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Six Tips: Surviving a Family Road Trip
Posted by DesertMama on April 25, 2008
Last week, while I was on my way to Lexington, Kentucky, my sweet husband did a pretty daring thing. He took my two preschoolers on a seven-hour road trip to Palm Desert, California to see his folks. The trip was a success. How did a dad survive such a challenge? In case you’re wondering, we do not have “perfect” kids. In fact, we are often “that” family - you know what I’m talking about.
With that said, here are the six secrets that helped DesertDaddy survive this long road trip with a two and three-year-old in the backseat:
1. DVD player. We scored some $7.99 DVDs at Wal-Mart and let’s just say the kids were as happy as the Berenstain Bears they were watching.
2. Zoobie Pets. Stay tuned for a rave review on these three-in-one critters. Zoobies are a travel-friendly plush animal, pillow, and blanket. The new Zoo Collection just came out this year. The kids don’t even want to take the short ride to the gym without them. Actually, my daughter is cuddled with hers on the couch as I type this.
3. Snacks. This one goes with out saying. But how can dad dish out snacks while he’s driving? I simply packed them each their own lunch box with their favorite snacks in Ziploc bags for easy access.
4. Water. Just say no to sugar on road trips, especially if you have a son like mine who will bounce on a trampoline for three hours after one M&M. Enough said.
5. VTech Tote N Go Laptop Plus is a terrific educational, interactive toy with an LCD screen that teaches the 
alphabet and numbers. Both of my children have their own “laptop” and it keeps the kids entertained for quite a while.
6. Finally, DesertDaddy was simply a good daddy. He stopped when the kids were hungry, required a potty break, or just needed to get out of the car. And that, my friends, is how my wonderful husband survived a seven-hour road trip with two preschoolers in tow.
April 25, 2008 at
Your husband ROCKS! Really, how many men would have taken that road trip?!
We’ve got a DVD player for our 6- and 8-year-olds, and I’m a huge fan of the $1 DVDs from Wal-mart. They are compilations of some ancient cartoons — Popeye, Betty Boop, etc. They even have a disclaimer at the beginning that something like, “We recognize that some of the scenes are not politically correct, but this was the language of the day…” Pretty entertaining, though.
April 25, 2008 at
What a brave man!
April 25, 2008 at
Great tips, DesertMama! For those long drives, we also count on some naps, and singalongs (helps that we told our older daughter that the Beatles are a “boy band”).
May 3, 2008 at
Thanks for participating in this week’s Carnival of Family Life hosted by Riley at All Rileyed Up! Be sure to drop by and check out the other wonderful submissions included in this week’s Carnival!
May 4, 2008 at
Ooh, Zoobie pets - that’s a new one! Looking forward to acquiring a few of these!
May 5, 2008 at
[...] just like this road warrior: Beth Blair tells us about her husband’s recent road trip in Six Tips: Surviving a Family Road Trip, posted at Traveling [...]
May 12, 2008 at
[...] 3. Zoobies are easy to use. When my children are ready to pull out the blanket they can do it themselves. They even helped make a successful road trip. [...]