5 Survival Tips for Road Trips with Kids Under 5

The car is packed! The open road is calling your name! You are bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take on the impossible – road trip with kids. Just kidding – your eyes are only bright because you are a nervous parent who is trying to fathom why you agreed to a multi-state drive with your screaming toddler. Don’t worry. I got you! I have done that trip many many times – with a baby and an explosive diaper; a toddler who’s favorite pastime was singing “Banana Phone” for nine hours; and a judgmental preschooler who swore you were completely lost and we were going to need to live in the car forever.  So yes, I’ve been there. Here are five tips for surviving road trips with kids under 5.

Before we get started, the first thing I need you to do is take a breath, close your eyes, and softly repeat with me “This is going to suck, this is going to suck, this is going to suck.” Alright, now that we have set expectations low, let’s move on.

Survival Tips to Make Your Road Trip Suck Less

1 - Find the sweet spot in terms of timing for starting your journey (i.e. early mornings, evenings, etc.).

For every kid and family, this is going to be different. Are your kids amazing nappers in the car? Do they need frequent breaks because they get carsick? For both of those situations, then consider driving during the day. You’re likely to get some pavement under your tire with the first situation, and for the second situation, daytime better guarantees more places will be open for frequent stops.

For our family, the best time to leave has been the middle of the night. My children are the absolute worst when they are trapped in a car for an extended period of time. All they want to do is rip the car seat buckle off and run free. So, for their sanity (and mine), we leave in the middle of the night (typically 2 or 3 am is the sweet spot for us, depending on the length of the drive). They are much easier to transfer from bed to car without waking at this time, plus I’ve been able to get a few hours myself. I can usually get a solid five to six hours without interruption – just me and the radio. And honestly, as a parent, isn’t that all we are asking – uninterrupted time. Ah peace.

2 - Prepare to take more frequent (and longer) breaks than you anticipate.

Even if they sleep for a portion of (or the majority of) the trip, you still need to be prepared that they are children who do not want to be trapped in that car for long periods of time. During our trips, as soon as they wake up, I make it a point to find a place to stop for breakfast within 15 minutes. Any longer and you risk meltdowns and accidents (and then you get to enjoy the smell of pee for the rest of your trip because your car seat is soaked, as well as an angry toddler who will never let you forget about the pee – as if you could).

And when you take breaks, do not for one minute think this will be an in and out situation. When I used to take road trips with just me (or even with other adults) I was an “all business” kind of driver. Limited number of stops and only to take care of the necessities. Need gas? Ok, then in this one stop you will do that, hit the bathroom and get another coffee. No more stopping until you need to fill that tank again so don’t get that large coffee. BUT, with kids, assume every break will take (at minimum) 30 minutes.

When you take that break, try to find an area that has some sort of outdoor space OR a large indoor space. And by outdoor space, I literally mean some grass behind a building is completely acceptable. When my son was two, we spent 15 minutes literally just walking up and down the grassy divider in the parking lot of a Walmart. And on a cold winter morning, my kids just walked around and around tables within a rest area after breakfast. They just needed to expel energy. And it was much easier than fighting them.

Travel Mom Pro Tip: Bring a soccer or kick ball with you and set up a short game outside at a rest area. No equipment? No Problem. Simply play a game of “Red Light, Green Light” or freeze tag.

 3 - Throw out the no electronics rule.

I understand not wanting your child to have too much screen time. But, on a road trip, when you just need to get from point A to point B without a screaming child, it may be good to make an exception. I’m not saying break it out EVERY time you are in the car. We have a tablet for each kid and they only come out when we are doing long-distance travels, which they know. And, trust me, they aren’t fancy tablets. All I need them to do is play downloaded movies – that’s it. So I went low cost with them.

Preload the table with movies and shows you know will entertain them. One trip, my daughter watched Sesame Street for four hours straight. Did I get tired of hearing “Elmo’s World” over and over to the point that I started singing along even though it pained me – yes, yes I did. BUT was it better than my daughter kicking and screaming for four hours straight – yes, yes it was!

