Six hacks to ensure smooth travelling with kids
Are you travelling on holiday with kids in tow? Whether you're going on an extra-long road trip or just an hour's drive, these tips may help.
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Road trips with children can be exhausting and stressful, especially if you’re going on a long journey.
To help you get to your holiday destination without a meltdown, motus.cars, which offers a convenient, simple, and safe car purchase experience, provides these top hacks to help you navigate travelling with children.
Prepare your car
There is nothing worse than having your car break down along an unknown stretch of road, in the middle of nowhere. Before heading off to your holiday destination, ensure that your car battery is fully charged, your tyres are properly inflated, and check all fluid levels.
Plan your seating
Whenever you embark on a road trip, it is essential that all children under the age of three are safely secured in a car seat. It’s best to use a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible – until your child is at least 15 months old. Remember that older children (under 13 years) should ride in the backseat.
Put together a first aid kit
Put together a road trip first aid bag with basic goods such as Band-Aids, pain relievers, and antiseptic wipes. These necessities can be placed in a Ziploc bag and stored in the glove compartment.
Even if your children have never been car-sick before, they can still be hit by nausea on a road trip. You’ll need nausea essentials such as anti-nausea bracelets (Sea-Bands are clinically proven to relieve motion sickness), some empty grocery bags to catch the vomit (gross, we know, but essential), and some wet wipes for a quick refresh.
Download Apps, Audiobooks, and Podcasts
Download applications, audiobooks, and podcasts for your children via your home’s Wi-Fi to avoid using up data when travelling. This will not only prevent data overages, but it will also provide you with additional entertainment options when your children start asking, “are we there yet?”
Pack lots of snacks
A hungry child is an unhappy child. Ensure that your kids have a variety of healthy snacks.
Bring along headphone splitters
Rather than charging and packing separate tablets for everyone, bring a headphone splitter so your children can watch the same movie on the same device.
Children are naturally curious, adorable balls of energy, making car trips more challenging for moms and dads. Putting their favourite movie on a tablet is a great way to keep them entertained while you keep your eyes on the road.
Most tablets are compatible with common car mounts, which place the tablet in an optimal viewing position for rear-seat passengers. You can manually transfer videos to the tablet, or you can use iTunes, Netflix, or Amazon Video to download movies and videos for your children to watch offline.
Investing in a multi-headphone splitter for each child means they can use their own wired headphones plugged into just one tablet.