Last week, my family and I took a road trip to the beach. We traveled from Texas to Florida. It's about a 6 hour drive, but we split it into 2 days. We've taken at least one road trip every year since my little guy was born and every year I learn something new. In this episode, I'm sharing 4 of my favorite tips for making vacations.
Going on vacation means a change in routine, which can be tough for little ones. To help ease the transition, involve your child in the planning process. Talk about the trip, create a countdown, and read about vacations together. This will help prepare your child for the upcoming change. You can also search your destination website and talk about activities you plan to do and things you want to see! We choose several activities of interest and have our little guy choose something he thinks looks fun!
Keeping toddlers entertained in the car can be tricky. Fun road trip activies like I Spy, Scavenger Hunt, and Spot the Animal are great ways to practice communication skills and expose them to language concepts.
Here's the deal- while these activities are great and will help pass some time, they may not sustain a toddler (or preschoolers) attention for very long. It's also important to have a back up activity planned. If you have to give your child a screen before the road trip is over, it's okay! You're still doing a great job.
No expectations are good expectations. If you can go ahead and tell yourself that things are going to get chaotic before you even leave the house- you're already ahead of the game. Road trips and vacations get all of us off our routines and can lead to frustrations and just being tired. If you tell yourself ahead of time that the kids are going to get tired of riding in the car, they're probably going to whine, will be tired but unable to take a nap, and just want out of the car… you'll be ready when it happens. (see: back up activities)
Finally, and most importantly, HAVE FUN! Family vacations and summer road trips are supposed to be fun. They're not supposed to be fun the whole time (because, reality) but you should be having more fun than anger and frustration. If you find yourself being more stressed out than happy- re-evaluate situation. Do we need a nap? Is someone hungry? Do they want to do something else? Am I expecting too much?
When you can find the root of the problem, you can create a solution!
Don't let anxiety or boredom ruin your family vacation – let me help you make your next trip a success! Check out these road trip activities that include a social story designed to help children understand and prepare for the journey, from packing to reaching the destination. This resource covers everything from what vacation means to how to prepare for a car ride, plane ride, or even a cruise ship journey.