Driving with Kids

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I'm always optimistic about long family car trips. I pack a backpack full of items to enjoy with my seven-year-old son, Will — games, books, magazines, puzzles, you name it. On this car trip, I tell myself, we'll have the opportunity to do all those things we rarely get a chance to do at home.

The trip usually starts out with everyone in high spirits. The van looks huge, everything feels organized, and we're all excited about the journey ahead. Unfortunately, by the time we're actually in the car and rolling, the only thing I seem to want to do is read the latest issue of People magazine — so much for quality time.

After our first trip with our son and infant twins, I crawled out of the car — after ten hours of driving and pouring rain — feeling as though I were crawling out a bunker, absolutely shell-shocked.

Thankfully, we've since learned our lesson, and more recent trips have been much better. With some careful planning and a bit of luck, yours can be too.

Basic Survival

Car trips and plane trips are alike in many respects, in that you need to take plenty of activities, food, and drinks (check out our Family Flying Guide). Don't be tempted by the minimalist approach. On car trips, your family can haul along more stuff than you would take on a plane, and you should. You can also make stops to stretch your legs or fetch last-minute items.

A few survival tips:

• Always take extra food and drinks, even if you plan to stop for a meal somewhere. Inevitably, your kids will get hungry before you want to stop — with us, that's usually ten minutes into the trip.
• Pack strategically and place everything within arms reach. Those games and cookies won't do you much good if you can't get to them without pulling a muscle or pulling off the road.
• Make everyone go to the bathroom before you start out, and make them go again at each stop. Be Clint Eastwood like in your vigilance.
• When things gets unbearable, take a break. Find a rest stop, preferably with a large grassy area for running around, and get everyone out for walks, jumping, and stretches, whatever it takes to get the kinks and crankiness out.
• If everyone is falling apart but you're within reach of your destination, keep moving. I remember several trips with our babies in which one or more were crying. We had done everything we could to meet their needs except stop the car. But we were within an hour or less of our goal, so we kept on. Getting there was the only true solution at this point