Summer is a great time for hitting the road and driving across Canada, visiting family and friends, and making new ones along the way. But the hardest part of the journey can be the long hours spent in the car just getting to your destination; particularly when you have a few kids in tow. It doesn’t have to be a highway to you-know-where if you plan ahead.
Determine as closely as possible exactly how long the trip will take, allowing for plenty of stops. Give the kids a realistic expectation of when you will “be there.” Answering with “just a few more minutes” when it is hours away will just cause extra frustration for everyone.
See if there are attractions or stops they would like to make along the way, and let them be in charge of doing some research prior to getting there.
This is an important one, and is good to remember if someone starts to feel a little car sick. Allow a buffer if you’re trying to get to a stop by a particular time.
Pack some healthy snacks and small water bottles to keep everyone happy and hydrated, without loading up on too many unplanned and unhealthy sweets and treats.
This can be done at participating grocery stores (where President’s Choice products are sold) and they can be used toward car games, notepads, colouring books, crayons, and decks of cards. Put them together in “treat bags” for the kids which you can either hand out at the start of the trip, or as a reward for hitting a certain milestone (Don’t forget to use your PC Financial MasterCard for gas and food while on the road, to accumulate even more points to cash in for the next trip too!).
Avoid having the kids fight over where they sit by coming up with a seating plan in advance. Whether this means rotating or set seating, advising the kids in advance can alleviate arguments later on down the road.
Go old school and give the kids some paper maps so they can follow along. Ask them “what’s next” and see if they can do their own calculations on estimated arrival times.
Play Car Bingo, making up the cards at home and getting the kids to spot cows, red cars, traffic lights, etc. Either provide small prizes or let them know in advance that it’s for bragging rights only.
Establish a family policy for electronic devices if you’re worried about too much screen time. Those with personal devices are encouraged to bring along ear buds or headphones (great device choices and accessories are available at The Mobile Shop, located at select Loblaw stores.)
If you’re leaving Canada while driving, ensure that your kids know to flip their phones to airplane mode unless you have pre-purchased a roaming plan and you’re comfortable with the added cost. The Mobile Shop’s friendly advisors can help select the most cost efficient data and roaming plans for the whole family.
Some families like to travel through the night so the kids sleep through the longest parts. While this can work quite well when they’re babies or squirming toddlers, as the kids get older, travel during the day when they can get used to longer and longer rides to farther reaching places and take in the sights, creating family memories that will last for years to come. Road trips made simple this summer.
This is proudly sponsored by our friends at President's Choice Financial®.
www.pcfinancial.ca
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