Traveling with kids in the car can be frustrating at times. How many times have you threatened to pull the car over? I once had to pull a car over because of my child’s behavior. I put my hazards on to deal with what was happening in the back seat. The next thing you know, I had a cop at my window making sure everything was alright. That got my children’s attention. I wanted to shout, “No! Everything is not alright. My kids are driving me crazy.” I want to equip you with 5 tips to make car rides with kids easier so you don’t have a cop banging at your window the next time you have to pull over because your kids are misbehaving.
5 Tips to Make Car Rides with Kids Easier
- Engage Them – I know for me the car can be a place where I just want to zone out and be in my own mind. However, I have found that when I choose to disengage from my kids things start to self-destruct. I have written a post about 10 simple ways to engage young kids in the car that should be helpful. It is the art of distraction, and it happens when you are being intentional about connecting.
- Use Motivators – Yes, I believe children should learn to behave without constant rewards. We do want things to become internally driven in terms of behavior. That said, I do believe there are appropriate times to give motivations. Longer road trips are made more peaceful in our home when we pull out a few tricks that help inspire the behavior we want. Here are some of my favorite mom hacks when it comes to longer travel times with kids: Use Tickets to Count Down Time, Pack a Surprise Bag, Quarter Reward System, and Timed Interval Rewards. You can also promise a little car screen time if they are able to make the ride pleasant for a given amount of time. There are a few reasons I don’t see a problem with doing rewards. 1) We don’t do it all the time. This is reserved for special occasions, like sanity on long trips. 2) Life is full of rewards for good work. 3) We like to celebrate good behavior. 4) It works.
- Make a Kid Centered Music Play List – Music is a great way to appease the whole car. Kids can sing along and enjoy the music that appeals to them. I prefer not to have them in headphones, as I think it can isolate rather than become a family bonding time. Therefore, I like to choose playlists we can all enjoy. Kids music can be annoying, so I would find something you enjoy too. In our car, we all like the Disney Pandora station, Seeds Family Worship CD’s that turn scripture into song or a Chris Tomlin Pandora station.
- Get a Map – Do those things even exist anymore? A paper map? When I was a kid, my parents loved handing me a map on road trips. I loved following along with a highlighter and marking off our progress. Not only does this activity keep slightly older kids entertained, but it is a great learning experience.
- Be Prepared – Have your car and your kids packed and ready for the journey. Have they all hit the toilets before the road? Pack car-friendly snacks for the journey. Prepare them by telling them your expectations for behavior or informing them how long the trip will last. Have engaging activities for them to do in the car like road Bingo games, coloring books or reading books. Making sure your car has baby wipes, water bottles, and a change of clothes is another good way of being prepared. You also want to have the right car seat that is comfortable and safe for your child.
The Benefits of Having an Evenflo Advanced Transitions 3-in-1 Booster Car Seat
My husband and I are huge proponents of convince, functionality and cost effective living. That is something we love about having a car seat that transitions into the three stages of your child’s car riding experiences after he or she graduates from the back facing carseat. The Evenflo Advanced Transitions carseat will be the last carseat you have to buy. How good does that sound? We love it. These seats are super comfortable and yet sleek in design. They are available for pre-sale purchase at Walmart for an affordable price, and remember that this carseat grows with your child, so it will be a one time purchase. Here’s a little video to introduce you to this carseat.
One thing that I love is the quicker installation install. Trying to find the hooks every time to clip the carseat in place can be challenging. With their new technology, the process becomes quicker and easier to install, which any mom with experience juggling kids and seats knows is a huge bonus. Just see how it works in this picture:
My son has currently reached the 40 pound mark. Theoretically, he could be in the belt positioning booster or the no back booster. We do a no back booster when he is going for short trips in other people’s cars for the ease. However, we still keep him the five point harness because it is the safest option. The good news for us is that we just start to remove parts of this current carseat as he makes the transition.
For those of you interested in the Evenflo Advanced Transitions 3-in-1 Booster Car Seat, I have prepared a quick glance carseat guideline with the weight and height requirement for each stage. I hope this is super helpful as you are transitioning your kids from one stage to the next.
I hope these ideas for keeping kids entertained as well as exposure to a great 3-in-1 Booster Car Seat has been helpful as you try and navigate your crew on the roads of this world.
Evenflo® is taking extended use and comfort to the next level with the introduction of the Advanced Transitions 3-in-1 car seat. Visit Evenflo.com for more information.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Evenflo®. The opinions and text are all mine.
