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Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"

21 August 2008

Travel Logistics



We're in our last hotel, a few miles from home and I'm finally responding to a common question from readers. I hope this helps you out with your own road trips.

Here are my thoughts about traveling with kids this age on long road trips:

1. Pangs of home-sickness seem to start at about 3 weeks. If you're traveling longer than this, make sure the destinations are ones the kids value. For us, we had Yellowstone and Craters of the Moon to look forward to.
2. Let the mornings happen naturally -- wake up on their own, load the car and check out, have a leisurely breakfast. We set out most naturally around 9:30am but sometimes it was 10:30am.
3. Try to arrive back at the hotel in time to go for a swim, or run around in a park, have a bath and get to bed within an hour or so of their normal bedtime.
4. Let the kids participate in decision making. In Chicago I asked, "Do you want the double decker bus or would you rather go to the fountain again?" They chose the fountain for a short time, followed by the bus! When we were nearing home, I actually asked the kids, "Do you want one more night in a hotel with a pool, or would you rather drive longer to get home and see your friends and the kitties?" They chose the hotel much to my surprise.
5. Keep media out of the program altogether. We allowed cartoons on some mornings when one kid was sleeping longer than the others, but that was it. T.V. and computer games are much harder to take away once they've been allowed. Kids have incredible imaginations and are capable of entertaining themselves (and us!) when that's their only option.
6. Each kid is likely to be in a different stage and it's okay if things don't even out perfectly. Little Man would have been happy to simply go on a gift shop tour of the U.S.A. He got something at EVERY stop and he played with it until the next stop. This worked beautifully. Peanut was happy to read her books in the car and only chose a couple of souvenirs. Doodle controlled the music almost exclusively.
7. We made a cd for each kid before leaving and brought books on cd that complimented the trip: Mark Twain's, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Laura Ingalls Wilder's, On the Banks of Plum Creek. We listened to these repeatedly and the kids' music non-stop. It's important to note that their interest in music is quite diverse. Their cds weren't exclusively childish music -- The Killers, Death Cab for Cutie, Billy Joel, Stray Cats, Patsy Cline, They Might be Giants and The Cure were on their playlists, too.
8. Try to feed your kids real food. Skip the Children's Menu if possible when it only contains mac'n'cheese and dino nuggets. Order a steak or shrimp or pasta and split it among your kids. Let one kid get french fries, but share them. Get a salad and let them pick out the parts they like. It'll cost about the same and they'll feel better afterwards.

There will certainly be frustrations and arguments, but I really believe it usually stems from the adult's mood in the car. When I was easy-going, the going was easy. When I was calm the rest of the car usually mimicked me. The minute I started to freak out about something, the vibe of the car shifted negatively. If I could pull myself together, all went well, even in stressful situations.

I hope this helps any of you thinking of a long road trip with wee ones and I hope you'll join us again in a month when we head to New England!

3 comments:

  1. Hi Roadtrippers: I just found your excellent blog, please tell me I'm not joining the trip right when it's over!!??

    I'll subscribe to your feed and hope for the best...

    Jamie
    www.travelsavvymom.com

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  2. Congratulations Curly Top on yet another successful trip! I just caught up on all your entries and sounds like this last month has been full of adventure, surprise and heat! I can't WAIT to see you here in the East!! Hugs all around...Aunt NYC

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  3. I had to check out your blog when I saw it advertised on the back of your van (we were leaving Tutta Bella right behind your family.) It looks like you've been on quite the adventure with much more to come.

    Have a wonderful trip and kudos to you for giving your kids such an amazing experience.

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