Family Travel Tips- Let the Fun Begin

Traveling with kids can be a very enjoyable vacation or it can be a visit through the land of insanity.  If you are a  parent, you surely know what we are talking about. You have no doubt searched high and low for the best [tag-cat]family travel[/tag-cat] tips prior to heading out across the great unknown with their darling children in tow.  The constant banter of arguments in the back seat, one sibling repeatedly touching the other or the other siblings invading the “invisible line” of the other siblings side of the car, can continue until the your eyes want to cross. 

Since sending them to their room is not an option while traveling, being prepared is your only defense.  Games of license plate and state sign alphabet are great for older kids that can read but the young travelers often find that they have nothing to do but whine and cry.  The following suggestions won’t make your [tag-tec]family trip[/tag-tec] any shorter but they might make it peaceful and enjoyable for the kids, and more importantly for you!

You have got to beat the little rascals at their own games, and to do this you need to take control over the back seat while still driving the car.   Your secret weapon is one that a parent can buy at any shopping mall or electronics store, the mini DVD player.  The gift of silence is golden when traveling with young children on a long road trip.  Even parents who hate the amount of television their children watch on a daily basis may find the idea of owning a traveling DVD player more palatable than listening to their children whine.  

As with all that is good, while on the long road trips with children, they will soon tire of the DVD player as well, so variety must be provided to encourage the tiny tots to get along with one another.  As [tag-ice]family travel tips[tag-ice] go, the arts and crafts shoebox is a project that can be made at home and left in the car for just such occasions.  

Creation is quick, easy and cheap.  First, take a shoe box, a long piece of elastic, blank paper (cut to fit inside the shoebox), crayons, pencils, pens, small ruler, stencils and any other small items for arts and crafts that are child friendly for arts and crafts in a vehicle while driving.  Cut two small slits (a bit smaller than the width of the elastic) in the lid of the shoebox.  Be sure to make the cuts at each side of the width on one end only, leaving the length complete.  Once the cuts are made, take the elastic and string it through both holes.  Tie a knot or sew the two ends together on the inside of the box lid.

The elastic works as a holder to keep the sheets of paper in place while your child uses the lid of the box as a drawing table.  The box should be completely assembled when in use as the lid is stronger when on the correctly place on the box.  The box itself holds all supplies inside, the art box is complete within itself; it provides, table, storage and security tab to hold art paper in place during the artist’s creative expression.