My Top 7 Tips to Keep Your Sanity on Family Road Trips

If you didn't know already we've got a BIG family. Four kiddos in total-- 3 boys (15, 8, & 4) and a princess (2). Because of our family size we tend to go the road trip route over flying... Lord knows it is not cheap to put six people on a plane these days.

As a family we regularly drive from wherever we live at the time to Walt Disney World. When we lived in Northern Virginia it was about twelve hours. Now from Houston its usually about 16. Before my parents moved to Dallas we made several trips between Houston and Washington, DC-- 25 hours of driving! The most amazing part of it all... We do it straight through nearly every single time.

So with all this driving I constantly get the question-- how do you maintain (your) sanity on these long trips!? Well, here are some of our tips.

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• Embrace the modern world and bring plenty of electronic entertainment! We are fortunate enough to have a van with an entertainment system, so we stock up on DVD's before we hit the road. We also bring along an iPad and Leapfrog. The key is to get a good mix for your kiddos. Bring those fun kid entertainment options, but also bring along some educational stuff as well. One of the things we really like to do is play DVD's about the place we are going. This gets the entire family excited for fun time ahead! And remember, Headphones are a gift from heaven! This really goes along with #1... Get each kid a pair of headphones so you can listen to the radio and not be overtaken by kids entertainment, especially if they're each doing their own thing.... And be prepared to be entertained when the kids decide to sing-a-long!

• Make stops for kids to burn energy. Ladies just prepare your husband for stops that are NOT about getting gas. Sure that can be part of it, but the kids need to get out and burn some energy and we certainly don't want them doing that in a gas station on the side of the Interstate. Plan the drive ahead of time and plot out parks to stop at, then plug them into your Nav or Waze. Perhaps bring a ball along to play with to help them really burn some energy. Make sure these stops are always in the day time and at places with plenty of other people around.
• Every stop is a bathroom/diaper break! This will annoy the kids, but who cares! If we stop the kids are hitting the potty and baby girl is getting a new diaper. Nothing worse than getting 30 minutes down the road and hearing "mom, I have to go to the bathroom!" And, who wants to smell a fresh dirty diaper for hours while the stubborn driver refuses to pull over... Can you sense the animosity here? :-)
• Encourage traditional road trip games with fun rewards! I still love to play the license plate game and "I Spy", but the worst as a kid was the sense that they went on F-O-R-E-V-E-R! So make them short in duration, no more than 10 minutes long to break things up. And let there be a small reward for playing. Maybe a fun snack, small toy, or some extra souvenir money when you get to your destination.
• Load up on snacks! Let's face it, roadside snack stops are going to rip you off. And there is a battle for the "driving hell" award to go between a hungry, fussy kid and a hungry, fussy driver. So pack away snacks before you leave and make sure you have something for everyone. Bring along beverages as well. Put some ice in quart size ziploc bags to keep stuff cold and then use them to store trash once the ice has melted.
• Bring ear plugs for adult not driving and trying to sleep! If you have a third row don't be afraid to have the sleeping adult climb in the back to get some quiet-- many of those seats are bigger than you think in minivans. If my 6'2", 275 pound husband can sleep in the back of a Honda Odyssey comfortably chances are you probably can too! You'd be amazed at the difference just an hour of rest can give you.
• If you can, drive through the night, but do it safely!!!! We often get in the car at 8pm and take shifts driving while the kids sleep. This makes the trip much easier and the little ones are more comfortable in their PJ's! Plus they're sleeping for most of the car ride. The key though is to do this safely. So make sure whoever is driving first catches a nap before the drive begins. Usually Rob takes the first shift and he will sleep from 5pm to 8pm while I load up the car and get everyone ready. Then once we're all settled in the car I will grab some shut eye as well.

These are just some of my road trip tips. If you'd like some more ideas go ahead and contact me.

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Jenn Whitney is a travel enthusiast and mother of four. Her goal is to share her experiences and knowledge to help families plan amazing vacations around the world. Jenn is the owner of Whitney World Travel, a boutique family and luxury travel agency, and an Accredited Cruise Counselor. You can contact Jenn by e-mail at Jenn@whitneyworldtravel.com