Roadtrip with Kids
This summer was SO FUN! Our kids are 6 & 7, and have gotten to be so much easier to travel with and are so fun! They are getting into all the activities and now that we have come out of the nap-era, we have the whole day to so ALL the things! Don't worry moms and dads of napping babes, its coming, but enjoy those naps for now, there is such beauty in that phase also!
We decided to spend this summer exploring some of the fun activities our great state of Florida has to offer! We are a saltwater loving family and are happy being on the water all day! We took one trip to the West Coast to go Scalloping, and we did another trip to Marathon, Key in the Keys! Each trip was a couple of hours away from home by car, so it was a roadtrip summer for us! We drive older vehicles and have decided not to purchase screens for our kids at this time, so we have leaned into screen-free travel and are loving it! The kids did GREAT! We have done our longest roadtrip at 12 hours, and I am here to tell you, it can be done, AND it can even be enjoyable!
We bring some specific things to help keep everyone entertained, and comfortable! We found that after our long road trip, our kids were getting a bit sore towards and the end. We realized that they needed some more support under their legs to take the pressure off of their little bodies, so we bought this. What I love about this inflatable footrest, is that they are adjustable and can even be broken apart! So we use the longer one for our youngest and the other one for the oldest, its perfect! Plus we can use these in airplanes, (their original intention), so they were definitely worth it.
We also find out that we have a kid with motion sickness. After a really, not so fun, instance on a highway in Arizona, we have now started traveling with barf bags and kids dramamine. Just to be prepared! What I love about the barf bags is that they are same ones they give you in L&D in the hospital, with the plastic lip that makes it easier to hold, perfect for little hands!
My favorite purchase we made for the kids were clipboards with storage! The kids LOVE having their own space to create and then to put it when they are done. I put their name labels on them so they know which is which and there is no bickering about it! Before we leave I try to print out some fun coloring pages for them, or just make sure I have some blank printer pages in there for them to use for their own creations! They love it! I also found these magnetic puzzles and different sticker by number or letter that they love to work through. There is always the Color Wonder options that are great for mess-free coloring in the car and at this point they have it in ALL the fun characters.
As a family we love to play, Would You Rather? It started with my husband just coming up with the most fun questions and it turning into a whole family conversation! Then I found a Would You Rather card game at the Dollar General, or Walmart, I can't remember where, but we brought that and the kids were loving reading them to us, and voting! The one in the link about isn't the exact one that we have, but it looks equally as fun!
Our favorite road trip items for mom and dad are our AC vent phone holder, and my absolute favorite is my extended bottle cup holder! We have OLD cars, so adding the AC vent phone holder was a game changer for us! We keep the navigating phone there, simply so we can see if the cops are ahead of us (haha), and so the kids have a way to see how far we have to go without asking a million times! This usually takes them a few rounds of asking "Are we there yet?" with our redirection to the phone, for them to get it and to stop asking, but it has been so helpful! They will even say, "Oh! Only 2 more hours, that's not that bad!" and then resume whatever activity they have chosen. Now, my cup holder is my absolute favorite thing! I use it EVERYDAY! I am a "my water bottle is my support water bottle" girl, and I ALWAYS have at least 1 form of beverage at any given time. What I love about this cup holder is that it is adjustable to fit in any cup holder, and it can hold a coffee mug with a handle (which I love for my school drop-off days), and it can hold my wide and big Hydroflask! WIN WIN!
We can't wait for our next trip with these kiddos! We are hoping to maybe try to do some exploring in the Carolinas and Georgia! We would love for them to hike some mountains and get to see the changing of leaves! Leave any tips you have!
*The links included above are affiliate links through Amazon. If you chose to make a purchase I may receive a small commission*
