How to Survive Long Car Journeys with Children

How to Survive Long Car Journeys with Children

Travelling and exploring the world with your family can be a wonderful experience but the actual journey with young children is not always the most fun… If you’ve been on a long haul flight or a long car journey with young kids, you know what I mean.

It can be boring and uncomfortable for the children (and the parents!) to be in a car for so long. Here’s how to survive long car journeys with children:

• Choose the time carefully

If you can, choose to travel at a good time for your children. Opt for when they’d normally be asleep if they sleep well in their car seats. Early mornings or in the evening are good options for this. Then you don’t need to worry about toilet breaks, entertainment and snacks while they’re sleeping. For really long journeys, it might be worth planning a stopover somewhere.

• Snacks

Speaking of snacks — pack plenty for the whole family so that you don’t need to stop and find expensive roadside supplies. Choose drinks and snacks that can be eaten without causing too much mess and something that’s not a choking hazard of course. Pack flasks of coffee for yourself or iced coffee if you prefer. A small cool bag is very handy to keep things organised and chilled.

• Entertainment

For babies and toddlers, some soft toys and soft books are great while older children can join in with family games like I Spy or play with smaller toys that you can easily take with you. Some kids get carsick when looking down though — you know your child best.

Technology is great for travel and if you install a seat mount on the headrest in front of your child they can watch a film or a TV-show while you travel.

This snakebyte Switch SEATMOUNT can be used for Nintendo Switch, smaller tablets (7″ and 10″) and smart phones. It’s got an adjustable angle and fits standard car seats. Don’t forget to pack your cable and a car charger!

• Stretch Your Legs

You don’t want to make lots of stops as they add time to the journey, but you will have to make a few. You’ll need to make toilet/nappy change stops and stop to eat and it’s also good to just stand up and stretch your legs for a few minutes here and there.

• A Goal

Have something planned for the end of the journey. It might just be arriving home or checking into your hotel. If it’s not bedtime for everyone at the time of arrival, plan a takeaway meal or a meal out (with some wine for the parents!) to look forward to after a long drive.

Features gifted snakebyte samples.