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Road Trips With Preschoolers

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A Few Ideas on How to Survive

We recently drove cross-country with our preschooler. Seven hard days on the road yet we managed to survive. You can too. I'm going to let you in on some of the things that worked for us as well as pass along some advice to avoid problems we had. Preschoolers are pretty unpredictable at times so its important to prepare ahead of time, thinking about what your little one likes and doesn't. Pack at least one bag with items to entertain on the road, but remember - keep it fresh by only pulling out one or two things at a time. Now, let's hit the road to some family road-tripping advice.

Books - Great for the Car or Hotel

Preschool is a great time for entertaining with crayon and paper. Kumon produces a variety of workbooks that my daughter enjoyed along with coloring. Check out these titles. Maybe you'll find something that your child can really get into.

Stickers and Other Activities

Try to rotate your child's activities so that they don't get bored. Color for a while, then pull out the stickers. Switch to some age-appropriate activity books. Watch for the early signs of boredom and take action.

Car Entertainment Electronics

No one wants their child to become a vegetable from watching too much television but let's face it, there will come a time in every family's cross-country drive ... well, let's just say survival of the family unit may depend upon being able to whip out that trusty Disney DVD.

Give Them Something to Watch

The Netflix module has been phased out. You should edit your lens and try adding an Amazon module instead!

Don't Forget the Non-Driving Time Too

After spending all day watching movies, coloring, drawing, putting stickers on every visible inch of their car-seat, your toddler probably isn't going to want to do more coloring or movie watching when the day's driving is over. Problem is you're probably exhausted too.

If at all possible, keep each day's driving to a child-friendly number of hours. We were at our best when we did only 6 hours a day.

Eat meals in sit-down restaurants. Most importantly though, try to find something to do at each day's destination to entertain your preschooler. If nothing else, try to get a hotel on the out-skirts of town so that you can play ball in a vacant field or on hotel grounds.