When planning a trip with kids the rules are all different. The schedule changes when you have kids and pets, but if you follow my general guidelines then you should still have a very comfortable trip.
When taking a road trip with kids, plan to stop every 2 hours. Get kids out of the car seats and encourage everyone to use the bathroom or change diapers. You should plan to drive about 500 miles in a day. This will be about 6 hours of driving. Beginning the trip very early in the morning works well for some families. Do not drive through the night.
Most collisions happen between the hours of midnight and 6am. These collisions are often caused by the dangerous practice of drowsy driving. If you have 2 drivers, or you have experience driving all night, then it may be a safe idea for your family.
I recommend that if you want to drive while the kids sleep, you leave in the early morning hours, not overnight.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids do not spend more than 2 hours in a car seat without a break.
The concern is positional asphyxia. This is more likely to happen in infants. The younger the child the more frequent the breaks should be.
Those are the major concerns for a safe road trip with kids, but there are a few other things to consider for a more enjoyable trip.
How to Have a Great Road Trip with Kids
Set expectations
Make sure you tell you kids where you will be going and how long it will take to get there.
Let them know they will be in the car for a long time. Tell them you will stop and play a few times, but you will have to get back in the car.
Some parents like to put a visual countdown somewhere in the car or give a small surprise each hour so the kids can see that you are making progress.
Older kids can be given a map or be told the time the family will arrive, or stop next.
Be prepared for car sickness
Kids who have never experienced car sickness may become sick when on a long trip.
I have seen twice in my own family that giving a kid a phone in their carseat can provoke car sickness in a child who has never thrown up in the car before.
We choose to use a portable DVD player in the car, and not often when we are driving.
Even if you have never had any car sickness, be sure to pack a sealable container that has paper towels and a change of clothes inside.
Gym shorts and a big t-shirt will probably work for anyone. The sealable container can become a bowl to throw up in if necessary.
Plan stops ahead of time
I love using Google Maps to find great rest stops on the fly, but with kids you should have a few pre planned stops as well.
We found an amazing playground on the trip to Missouri and that has become a regular stop that the kids look forward to.
If your kids like to know what is going to happen ahead of time then this is even more important.
Trash Bags and Car vacuums
DON’T FORGET TO PACK TRASH BAGS!
I’m sorry to yell, but I have forgotten them before and it was a mistake.
Trash bags stored in the car are so useful for things like wet clothes, a quick clean out or a diaper explosion. I grab the large kitchen size with handles to tie it closed.
The best hack I have is to grab a car vacuum. I have two. One is very small with a rechargeable battery and the other plugs into the vehicle. I use both for different things.
Whatever you do, get one.
Just the other day I had to move the car seats to get my sister’s kids in and I could just plug in the vacuum and clean up that unsightly mess.
SO HANDY.
Is it safe to drive 12 hours with kids?
Driving for 12 hours in one day is not advised. Unless you are able to split the driving between two drivers, it is not safe.
Plan to stop every two hours to get out and stretch your legs. Allow kids to get out of their car seats and monitor their head positions. The danger here is that they may slump down in their carseats and impede their breathing. Children under 1 should be monitored very closely as they are at a higher risk of positional asphyxia.
Be sure that the driver is well rested and if they become tired, pull over right away.
Car seat safety is a huge deal. It is important that you are following all the manufacturers instructions when installing the carseats and be sure you are familiar with height and weight guidelines.
Driving is pretty dangerous if you think about it. Statistically it is one of the most dangerous things we do, so be sure to do everything you can to be as safe as possible when traveling by car with your family.
If you are driving the big van like I am, be sure to check out this crazy post I wrote about how to position your seats in a 12 or 15 passenger van for max safety.
How far should you drive in a day?
As a general rule you should plan to drive no more than 300 miles a day on a multiple day road trip. Plan to stop every 2 or 3 hours for maximum enjoyment of a road trip. Take the time to enjoy the journey, stop at local restaurants or attractions. Driving more than this is likely to be stressful and uncomfortable.
This is a recommendation that comes from a personal experience of driving 600 miles each way on my family vacation.
I have driven past NYC dozens if not hundreds of times and I have never seen any of it.
Take the time to stop and see things, it does not need to be an overnight, just a drive by and a drive thru can be really meaningful.
On our last really long trip we stopped at Raisin Cane’s for chicken tenders. This was a really simple stop, but such a fun memory and delicious chicken!
I have a few resources to help you plan when and where to stop. If you are not used to planning this way, check out the resources in this post.
If you want to see a super organized trip in action, no one did it better than Andrea Mills, she was an amazing lady!
How do you plan a long road trip with multiple stops?
If you generally drive straight through then you might need some inspiration and guidance for how to plan those stops.
I wrote a whole post about how to plan the stops on a trip.
There is a free printable worksheet to help you lay out the days of your trip. I think it will be worth your time.
When you are home from this amazing adventure, be sure to document it in an interesting way. I have quite a few ideas in this post.
