1) Snacks and food: I'll admit that occassionally we stop somewhere to eat, but for the most part I try to avoid this. I pack food for ourselves because it's cheaper and healthier. Fesh food and veggies don't have the negative behavior impacts that processed foods do, and prevent things like swelling from sitting for long periods of time.
2) TV: I rarely use it, unless it's a greater than 6 hour trip. Video games: absolutely not. The kids don't need to spend hours rotting their brains, and they have plenty of toys and such (and their imaginations) to keep them entertained. The added bonus is that when I do finally turn it on, it's such a novelty that it actually keeps them interested.
3) I envy those whose kids sleep in the car. Mine never have, so, we only travel during the day. Since we enjoy stopping and seeing, it's not a big deal though.
4) We stop and explore. I find a 1 hour stop at a small museum or grocery store can do wonders for the kids. We don't stop frequently, but we make our stops count.
5) If we don't stay with families, we stay at suite hotels (preferably with a door between the living and sleeping areas). After a long day in the car, we all need room to spread out and separate ourselves. If we have a suite, we can talk, watch TV, or whatever without waking the kids or keeping them up.
6) Don't over pack, and limit the number of bags. The more things I have to keep track of, the more stress I have.
No comments:
Post a Comment