How to Enjoy Road Trips with Young Kids

“Am I making the most of my time on earth?” 

Katie Mueller posed this question in Traveling with Your Family. She went on to say “I find traveling to be a very valuable and worthy experience to include in family life . . . I think God used traveling with His children . . .”

Have you ever noticed how much traveling takes place throughout the Bible?

Believers are continuously strengthened, encouraged, and glad when a fellow brother or sister in Christ visits them face-to-face.This was true thousands of years ago and it is still verifiable today. 

Each journey over land and sea offered the opportunity for participants to grow in faith and, as believers, we know we are on a journey through this life, ultimately on our way to Heaven.

“For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14 NIV)

As we are passing through this world, my prayer is to have joy in this journey. Traveling is one small piece of life that adds joy to our family’s journey!

Some of our favorite memories every year are family sleepovers with out-of-state friends. 

We sacrifice a bit of sleep and a few of our own preferences, but being inconvenienced is well worth the gain of rich memories, treasured conversations, and joy-filled experiences!

I like to collect memories and collecting memories through family travel has enriched our lives. (Bonus: taking pictures and revisiting them from time to time allows the memory to keep on growing, leading to an even greater return-on-investment.) 

Managing our attitudes is hugely influential in the enjoyment level of our trips . .  .

We are only in control of our own attitudes and traveling teaches us to be flexible and positive. These are invaluable lessons for our children and for ourselves.

For instance, when one of our kids threw up while riding through the mountains and we had no place to pull over safely, we had to say “Every trip has to have a low! This is it!” Another time when another daughter threw up from car sickness on the way to the airport, it was helpful in the moment to separate ourselves from the experience and envision us laughing as we looked back while telling this ridiculous story someday. (Why do these stories always involve vomit?!) 

When it comes to attitude, a simple prayer and specific request helps me center my mind back on Jesus. Even in frustrating situations and especially in the midst of disappointing circumstances, Jesus is the BEST at turning sorrow into joy (See John 16: 16-22 ESV). 

Turning our daily sorrows into joy is one small glimpse of what He does on a grander scale in His greater story of rescue and redemption!

Travel is not frivolous; it is a worthwhile endeavor. When we approach it with a heart that is eager to experience all God has for us, we get to learn some significant lessons along the way!

When we began adding children to our own family, Mark and I were living hundreds of miles away from both our families of origin and most of our friends, so we came into parenting resolved to travel with our children, regardless of their age. 

We proactively chose the mindset that we would not allow excuses to rob us of the possibility to travel.

We encouraged each other (and still have to encourage one another) that in every phase, it would not be easy, but it would be worthwhile. It would not always feel comfortable, but it would stretch and grow us. It may be challenging, but we were committed to doing it! 

Some phases have been more wild than others (One trip I remember having a 2 year old on my lap and a baby in my belly during a long flight, while we simultaneously supervised our other 4 and 5 year old daughters . . . it was memorable!) But I believe our children get valuable practice with every trip and hopefully they are learning just as many lessons as we are! 

Either way, the large dose of both quantity and quality time bonds us in a way we don’t notice as starkly during day-to-day life. 

Travel memories provide easy conversation starters as we reflect back on shared experiences. Even after we return home, we get to dream and anticipate our next adventure together. 

Family travel is not going to be something that just happens effortlessly. We have to think about it, prepare financially, plan for it logistically, and do the work. 

Whenever I hear a “what” and “why,” my brain instantly asks “how?” So, here are 4 simple tips to get you started for planning your next traveling adventure with your family.

These 4 things accompany us now on every road trip: 

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Brown bags. I met a mom through church who has children older than our own. (Those moms always have the best ideas!) Rachel recommended giving these to our kids throughout the travel day with surprises inside. 

She used to purchase new items at the dollar store and wrap them up for her son. I still haven’t been organized enough to purchase items ahead of time, but the novelty is still possible when you wrap up items from home! 

Sometimes, I will wrap up toys or books or art supplies the girls haven’t seen in a while and they are delighted to be reunited with something they haven’t played with for months. We even keep a bin in the basement full of toys only available for road trips and Church bags. See this post for more details about a system for organizing toys. Other times, I wrap up snacks in the brown bag and they enjoy the surprise element of opening their “present.” 

On a recent road trip, we gave the girls one brown bag every hour and that toy or snack was the only thing they could play with until the next bag appeared. This worked better than when we have given them an entire backpack full of books and toys to use at their leisure. 

Their creativity grew as their options narrowed.  

Surprisingly, their attitudes also were more peaceful and positive when they were given fewer options. Contentment oddly was more attainable when they had access to less. (Good life lesson for me). 

A side benefit was our van stayed clean! The girls also worked on their negotiating skills as they swapped toys with their sisters to pass the time 🙂 

As our daughters got a little bit older, one sister-in-law, Cady, suggested Dum-Dums. We typically limit sugar and candy, so these are a real treat! Now our daughters associate road trips with Dum-Dums.

 I like how long this candy lasts and contains less sugar, compared to other treats. 

Sometimes, this can make the van feel a little more peaceful for a few moments because noise levels lower when little mouths are occupied. 

*Disclaimer: This is only helpful when it is appropriate for your child’s age and ability to properly eat a sucker without choking. You know your child best and can determine when it is safe to give them a Dum-Dum. 

These are my favorite stickers for road trips! Even the littlest hands can manage these as they develop their fine motor skills or older siblings can assist younger ones by peeling these off the page or helping them position it to stick to their paper. 

Most kids enjoy stickers . . .  I still love stickers! Our girls love to keep these in a mini notebook so they can enjoy the stickers over and over again, instead of putting them on a piece of paper to instantly throw away. 

So it passes time to put the stickers on and then provides artful entertainment to flip through their carefully crafted notebook, which is now full of color and texture!

I saved my favorite item for last. So far, for ages 1-7, the best road trip accessory for little ones is a storage clipboard. We were gifted one of these from my sister-in-law, Tammy, and we instantly bought one for the rest of our children to open on their next birthday. 

These clipboards provide endless possibilities and make art possible to take on the go. Art improves the kid’s mood, keeps their attention, and improves their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. 

There are hours of fun packed in this compact space. 

Items we love to fill our clipboards with include: this paper, activity books, markers, paint markers, washi tape, sticker books, and Color Wonder paper and Color Wonder markers for the youngest kids.

I hope these products make your next trip a little more enjoyable!

The Bible is so applicable to everyday life, even when it comes to the idea of traveling. 

I envision John as he wrote this letter and I empathize with him as he longs to be with his friends. I can’t read these verses without thinking of our dear friends who do not live closeby . . . it illustrates that letters or emails or texts are not the same as embodied experiences of being together face to face: 

“I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.” (3 John 1: 13 +14 NIV)

I pray this moment has inspired you to travel with your own family or friends. Will you post pics of your adventures below?

Love to you,

Laura