Woohoo! You are all packed up and ready for your road trip with all your kiddos. The snackie cups are filled, the cooler is stuff with juice boxes, the DVD players are filled with movies. You head out on the open road only to realize you’ve fallen victim to 5 common mistakes parents make when traveling with kids.
Leaving First Thing in the Morning
In your head you’re planning out your trip and set a goal to leave at 8am and drive for so many hours before stopping and so on and so forth. Well let’s just stop here because you’ve already made your first mistake. Leaving “first thing in the morning” is a terrible idea. Your children are waking up and are ready to play first thing in the morning so why would you ever want to start the trip off with cranky kids?! Instead make plans to leave right after lunch or at midnight while they are fast asleep. Not only will you make a huge dent in the road ahead, you will be able to stop and enjoy happy, well rested children.
Letting Your Child Pick a Snack Every Stop
You’ve stopped for a potty break and to let your little ones burn some energy only to have them eye googling every sweet treat in sight as you make your way to the restroom. Whatever you do, DON’T give in and fall for this mistakes parents make when traveling with kids! Feeding them sugar is like feeding Gizmo after midnight. They go nuts and become bored and become agitated which calls for more frequent stops. Instead set a goal that they can have one sweet treat once you reach the halfway point or every new state border you cross.
Forgetting the Baby Wipes
I don’t care if your child is 1 month old or 11 years old, baby wipes clean everything! Dirty hands? No problem. Juice spill? You’ve got it. Feet prints on the windshield from your spouse lounging? Done. Baby wipes are just made to go hand in hand with road trips and if you forget them, you might as well start lining up a car detailer now.
Keeping the Same Seating Arrangements
Though this can get tricky with car seats, keeping the same seating arrangements can be a bore for children. Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you have to sit in the front seat. When your little ones start to get restless why not hop in the back seat for some tickle and snuggle time. Maybe pry the technology from their hands and read a book to engage their minds for a little while.
Not Labeling You Child’s Things
Let’s say your final destination is staying with a family friend thousands of miles away from home who also has kids around your child’s age. Chances are, they also own many of the same or similar items that your little one does so what do you do? Label it. Label it left and right and make a checklist if needed. I had the opportunity to test out StickerKid labels and they seriously have been a game changer. You can choose between lots of designs, fonts, colors, etc. They not only have stickers but also iron on labels! These bad boys help me keep all of my children’s clothes separate from the other 3 children who wore the exact same sizes as mine. Not to mention, I’ve washed the clothing with the iron on labels as well as the sippy cups with labels multiple times and they have yet to have fallen off!
Baby wipes aren’t just for babies after all! I love having a pack of wipes in my purse, always comes in handy. Those labels are really cool, too!
Sugar overload and kids do not mix well when traveling. When my kids were growing up, I always made sure we made frequent stops so they could potty and stretch those legs a bit. These are all great tips, especially labeling their things.
Really great tips for those of us with kids. 5 common mistakes parents make road tripping must happen all over the world because.. in no matter what rest stop we are at, there are screaming and crying kids1
These are some really good tips , and we are guilty of about three of them. We are always leaving early and every stop we get something. And we forget diapers and wipes at least twice . Thanks for all these tips
Oh no! You can’t forget the diapers! That would be terrible! lol
We always used to pack our own snacks when traveling with kids. It was so much better than letting them grab something at every stop!
Great tips. We don’t do the perpetual snacking thing. When kids are little, that leads to stopping for bathroom breaks all the time and a kid who’s crazed on snack food!
We’ve been road tripping with kids for almost a decade now. We have done so well with all 3 of our kids on road trips. Potty breaks are our biggest set back.
Oh I can feel you there! My oldest is 7 so its not so bad but my youngest is almost 2 and the potty training has begun. I know it will definitely set us back once we get to big boy underwear!
I remember as a kid on road trips and I was always picking snacks and drinks at every stop. What a bad idea, I for sure wouldn’t do that if we took some road trips as a family now!
These are all great tips to help parents who go on road trips with their kids, I can imagine it’s quite the learning experience in the parenting world.
Baby wipes are on my must have list. I agree with you on not letting the kids have sweets. It’s not healthy and the sugar high can backfire on you.
Probably, leaving early in the morning! They are still sleepy and I assume they will just still in the car. Sometimes it works, sometimes they’re a but cranky! No matter, it’s important to make sure the kids are as comfy as they can be.
These are great examples of mistakes for those parents on a road to trip with kids have done. I love how you compare kid with sugar to Gizmo after midnight because it can really be true. lol If the kids are not occupied in the vehicle with a book or a game they with drive everyone nuts. Thanks for shairng the list. .
I always forgot the wipes. Good thing I have an only kid so no need to label that much!
Leaving first thing in the morning is a bad idea. When I was younger and my family drove to Chicago we left at 10 AM. When I woke up we were arriving. Smoothest and Shortest trip of my life!
I use baby wipes for absolutely everything. They are easy to use, convenient, easily accessible, and help out in a snap! Definitely a must on any road trip (with or without kids, lol)!
Only one, we leave out early in the morning sometimes. I don’t believe in taking my kid out of school to travel so we might leave early Sat. morning so that we get a full nights rest. By we I mean Babe and I since we are doing the driving.
I pack them stacks, I don’t really buy them snacks along the way.
It is a good article also check this link:http://www.indiaparenting.com/food-and-nutrition/342_5647/mistakes-parents-make-while-feeding-kids.html
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