Travel Blogs

Summer Family Road Trips

After arguing the case for solo road trips and sharing her firsthand tips for new campers, Tammie Dooley tackles the topic of summer family road trips.

“Prior to a road trip with the kids, I listen to the training montage on the Rocky IV Soundtrack.” – James, from Louisiana.

The summer of 2009 may be the summer we rediscover the open road as the solution for the conflicting need of frugality versus the promise of rejuvenation. To extend the initial promise of the nostalgic memories Dads everywhere dreamily envision as they herd the brood into the family sedan for a view of roadside Americana, we spoke to a couple from Oak Grove, Louisiana. James and Angela, a road tripping couple with 5 sons ranging from 4 to 13 years of age, are brave and bold with their act clearly together. Their thoughts on how to plan a road trip with children that’s rewarding for all, follow.

The summer of 2009 may be the summer we rediscover the open road as the solution for the conflicting need of frugality versus the promise of rejuvenation.

The Preparation Stage

For the preparation stage, they recommend:

• Cleaning (or having cleaned) your transport for the trip. Claiming it lends order and control before things become disorderly and out-of-control, a sense of peace before all is lost, it’s the one preparation they won’t leave home without.
• “Spend some time together before you hit the road. It sounds obvious but you’ll need a little extra in the love tank to make the trip. We try to lunch together the day before or spend an evening the week we leave watching a movie together. You’ll need this when one of you begin to get on the other’s last nerve.”
• Barf bags at the ready in the car. Make sure all the kids know where they are.
• No nerf toys.
• Besides the kids’ favorite games and/or movies they pick themselves prior to departure, James and Angela suggest buying each child two disposable cameras – one for each leg of the trip and be certain to write their names on them in black marker.  “Our children love taking pictures. When we arrive back home, we take the cameras in and have pictures printed.”  It’s always a hit.
• They highly recommend a game by Klutz called “Kids Travel, a Backseat Survival Kit”, complete with markers, strings, dice, puzzles, lyrics, a secret decoder, hidden picture games, a penny toss, and numerous other projects.  It’s all self-contained in a sturdy spiral bound notebook. Another they like is a “string” game by Klutz called “Cat’s Cradle”. It comes with a long, multicolor string and illustrations on how to tie a Jacob’s Ladder, cup and saucer, etc.
• Limit sugar intake along the trip.
• Force the kids to bed an hour early the night before departure. While you’d think lack of rest would mean sleeping in the vehicle, “it’s not the proper kind of rest. You won’t like the result when they wake up.”

The Honeymoon, NASCAR, and Green Acres

Once the preparations are complete, and the initial “load” has taken place, James separates each one-way leg of the trip into 3 levels – the Honeymoon, NASCAR, and Green Acres.

The Honeymoon
The Honeymoon being obvious, he recommends taking advantage of it by doing specific planning for the upcoming sights or destination. “It’ll be the only time you and your spouse can have meaningful conversation. Make the most of it.”

NASCAR
During the NASCAR stage “the decibel level begins to increase, action figures begin maiming each other, games become louder and arguments over rights to certain toys emerge.” James says “You have to act quickly. Instead of arguing with the kids, frequently stop the vehicle and make some seat changes. Change the dynamics! The kids aren’t going to change their wants/needs so it’s up to you to outmaneuver them.”

At the NASCAR stage James predicts is the time when one or more of the kids will need to be disciplined. At the first sign of backtalk, calling names, or a general crappy attitude, “you must act swiftly.”  He adds, “And please, pull over to a rest stop to do it.”  “Make sure all the kids are witness to this, otherwise, you’ll be pulling over again in a few miles for another child’s errant behavior.”  Then he adds, “Fellas, once everyone is back in the vehicle, kiss your wife, tell her you love her just before getting back on the road. It sends a strong message that we parents are a united front and in control of this wagon!”

“At this point, you can call for nap time citing everyone’s poor behavior. It’ll buy you another 1-3 hours counting wake up time.”

Green Acres
Now for the Green Acres stage. “Your behind is tired, your legs stiff, and patience is running low. The newness of movies has faded, attitudes are seriously souring and even the adults are irritable.”  He recommends finding a rest stop and weather permitting “get everyone out of the truck and have the kids play tag, hide and seek, etc. Run some energy and boredom out of them. When we all get re-loaded, I don’t allow them to watch movies or play their electronic games, preferring instead to interact with them utilizing the old fashioned games of counting cars, identifying license plates, pointing out cows, horses, ducks, trucks, railroads, i.e., the “green acres.”

At this point, the kids are settled enough for a movie or electronic games. “Sit back, put some music on, and coast into your destination listening to your favorite tunes.”

Subscribe to TravelBlogs Posted by Tammie Dooley from Solo Road Trip. on May 26th, 2009 in Articles.
Tags: family travel, North America, road trip, travel with kids, USA