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Road trip? OR road trip! My husband’s family road-tripped constantly when he was a kid — they loved it. Grand Canyon, Cape Hatteras, to see relatives in Pennsylvania and Colorado. For me, it’s (sinking heart)… road trip, oh, noooooooo. I get motion sick. Always have, probably always will. My kids? Also get motion sick. Let’s hope they outgrow it. My husband? Gets sick at the thought of traveling with us. Because we rock! Where are the barf bags?

So we’ve mostly flown places. Which still makes us sick, but it’s over with faster. But now, with four of us, costs are prohibitive. And when I’m sick on a plane, and cannot escape? I am praying that I will close my eyes and magically be in a car and that car will stop and I will get out and walk around.

Thus our new love of road trips. Here are some tips from Wacky Mommy, with much help from my husband, Hockey God, on the following topic:

How to Road Trip with the Kids
And Not Lose Your Head:

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1) Reward, don’t punish. Promise them something fun at the end of the day — a walk in the woods, some costume jewelry, a new travel-size board game, whatever it takes.

2) Speaking of rewards: Go easy on the sugar (sodapop, candy, cookies). Too much sugar equals carsickness and crazy mood swings.

3) Some remedies: Small sips of soda water, ginger ale or 7-up; soda crackers or gingersnaps; Sea-Bands http://www.landfallnavigation.com/-sms01.html; Benadryl, Dramamine or anything that will make you sleepy (uh, unless you’re driving!); gulping fresh air; for grown-ups: Do the driving! (I don’t get sick when I drive.) Ah, who am I kidding? Nothing helps us when we’re motion sick. Stopping the motion helps.

4) We love our mini-DVD players, and the kids can use them to listen to music, too. On headphones! No fighting! Thank you to whoever invented these, I love you.

5) Avoid the temptation to snack all day. (Pringles, anyone? I am an expert snacker.) Try to have “real” meals. Take a cooler loaded with hummus, fresh vegetables, cheese, leftover pizza, fruit, cold cuts, whatever you prefer. We slice up watermelon and bring that along, and also a bag with crackers, bread, peanut butter and jam. We always have a road kit with wet wipes, paper towels, plates, cups and plastic ware.

6) If you can, break up the trip into several days instead of a big push, and travel at night if you can.

Happy trails… and here’s to loads of fun family vacations.

[tags]kids, children, parents, parenting, road trip, vacation, tips, rewards, remedies[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by Scott Foy, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved