These 6 Tips will Make Your Spring Break Road Trip Go Smoother

Posted on March 30, 2017

During Spring Break, a lot of families take the opportunity of having a week off from school to visit family or travel to various destinations by car. Before going, there are a lot of things things that must be considered, purchased and packed. Juan Carlos Daetz of Maxwarehouse, an online home improvement center that delivers products, offers these 6 Spring Break road trip tips for a safe, organized and stress free tips.

1. Schedule a Service Check on Your Car. Before you take off on a car trip, take your car for a trip to the service station for a tune up. A well-maintained car will be more reliable and safe. Check the oil, power steering fluid, windshield wiper fluid, transmission fluid, and brake fluid. Also check your tire air pressure, have tires aligned and replace if necessary. Have your brakes checked and get brake pads replaced if needed. Lastly, check your lights to make sure all are working—including headlights, high beams, brake lights, turn signals and reverse lights.

2. Pack Emergency Items. In the event of an emergency, make sure your car is well-stocked. Start with a first aid kit. Also, make sure to pack extra water and cell phone chargers. Keep the following stashed in your trunk—jumper cables, flairs, blankets, water, fire extinguisher, mini tire compressor, basic tools, rope/bungee cord, and a flashlight. Your trip will likely go off without a hitch, but it never hurts to be prepared.

3. Plan Your Accommodations in Advance. Always book hotels or make overnight arrangements ahead of time. Spur of the moment travel can be fun, but usually not when traveling as a family. Spring Breaks are a busy time and many hotels book full during this time. Planning ahead also gives you the opportunity to research the area a bit and make sure you are staying in a safe part of town. You can also make sure you get the amenities you’re looking for such as a pool for the kids, gym or continental breakfasts.

4. Bring Healthy Food & Snacks. Pack a small cooler with lots of healthy, easy-to-eat snacks so you’re not at the mercy of a gas station, convenience stores or fast food chains. Depending on where you are in the trip, you can go many miles without running into anything and end up with hungry, cranky kids which can make a long road trip even longer.

5. Road Tripping with Kids. Schedule plenty of restroom breaks along the way. Allow the kids to get out and stretch. Focus on the journey, not just getting to the destination. Make it fun by stopping at points of interest to take pictures and learn about the sites along the way. It doesn’t have to be the Statue of Liberty, kids love seeing World’s Biggest Ball of Yarn or the Corn Palace.Take along travel games, audio books, movies, art supplies, electronics, and tell stories or sing to make the time pass more quickly. The kids can scrapbook or write about the trip when they return home.

6. Childproofing for Your Destination. Whether your destination includes staying at a hotel, friend’s house or with family, bring along electrical outlet covers and travel baby gates to protect your child in a new environment. Be aware that cribs or play yards provided by hotels may not meet current safety standards. If you have any doubt about the safety of the crib or play yard, ask for a replacement or consider other options (for example, put a mattress on the floor).

Good luck parents and have a safe trip!

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Top Summer Family Road Trip Movies of 2016

Posted on May 10, 2016

We’re creeping up on Summer Vacation season. Many families will be hitting the road this summer to visit family far away, to head the coast or the beach, or amusement parks and other national landmarks. Long car trips can be trying on kids who need to be entertained. Movies are an excellent way to pass the time and keep the kids occupied.

Redbox has released its list of the Family Road Trip Movies, available on its Redbox units nationwide, and generally this Summer 2016. Check out the list. Click the first photo to start the slideshow.

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BumpNews

10 tips to make a road trip with the Kids smoother

Posted on August 3, 2014

Summer is a time that families pack the kids in the car and head out for a road trip to visit family away. If the trip takes longer than an hour or two to get to the final destination, many parents know it could be a challenge to keep the kids busy. “Are we there yet?” is a common question parents can expect to hear at least once during the trip.

To ease the anxiousness and impatience from our kids, my husband I usually aim to leave at night when they are ready to go to bed. That way they sleep for most of the trip because it is during their normal sleep hours anyway. If the trip takes more than a few hours, when they wake, we make at least one pit stop so they can stretch their legs and get some fresh air and then pepper the remaining hours with car games. Here are 9 other ways we pass time while on a road trip from a past post:

License Plates – A time-honored road trip classic, kids can compete to see who can spot license plates from the most different states. An alternative version involves scouting for unusual numbers or for a particular letter. This game has been known to last through several states’ worth of driving.
Road Trip Bingo – You can find cards for this game online with symbols of objects, vehicles, and road signs printed on them for the kids to scout out during family road trips. Play it just like traditional Bingo, marking off each item that’s spotted on the journey, until someone fills a line or the whole card.
I Spy – A more traditional, low-tech version of Road Trip Bingo, this one requires nothing more than sharp eyes. Kids can call out, “I spy a …” and others compete to identify the “target” first. It’s also a good way for the kids to appreciate the scenery as it goes by their windows.
iPod – Of course a good supply of personal tunes can go a long way in keeping the older kids pre-occupied. An mp3 player or cell phone can be just the ticket to make the long stretches on the road go by more quickly.
Unusual Attractions – Whenever and wherever possible, it helps to incorporate some interesting tourist attractions as part of your scheduled route, which will help break up the drive a bit. When planning your trip, check for any roadside oddities along the way that make for fun photo ops, like giant cow sculptures or donut-shaped donut shops.
Video Games – Parents know all too well how much time a kid can kill on those game consoles. Bring along a hand-held device or two to keep them busy. There’s an excellent chance that you won’t hear a peep out of them while driving clear across the country.
DVDs – If the family vehicle is equipped with a DVD player, you’re way ahead in the battle against boredom. Stock up with a selection of family favorites for viewing on the road and you can kill hours at a time.
Keep a Travel Journal – Encourage the kids to bring along a journal and document their adventures while on vacation. It will do much more than keep them busy, it will preserve some valuable memories for posterity too.
Read – Bring a good book assortment – either the paper or e-book variety – and let your kids get lost in some good literature. Suggest that everyone unplug for a stretch of your trip and just read quietly. Who knows, it could become a habit that extends into everyday life.

What else? Do you have any road trip advice to share?

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