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Taking trips with kids can literally be the nightmare of a parent’s mind. There’s so much to pack, so much to figure out, so much chaos.
You’re not in Kansas anymore.
I remember the first time I need to pack for a trip with just one baby. I pulled out all my stuff and packed it in a bag. Personally, I like to pack light so I just had a super small bag. The started to grab the stuff that I needed for the baby and before I realized it, I had three different bags, a pack-n-play, a bag just for snacks, a booster chair, all her toys she “may need”…and more. I was exhausted and we hadn’t even started driving yet. It got worse when there were two of them.
Over the past 4 1/2 years, we’ve taken a few trips and while I definitely don’t think we are experts, I want to share with you some of our tips to keep young kids busy. Obviously, we all pray they will just sleep the entire time, but that’s never going to happen!
6 Tips to Make Long Car Rides with Little Kids Easier
- DVDs
- Listen, I’m all for minimal screen time, but this isn’t the time for that to happen. Pop in a DVD and you an usually get an hour of quiet time. Make sure that you have enough different DVDs for the length of the trip.
- Tablets with New Apps
- Again, I know, screen time. Hear me out. Sanity is more important on long rides than screen time. Balance it with keeping them off the screen the entire vacation. We love adding new apps that they haven’t seen before to their tablets so they have something that’s fun and shiny to do.
- Magnadoodles
- These are great and mess free way of fun in the car. We love asking our oldest to draw what she sees out of the window onto her magnadoodle. If she gets bored with that, we ask her to draw something specific or even to work on her writing.
- Presents
- Yup, presents! Listen, you don’t have to go broke. Walk around a find a few dollar items at Walmart. Go home and wrap them in wrapping paper. Kids love the element of surprise. If this is a really long car ride, do one present every hour and tell them when the timer goes off they can have a new one. They love it!
- Toy catalogs
- Save the toy ads from the holidays that come from Walmart into your suitcase so you have them for your next trip. When you are driving, hand your kids the catalog and a pen and ask them to go through and circle things they might like for their next birthday or holiday (whichever is closest to when you are traveling)
- Let them pick out their own special snacks.
- Preferably something they know they love and then something that is new and special.
Bonus long trip tip!
You want to make sure you get to your destination as fast as safely possible. Minimal interruptions is what you are aiming for here. There’s nothing worse than your car breaking down while your kids are in the car. Make sure before you car that your car is ready and up to the challenge of a long ride. Head over to your local Walmart auto center and get your oil changed with Pennzoil® today. While you are waiting for it to get done, you can grab your presents, let the kids pick out their own snacks, and grab any last minute vacation needs! This is especially important if you have a high mileage vehicle (over 75,000 miles). Right now Pennzoil® High Mileage Vehicle® motor oil change is on roll back to just $35.88. It helps clean out the sludge other oils leave behind, which reduces wear and tear to keep you running strong.
As we embrace for our longest car ride with them in a few weeks, I’m going to print this list to reminder my self to do them. We hope these tips to make long car rides with little kids easier lets you enjoy your next trip! With less stress you can focus on what really matters – family time!





















