As summer schedules and vacations start to fill up the next two months, I am reminded of all those long road trips I have taken alone with my kids. There were many summers where I brought my kids back to my hometown for two weeks while my husband worked; or trips where he could drive one way with us, but flew solo to get back to work while I drove the other half alone. I have lost count of how many trips I’ve taken between Alabama < — > Indiana, Tennessee < — > Indiana, and Florida < — > Tennessee with no other adults to mediate the chaos that can come with long drives with little kids.
Priorities have changed as I’ve gone from newborns to toddlers to now a range of 7–12-year-olds. If you’re in any of these seasons and find yourself traveling alone with them, read on for tips I figured out on my own over the years. Some people may think moms (or dads) who do this are crazy, but it really is doable and you can even arrive with your sanity if you plan right.
Snacks
Have Ziploc bags ready. I like to make a little snack mix so they can pick out what they want to eat from their individual bags instead of them all calling out different things they want. When they were really little, I only brought snacks that weren’t crumby or sticky. If they can pop the full item into their mouths without taking bites off of it, the better it is for me upon arrival (i.e. cheez-its, fruit snacks, goldfish, small pretzels). As they’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more lenient since they can handle their messes better. I also bring empty Ziploc bags for items such as eaten apples or banana peels or even to create new snack mixes at stops.
Drinks
Do yourself a favor and just bring a water bottle for each kid. If you give them fun sugary drinks, they are more likely to suck them down which just results in more potty stops. If the drink is boring, they won’t drink as much. Save the soda and juice for grandma’s house or the hotel.
Entertainment
If an entertainment system is not built into the car, buy a portable set that can strap to the back of the headrests. Ours is built-in which means it plays one movie for everyone. How I’ve always handled this and to make it fair is I let each kid bring the same number of DVDs based on the length of the drive. If you have two kids, flip a coin to see who gets to pick the first movie. If you have more than two kids, write a number on a piece of paper and see which kid is closest to guessing correctly. Their orders determine the order that each can choose the movie. (Tip: Take any movies you can’t stand listening to out of their initial selection pile.) We’ve never had tablets for our kids, but obviously if this is your situation, they can probably download their separate movies before leaving and watch whatever they each want with headphones.
Stops
This is entirely dependent on child ages. You may have a newborn that shouldn’t be restrained for more than three hours at a time, or a potty-training child that will give you a two-minute warning before making a mess. (Even if pull-ups are not being used as part of the training at home, I feel it is an exception on a long drive. Save yourself the messes and meltdowns.) Once I got past those stages, I try to limit my stops as much as possible and my kids are on board with this! I try to do lunch, bathroom, and gas refill all during one stop. I once took an 8 ½ hour trip with three kids ages 6 ½, 3 and 1 ½ and we only got out of the car once! I hate that a sit down meal can add an hour or more to the trip. If we’re strapped for time and kids are old enough to not drop food everywhere, we will grab drive-thru food and eat in the car. I’ve mastered eating while driving.
Naptime/Quiet Time
Usually two movies in a row is enough for my kids to all agree they want some quiet time to watch the world go by out the window. And it usually results in them all falling asleep. There is nothing better during a long drive alone with kids than two hours of silence. I love when they all fall asleep at the same time.
Car Games
Remember how we passed time as kids before all the technology took over? I’m still all about those games. I can’t really play along with all these games when I’m the only one who can drive, but the kids can! Drivers can totally join in on the ABC games!
- Making a list of license plates you see trying to find all 50 states.
- Car bingo cards that have the little red window you can pull across the picture that you see outside.
- Outdoor ABC game: One person says something they see outside that starts with A, the next person finds something that starts with B, and so on. Obviously all kids need to know how to spell/read to do this one.
- ABC Category game: Pick a category (animals, food, etc.). First person gets A (apple), second person gets B (banana), and so on.
- Mad Libs: As long as your kids are old enough to know nouns, adjectives, and verbs they can join in! And younger ones who don’t know those yet will still enjoy hearing the ridiculous story.
- Word Searches/Sudoku/Crosswords/Reading: All solo activities as long as you don’t get motion sickness when reading in cars.
Other
I always offer the kids to bring one stuffy and a blanket in the winter to cuddle up with in the car. Gaming units and phones are starting to show up in our car, but I limit their uses. Although long car rides were so boring for me as a child, my most vivid memories are staring out the window or laying across the back seat and looking up at the stars at night.
Taking care of me
Since the passenger seat is open, I make sure everything I might need while driving is right there next to me and easily accessible. My own snacks, my drink in the cupholder, my phone on the magnet so it’s eye-level and plugged into the car so I can speak hands-free, kids’ snacks that I can quickly pass back, Kleenex box, wipes, all the DVDs, and anything else that might be a necessity.
Check out a fellow writer’s post on road trips specifically with toddlers for more helpful tips and additional views on traveling alone!
