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Agree as a family on times when everyone can have some peace and relaxation.
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To minimize chaos, consider tying small, soft toys onto your child’s car seat.
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Driving while the kids are asleep will make road travel go more by less stressfully.
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Create a vacation scrapbook to keep the kids entertained, and to serve as a keepsake.
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Take lots of children’s stories and music on tapes, plenty of cheap toys, and new books.
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Rule of thumb: a 20-minute break for every two hours on the road -especially with little ones.
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Always keep a recent photo of your child in your wallet – in case you loose them in a crowed area, and need help in locating them
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Bring serving trays they can be used for for play dough, make puzzles on or play board games. They also come in handy when eating in the car.
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Designate a navigator each day. Another way to keep kids interested and involved in the journey, and to teach them map-reading skills at the same time
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When taking long road trips with younger children (6 and younger) have them wear diapers or pull-ups (or for older kids, goodnites) while riding in the car.
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Buy hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works or Linens ‘n Things – it works without water and is perfect for cleaning grimy, sticky hands when you can’t find a restroom.
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To help our kids remember their trip in their own words we buy postcards of the places we go and on the back of each one they write down whatever they want to remember.
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Buy or make a pocketed slipcover to hang over the back of the front seat. This will save space in the car and keep toys, games, and books in one easily accessible place.
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Buy an inexpensive camera (with flash) for children old enough to use it. The trip is then photographed from the child’s prospective. They can then later create a memory book.
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Prepare your children in advance for the trip you will be taking. You can show them on a map the route you will be taking. Even young children enjoy following the route on a map.
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Go to the dollar store and buy a bunch of cheap (age-appropriate items) toys/items and if they don’t whine, argue, complain, or attempt to hurt each other – they get prizes every 50 miles or every 45 minutes
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Wrap individual goldfish, gummi bears, and (a small amount) of M&M’s individually in aluminum foil. Small children will delight in unwrapping them to see what’s inside. (Make sure to keep a trash bag next to him, though).
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Take a little spiral notebook and ahead of the trip write down names of all the cities you will be passing through. Then on the trip, as you get to each city, point it out to them and they can check it off their list. On the way back they can work backwards.
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When traveling with children, write down the name, address and telephone number of the place you are staying at on a piece of paper, and “I’m lost, please call my parents” or something of the sort, and make sure your child carries it in his/her pocket/wallet.
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Snack-Time Tips: Juice boxes, easy-to-eat snacks, wipes, napkins and trash bags are important. Car trips are the perfect opportunity to use those Tupperware containers that are really too small to be useful at home. Be sure to prepackage each snack for each child – that way you’re not trying to pass food back and forth.
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