpful with siblings could be rewarded with getting first pick on which sight to see or pool time at the hotel. Remember that a little incentive never hurts.

Eat Well, Take Rests
For everyone’s sanity, make sure to make somewhat frequent pit stops. While trying to reach a destination as quickly as possible may be tempting, getting out of a stale car to stretch your legs will go a long way in maintaining a positive outlook for you and your kids. Think about eating healthy and non-messy foods—not just McDonald’s or gas station goods—to stay refreshed. Pack your own small snacks, maybe even meals, to satisfy your appetite and prevent overtiredness and crankiness. Nuts and dried fruit are portable snacks that provided a great pack of nutrients and energy. Also, remember the importance of water and staying hydrated. Stick with healthy habits on your trip because healthy kids are happy kids.

Be Prepared
Parents probably can’t stress this enough: be prepared for every situation. Prepare yourself for bored kids, tired kids, temper-tantrum-throwing kids, and sick kids. Have enough healthy snacks and a variety of medicine and vitamins in case you find a drugstore unavailable. Have each child bring a favorite toy, book, or blanket for some comfort away from home. This will go a long in helping everyone have the best time they possible can.

No, Really. Be Prepared
Pack activity kits for each child. App games and DVD players can be nice to distract your kids, but have a small variety of toys, paper activities, crafts, books, and games so your child can flex their creative minds. You can give them a new activity after every stop so they have something new to look forward to as well.

Simple tips and habits will help you and your kids have an excellent time on your family travels and will help to ensure exciting and hopefully, fantastic memories.

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