A few years ago, it was a cold Friday in January and my husband was out of work. We had just heard from his head scout (his recruiter) who said that due to a big convention the following week, he shouldn’t expect to hear back about any potential jobs for at least 10 days.

It was 4:00 pm and we were downstairs. I looked at him and said, “Wow, by the time you get a job, we won’t be able to take time off for the trip to Arizona for spring break!” It was like a light bulb went off in our heads. Six hours later we were on our way for our first road trip.

When people heard what we did, they were shocked, not so much that we went last minute, but that we DRIVE! Sure, Minnesota to Arizona isn’t a typical road trip distance, but they all hit it off. Here are some tips to survive and enjoy 50+ hours in the car.

1. Make sure everyone packs their own “car bag.” This is a small backpack or bag that fits under your feet or next to them in the car. The key is for the child to pack it themselves, so if something is missing, no one else is to blame. This bag STAYS IN THE CAR! He doesn’t go into hotel rooms, he doesn’t go out at rest stops, he doesn’t go into grandma’s house. And it is repackaged at the end of each day.
2. Each person gets the same seat for a whole day. This prevents arguments at every stop and prevents people’s things from spilling all over the car. Now that we’ve traveled half the country by car, our children have determined their favorite places and rarely change them.
3. Clean the car at the end of the day. This means everything is put back in the child-friendly bag, the trash is thrown out, and the water bottles are put away for refills overnight. There’s a huge mental difference in the morning when you get into a car that’s clean and doesn’t smell like yesterday’s lunch.
4. Get out of the car whenever possible to eat. We don’t regularly make fast food at home and almost never do it on the go. We found that any time savings are outweighed by spills that need to be cleaned up, upset stomachs from eating unhealthy food, and people who get cranky from spending too much time in the car. Local diners are often very comparable in price, especially when we’re all drinking much-needed water instead of soda.
5. Let the kids have some money to buy their own treats from time to time at a gas station. Face it, being in the car can be boring, and as you travel across the country you’ll come across some local delicacies not found at home. It’s fun for kids to have some spending power and try a new treat or two. And if you’re eating healthier during your lunch stops, these treats will have less of a negative impact. Instead of paying for their choices, consider giving them a spending allowance per day. It’s fun to watch them think about how they’ll spend their $2 a day candy budget.
6. Limit screen time. While it’s very easy to just put in a DVD, it’s much more effective to save it for those times when you (the parents) need some quiet time. If the movies are playing constantly, the children get bored and the noise increases. Our first trip to Arizona was 30+ hours each way and we saw a movie each way. But when it was on, the children were silent.
7. Buy some cooperative games, electronic or not. When our kids liked the Nintendo DS, they each had one that they could play for an hour at a time. Again this made it special and fun. Before we left, I went to a game reseller and bought some games for them to play that required cooperation or they had to play together. Lego DS games are great for this. Then don’t turn in the game (and only turn in one at a time) until you have to. Hint: this shouldn’t be before the second day of the trip or you’re in big trouble! If you can, wear one for the trip to your destination and use a different one for the drive home and you’ll be in fine shape.
8. Pack a few things for the “mommy box” to bring surprises along the way. This could be a new pack of word games, a new sing-along music CD, or even a favorite (no mess) gift. Just don’t abuse surprises or they will lose their effectiveness.
9. Bring notebooks or journals for children to draw or write in. When they were little, we would ask the children to draw a picture of something we had seen on the way. Every once in a while we would have them write a little journal entry. Although they usually complain, they really enjoy looking back on those entries now that they are teenagers.
10. books on tape they’re a great way to keep everyone quiet and tackle books kids probably wouldn’t read on their own. We’ve listened to the entire Narnia series (we got it from the library), Tom Sawyer, and Huckleberry Finn. It was nice to be able to stop the tape and talk about what we were listening to and it allowed readers and non-readers to participate. In fact, the kids begged us to buy Huck Finn for our ride home after falling for Tom Sawyer.
11. Let the children take turns choosing places to stop. This could be the next restaurant, the next hotel, or the next roadside attraction. It doesn’t have to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be a long layover, but giving kids options and power in the decision-making process makes the prospect of standing still a little more bearable.

What other ideas do you have for keeping your family happy on long car rides? I would love to read about them below!