• Home
  • About Us
  • Archives
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy

Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

  • Home
  • Toolkit
  • Parenting
    • Baby Stuff
    • Books and Reading
      • Aesops Fables
      • Comic Books
    • Education
    • Family Time
    • Green Living
    • Growing Up
    • Healthy Living & Eating
    • Holidays
    • Parenting
    • Random Musings
    • Shopping
    • Stuff to Do
  • Money
  • Product Reviews
    • Books and Magazines
    • Discount Sites
    • Furniture
    • House Keeping
    • Reviews News
    • Toys and Games

4 Road Trip Tips When Traveling with Tweens

June 23, 2022 | Leave a Comment

Road Trip Tips When Traveling with Tweens

Eight years ago, we moved from Chicago, Illinois to Tucson, Arizona. We still had family in Michigan, so we have made the road trip across 1,900 miles one way to visit family six times now. When we made the first trip, our kids were 10, 5, and 4. Our most recent trip was just a few weeks ago, and the kids are 18, 13, and 12. Traveling with them now is much easier, but regardless, the trip is a long one. We’ve learned many road trip tips when traveling with tweens. If you’re traveling with kids in the eight to 12-year-old age range, these tips may help your family survive a long road trip.

Road Trip Tips When Traveling with Tweens

Tweens are easier to travel with than younger kids, but they still can get bored quickly. Try these tips to make the trip go faster.

Make Maps for Them

I mapped out our route on Google Maps, magnified it, and printed it out. Then, I made binders for each kid with the seven pages showing the route. I put the pages in plastic page protectors and gave the kids dry erase markers. They marked on the pages as we passed areas, so they could see how much progress we had made and how much more we had to go. I also marked where we were stopping each night to make the three-day trip seem less daunting.

Have Them Pick a Fun Activity

Road Trip Tips When Traveling with Tweens

Before we left, each child researched the route and found one fun thing they wanted to do. Our favorite activity that a child picked was Cadillac Ranch in Texas. We brought along some spray paint and joined others in spray painting the upside-down cars planted in the ground. When we have driven by later, other times we are making the trip, the kids still talk about the fun they had and how weird the attraction is.

Pack Food. . .and More Food

Tweens are hungry most of the time, especially on a road trip. We pack sandwiches and chips for lunch, but we also pack A LOT of snacks. Popular snacks include beef jerky, pretzels, granola bars, squeezable apple sauce, squeezable pudding, and fruit. Make sure the kids can easily access the snacks.

Limit Stops

Our drive is so long that it takes us 10 to 12 hours of driving each day to get to Michigan in three days. Add in a fun stop, and there’s not much time for anything else.

When we stop for gas, we also use the restrooms and get out our sandwiches, if it’s lunchtime. When we combine all of our stops in one, we only stop for 10 or 15 minutes before we’re on the road again for another three to four hours. We have found Love’s Travel Centers have the cleanest restrooms.

Final Thoughts

Traveling with tweens is less stressful than traveling with younger kids, but they can still get bored and antsy on long road trips. Use these road trip tips when traveling with tweens for a smoother, more entertaining drive.

Read More

Traveling with Kids: All You Need to Know

6 Frugal Activities for Kids During Winter Break

Traveling with Toddlers: How to Bring the Kids Without Going Crazy

Melissa Batai
Melissa Batai

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.

Filed Under: Family Time Tagged With: planning a road trip, Road Trip, Travel, Travel With Children, Traveling with Children

Planning a Road Trip with a Toddler

July 22, 2015 | Leave a Comment

Planning a road trip with a toddler? If so, find out how we beat boredom, take of potty breaks, and plan snacks!This week we will be embarking on our first family road trip with our toddler!

We travelled a bit when she was a baby but now that she’s an active three ear old I suspect things will be a little different. Things like potty breaks and dealing with the ‘’I’m bored’s’’ and ‘’are we there yet’s?’’. Maybe I’m wrong but I’m certainly expecting our trip to take slightly longer with her in tow.

Potty Break Planning

Dealing with the potty breaks shouldn’t been too bad if I make sure she goes before we leave and limit her drinking in the car. I have a pretty good idea of what she can consume before she really has to go. We’re heading to an island that you can get to via bridge or ferry and we’re opting to take the ferry to break the trip up a bit. Take the ferry is also a guaranteed way to break the trip up. We’ll be able to get out of our vehicle and walk around a bit.

Taking a ferry isn’t possible for most road trips, I understand that. I have a friend who, when travelling with her (very active) son breaks up their trips by stopping at WalMart. She jokes that they’re easy to find off any major highway and a guarantee to be able to use the washroom and walk around for a few minutes. It also works with (sometimes necessary) bribes by enticing them with something small if they behave (for her son it’s usually a pack of superman stickers or bandaids). Whatever you need to do to break up your trip, planning your route ahead of time and plotting out all potential stops for emergency bathroom breaks may save your sanity!

Boredom Busters

Dealing with the boredom isn’t such an issue in 2015 with the technology that is available. It’s not unheard of for vehicles to have televisions built right in them! Since we don’t have that luxury, my husband is preloading the family tablet with child appropriate games and videos. Since she doesn’t play on the tablet often it’s usually well received when she does get time with it.

Before we break out the tablet (which is guaranteed to suck her attention) I packed a ‘’car bag’’ full of activities for her to play with. This includes a few books, a notebook for her to color in (along with markers), stickers and a coloring book that’s in a car case for her to be able to color on her lap easily. I suspect this will keep her busy off and on for a while, or until the stickers run out.

Snack Solutions

We also have snacks for the car which I’m sure will be a hit. Snack choice will vary depending on age, for us my biggest thought is mess control. At three, we’ll stick to easy finger food like blueberries, popcorn, cheese strings and crackers. Things like granola bars and yogurt are too messy in the car (at least for my kid) and I’m not interested in dealing with it quite honestly!

With a little extra planning a family road trip with a toddler can be a lot of fun but if you forget to plan for things like potty breaks it can quickly turn into a nightmare!

Any tips for planning a stress free road trip with a toddler?

Catherine
Catherine

Catherine is a first time momma to a rambunctious toddler. When she isn’t soaking up all that motherhood has to offer, you can find her blogging over at Plunged in Debt where she chronicles her and her husbands journey out of debt. You can also follow her on Twitter.

plungedindebt.com

Filed Under: Family Time Tagged With: family vacation, planning a road trip

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Basic Principles Of Good Parenting

Here some basic principles for good parenting:

  1. What You Do Matters: Your kids are watching you. So, be purposeful about what you want to accomplish.
  2. You Can’t be Too Loving: Don’t replace love with material possessions, lowered expectations or leniency.
  3. Be Involved Your Kids Life: Arrange your priorities to focus on what your kid’s needs. Be there mentally and physically.
  4. Adapt Your Parenting: Children grow quickly, so keep pace with your child’s development.
  5. Establish and Set Rules: The rules you set for children will establish the rules they set for themselves later.  Avoid harsh discipline and be consistent.
  6. Explain Your Decisions: What is obvious to you may not be evident to your child. They don’t have the experience you do.
  7. Be Respectful To Your Child: How you treat your child is how they will treat others.  Be polite, respectful and make an effort to pay attention.
Best Parenting Blogs

Copyright © 2025 Runway Pro Theme by Viva la Violette