Car Travel -

Are your family road trips relaxed rides with plenty of breaks? Or do you do car travel like a space capsule, hurtling through vast distances without a stop?

Most of us muddle through, somewhere in between. Here's tips for surviving car travel with kids.

Pace: try to allow enough time for rest stops. Two hours of car time, then a break, makes a good pattern, with young children. "Rush"is the four-letter word of Travel With Kids!

Pack: a special backpack or bag for each child, with crayons, books, toys, activity sets, stickers, handheld games-- including some new wrapped surprises for little kids. (But don't give out all the loot at once!)

Pint-sized board-games: can be a sound investment. Our favorites are Clue, Sorry, and Trouble. And a tray-- or "travel desk" suspended from the back of the front seat-- is handy, for any activity.

Pack: lots of snacks, such as fruit leathers, crackers, juice packs, treats; a small cooler, or insulated bag, for cold drinks; plastic cups; bandaids, a dishtowel; frisbee and ball for rest-stops; and baby-wipes no matter how old your kids are.

Play: stories on CD's or audiocassettes— they make the miles fly by. Play a story for the whole family on the car stereo system; or bring individual players for your kids. Visit your local library to stock up on stories.

Playrooms: Burger King and MacDonalds have great playrooms on major highways. Let the kids burn off energy while you order their food "to go" to eat later in the car.

Playgrounds: every school and most parks have them! Little limbs need to shake, rattle, and roll.

Picnics: they're fun; the kids can run around; and you save money, too. Pack your own picnic from home, or buy the fixins' at a deli or grocery store.

Potties: it's worth bringing a training pottie, if your child has need-to-go-NOW emergencies.

Pedal-to-the-metal: if you really need to hurtle from point A to B, use a DVD player or laptop, and turn your vehicle into the Cinema on the Highway.

^{*photo © Teresa Plowright}