We’ve all been on those family road trips. You know the ones. They start off pleasant enough. The windows are down, a nice breeze circulating. The Black Keys are churning those good vibes and (miraculously) no one is complaining about the music. Your hubs seems to know his way and isn’t arguing with you or Google about the directions. Your kids are enthralled with the latest episode of Spongebob, headphones on, not making a peep. You’re feeling good, relaxed. So you start to go for your Kindle, eager to dive into the juicy gossip rag posing as Jessica Simpson’s memoir.

And then, you reach the end of your neighborhood.

Sometimes not even out of the garage…

And the bubble effectively bursts.

Your husband forgot something so you have to turn back. Your data connection cuts out, sending Spongebob into oblivion and your kids into a tailspin. Your son already has to go potty because he drank all of the Capri Suns before the car even left the driveway. And you’re trying to recall if you were medicated or slightly intoxicated when you agreed to this trip in the first place.

Girl, we’ve all been there. And while we don’t pretend to be road trip whisperers, we do have a few ideas for how to make your road trip with kids go as smoothly as can be expected when you cram multiple people into a single car for several hours at a time.

Plan ahead

First off, think about creating a packing list. Then, go into Google Maps and map out your journey in advance. Place pins where you plan on making stops for food and bathroom breaks. If you have tech-savvy or older kids, share the map with them so they can follow along on their phones or tablets. It’ll make them feel like they’re an active part of the trip and will at the very least save you an “are we there yet” or two.

No. We are not there yet. Or yet. Or yet. Photo by Alex Jumper

But things won’t always go according to plan – so have a trusty “prepared for anything kit”

The universe loves nothing so much as a good plan it can totally upend. So, accept the fact that no matter how much you strategize and organize, your family road trip will inevitably have those moments when you’re sitting in gridlock traffic on the highway and your 8-month-old has a blowout or your fifth grader gets car sick.

That’s why I never go anywhere without a “prepared for anything kit” with a car trash bin, disinfectant, paper towels, baby wipes, diapers plus an extra outfit, band-aids, and Tylenol (for you, of course).

Be the keeper of the snacks

Unless you want to be stopping every half hour for bathroom breaks, control the flow of food and drink.

We like to strike a balance of healthy snacks and road trip classics on our adventures – because, let’s be honest, half the fun of a road trip is the food. So, we take apple slices and mini cheeses, but we also take some cookie packs and Chex Mix.

If you want to save the upholstery in your car, maybe limit the snacks to exclude those that melt or are covered in the unnatural looking orange powder that coats your fingers (i.e. Cheetos, Doritos, and pretty much any Hostess product). And pack more water than you think is necessary. Without fail, that’s always the first thing we run out of.

Snazzy Snacks are a Sure Hit! Photo by Ella Olsson

Don’t worry too much about screen time

Screen time – is it a good thing, is it a bad thing? If my kids have too much of it, will they turn into vegetables and lose all sense of imagination and creativity? If they don’t have enough, will they fall behind in the world and not be able to function in society?

That’s a much larger debate that we can’t even begin to unwrap here. But what I can say is, whatever your feelings on screen time, consider fudging the rules a bit on long car rides. There’s only so much you can do when you’re strapped to a seat and driving through the flat, unending cornfields of Indiana for hours on end. It’ll keep your kids occupied, it’ll save your sanity, and it will help keep the peace.

These days, there are plenty of educational options to make the screen time a little more beneficial, like digital flashcards, games for language learning (Duolingo is a family favorite), and word puzzles.

Some zombies are peaceful….Photo by Igor Starkov

But plan for some non-screen (or screen-lite) activities as well

If you don’t want your kids to be on their screens the whole time, plan non-screen activities. Road trip bingo or scavenger hunts (with prizes) always fan favorites in our house and it’s a way to get the whole family in on the fun. Download classic audiobooks everyone will enjoy (think Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, or something by Roald Dahl) and listen together. Bring along age-appropriate trivia cards and have a trivia competition. And you can never go wrong with a good old-fashioned coloring book.

Pack road trip goody bags

This was a tradition my mom started when we were kids and I remember always being so excited for a road trip because of it. She’d pack goody bags, one for each of us, and fill it with some of our favorite things, like sticker books, doodle pads, colored pencils, Pokemon cards (because this was the nineties and I had brothers), and car-friendly games like Uno. In the morning, when we were ready to leave, they’d be sitting on our seats in the car and we couldn’t open them until we were on the road.

I’ve continued the tradition (though with a few turn of the century modifications) because it’s a genius way to get my kids excited about the trip, and also keep them occupied for at least a few hours.

Bag of Knick Knacks…Photo by Hannah Rodrigo

Remember that the journey (no matter how insane) is half the fun

As an adult, with a family of my own, I often reflect on the road trips I used to take as a kid with my parents and siblings. They were nothing short of a circus, and with six of us crammed in a bright red Chevy Suburban, with a Thule luggage carrier on the top and a bike rack on the back, we certainly looked like a Barnum & Bailey caravan. We often didn’t make it out of the driveway before we all wanted to kill each other. But looking back, some of our best memories and amusing family anecdotes came from those road trips. Our trips were never perfect, but they’re some of my most cherished recollections from my childhood. And I sincerely hope in thirty years, my kids will look back and say the same.

So try not to sweat the mishaps. They will happen. Laugh them off and remember that twenty years from now, those moments will be the stuff of family lore, the stories your kids will tell their kids. And maybe a therapist or two.

First ones here!

Morgan is a brand designer and writer who splits her time between managing her creative studio, Atlas + Anchor, and writing about her lifelong love affair with travel. A wanderluster at heart, she’s a big proponent of exploring the roads less traveled because they often lead to amazing views, memorable stories, and the most unassuming but life-changing restaurants. Originally from Ohio, Morgan now lives in the heart of Chicago with her family and is quite possibly the only person within city limits who hates deep dish pizza.

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