Are We There Yet? Tips For Traveling With Children

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?  If you are a parent to small children like I am, you have probably heard this more times than not.  Keeping kids occupied and happy while in the car can be quite a challenge.  According to a spokesperson for Allstate Insurance, distracted driving is the cause of 80% of all crashes (Parents Magazine).  Children are four times as distracting to drivers as adult passengers, while babies are eight times as distracting.  One study found that on a 16-minute car ride, drivers with kids in the car looked away from the road for an average of 3 minutes and 22 seconds – 21% of the time. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety).  That’s almost 1/3 of the total trip time – scary thought!

Central Collision's marketing manager, Nicole, with
husband, Dave, and children, Jake and Addison.

When I am traveling with my children, I always make sure I am prepared.  I like to keep a bag packed with all the necessities and have it handy to grab as I am running out the door. Whether it be a short car ride or a long road trip, you can never be too prepared! Here are some things I never leave home without:

Snacks
I would rather take the time to pack nutritious snacks than be tempted to stop at a fast food restaurant or convenience store. Some go-to snacks that are easy to travel with are:

• Cheerios (or your child's favorite dry cereal) 
• Boxes of raisins 
• Squeezable applesauce packets 
• Granola bars 
• Fruit snacks 
• Crackers 

Activities
Keeping your children occupied while you drive can help eliminate distractions inside the car. Easy in-car toys include Leap Pads, books and the aquadoodle board (coloring pages that use water to create color instead of ink).

BrainPop Jr. Movie of
the Week is available on
iTunes.

If you have young children that like to play on an iPhone or iPad, try the following app suggestions from the Chicago Tribune: 

• Learn With Homer - teaches fundamental reading skills 
• Toy Store Delivery Truck - teaches counting skills through truck deliveries 
• BrainPOP Jr. Movie of the Week - provides a free video each week along with quizzes that allows kids to make connections between videos and related concepts

If you have older children, try the following games to get all passengers involved:

• The Grocery Game - Each player must name an item from the grocery store in alphabetical order, adding to the running "grocery list." Each player must recite the full grocery list in order then add an item starting with the next letter. For example, player 1 says "apples" then player two says "apples" and adds "bananas" 
• I Spy - Each player takes a turn picking an item the other players must identify through asking questions about the item
• Who Am I? - Each player takes a turn picking a person all passengers in the car know. The other players ask yes or no questions to find out information until they can guess the person's identity

Travel Essentials

• Baby wipes
• Extra change of clothes
• Sunscreen
• Towels (never know when we will take a spur of the moment trip to the park!)
• Reward sheet - I keep a reward sheet and a bad behavior sheet with me to reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. This has worked like a charm!

What are your best practices for traveling with children? Share them with us in the comments section!