Travel Mom Pro Tip: Get a holder for the tablet that goes over the headrest of the seat to avoid the your child from dropping the tablet or not understanding that by touching the screen it pauses the movie.

And then you can also avoid explaining over and over again that Elmo is not broken as they continue to scream over and over, but that they just need to STOP TOUCHING THE SCREEN! If they are forward facing, the holder can go over the driver and passenger seat headrests, facing them. This is amazing because you are available to change the movie, adjust volume, etc. If they are rear facing, the holder will go over the backseat headrest facing them. In this situation – avoid television shows UNLESS your tablet will auto play the next episode. Your best bet, after your break, set up the tablet with a long movie (at least two hours) and then drive. You’ll have to stop and change the movie the next time, but at least you’ll get a few hours of driving complete.

4 - Pack Snacks, snacks and more snacks.

Now, I can keep snacks in the center of the two car seats. My five-year old can easily grab the snacks and share with her younger brother. Game changer, let me tell you. BUT, before I was so lucky, I made sure to load a spill proof snack cup (prefilled with some sort of snacks – usually goldfish) in one of the two cupholders per kid. When these were empty, I had a bag with way more snacks than any one human would ever need. In addition, I kept (and still do this) a small cooler on the back seat floor (center) with spill proof cups prefilled with milk, water or juice, as well as some yogurt. My kids LOVE yogurt. If I cannot find anything either will eat at a rest area or restaurant on the way to our destination, I’ll pull out one of these yogurts.

Travel Mom Pro Tip: Prefill as many snack cups as you can with snacks. This prevents you from needing to fill snack-cups in a moving car. Be sure to also pack larger bags with said snacks and to refill the snack cups during one of your many breaks.

5 – Plan NOTHING for your arrival day:

This is mostly important if you are planning a road trip that has an extended period of time at one place. If the entirety of your trip is a round trip road trip to see the world or you are moving cross-country, this rule will work well with minor adjustments for your arrival day (back home) or at your new home (i.e. replace vacation with home). But, if you are driving a long distance to your vacation destination, then follow this rule to the T.

It is very tempting to jam pack your first day. You just spent so much time of your vacation driving, why would you want to waste valuable theme park, excursion, or exploration time? Trust me! When you arrive at your final destination, plan nothing. Check out your resort, hit up the pool, or go to a playground. Something that is very low key and involves no planning. Your kids (and yourself) will be cranky and tired. Attempting to do anything outside of the aforementioned will result in a miserable time. Depending on the time, grab some food and just hang out in your room. Get a good night of sleep. Then, wake up fresh and jump right into your vacation the next morning – theme parks, sightseeing, shows, the whole nine yards. You’ll be much happier to wait until day two.

BONUS TIPS

Get a portable toddler potty. Trust me! You want to have this item and not use it, rather than to need it and not have it. During the dreaded potty training years, you had less than 3 seconds to get your child to a bathroom after hearing “I gotta go.” And, this is true even when you are on a road trip, sitting in bumper to bumper on the highway because your GPS told you driving through DC on a weekend was smart, and there are no rest areas in site. We have pulled over on more than one occasion with a toddler in desperate need of a bathroom. Ever see someone holding a towel around a seated child on the grassy shoulder? Yea, it was probably me.

Sunshades, for better hallway vision. Kids who have been trapped in a car for hours will tell you about every little thing that is bothering them, from the strap of the car seat being too close to their shin, to their socks being the wrong color so the world is over, to their sibling’s breathing just too loud. Add the sun glaring in their eyes while they are trying to nap or watch a movie is just the icing on the cake, and you’ll never hear the end of it. If you have a nonfancy car, like I do, you’ll have to purchase these shades separately. There are a number of low-cost options available. Just be sure to find something wide enough to block out as much potential sun as possible. Your kids will find something to complain about – but at least it won’t be the sun (unless they get mad because they want to see the sun and you’ve stolen it from them – which has also happened to me).

There you have it! What are some tricks and tips you’ve used to survive road trips? Let me know in the comments.