I had a couple of readers ask about traveling with all these kiddos. Those of you who know us in real life, know we travel A LOT. Some of you think we are slightly crazy. Some of you KNOW we are. 😉
While I prefer to go places as an entire family, there are times when life necessitates I go places with the entire family…minus my husband. Now according to my brother, THAT does not mean I am ALONE, but according to me, it does. (My blog. My definition. 😉 )
I’ve blogged before about Packing for a Day Trip, but what about a longer trip that involves an overnight stay? How are things different when I am traveling alone? How do we, as a family, keep things sane when we stay somewhere overnight? This post and the next will try to answer those questions for you.
So, this is Part 1…
How I travel alone.
Simple answer:
I don’t.
(That is, unless I have to.)
So, now you know the truth. I am a wimp. I don’t even like to go to the grocery store alone! But just last week, I had to go out of town with all the kids in tow.
I’ll admit, for the first few miles I seriously considered turning around and coming home. But, I pushed past that feeling (which is really an odd place for me to be since I used to travel a lot with all the kids by myself. Oh wait, that was when I had fewer children…could that be my hangup?)
I’ll tell you it does help tremendously to have a big kid along! Bathroom breaks, stops for food or drinks, and staying awake during a long afternoon of driving are made 100 times easier with a big kid sitting next to you!
So, here’s a quick rundown of how we travel…
In the van:
Sometimes we have a cooler with drinks and food in it. I wasn’t that well prepared this last time, but I must admit when we do this, it is a huge help! Think easy and tidy. Cheese sticks, vanilla wafers, beef jerky, water bottles, and the like. You can also throw a wet washcloth in a zippy bag in there.
ALWAYS assign a bigger kids to sit next to a smaller kid. We do not really have enough big kids to go around, but I’m happy as long as the toddler and baby are taken care of.
Each child has personal property they are responsible for. Sometimes I allow a backpack they can fill with whatever they want. Sometimes they can only take 2 things with them on the trip. This is usually dependent upon how much room we have. No matter what, they are responsible for the care of those things and the tidying up of those things. (The toddler and baby are at my mercy when it comes to toys…or whatever they can bum off an older sib 😉 )
Everyone knows to quiet down when mama says QUIET. If I am in heavy traffic or high winds or some other tense situation, I need as much quiet as they can muster. My oldest helps to enforce this. I’m not mean about it, just matter of fact. If you don’t obey, there are consequences that come later like no treat when we stop or a toy taken away.
On the road:
Everyone takes the restroom breaks…even if they think they don’t need it. We sometimes do this altogether, but most of the time, I take the girls in and then when I come back, Blake takes the boys in. Everyone has a buddy no matter what. No one…not even mama, goes in alone. This is something I learned from some friends of ours. Doing things in pairs is just plain safer.
Avoid getting caught unprepared. My purse holds 1 diaper for each child in diapers as well as a small case of wipes. I keep a small amount of cash, a pen and paper, and other random things in there. That way, I can grab just my purse when we go in somewhere, rather than lugging in the diaper bag as well.
Try to do the bulk of your traveling at nap time. Need I say more?
Play games. We love travel games and it keeps me awake and the kids calm.
I think one reason our family likes to travel so much is because we actually enjoy each other’s company! Half the battle is you own attitude. Conquer that, and you’re sure to have a better road trip!
Now, it’s your turn! When you travel alone with all the kiddos, what kinds of thing do you do to make the traveling easier?
Jamerrill Srewart says
Yes, the way we travel has changed as our family size has increased. (We traveled full-time for a year, while homeschooling, w/ my hubbys job – only 3 kids then:-) Now, even a shopping trip has to be “well planned.” When I do my once-a-month grocery shopping, yes all the kids come too, but so does my hubby ( good man.) Also, for our long distance travels, like DC coming up, I try to take another adult if my hubby can’t go. Your right, those older kids are a wonderful blessing too! I pair up my 10 year old w/ the 2 yr old – HUGE HELP! Great post as always lady 🙂
Clara says
I only have two, as you know… But we have a selection of books, a stuffed animal each, and a notepad and a pencil case of colour pencils that stay in the car all the time. If they want to bring an extra thing along, they just have to grab it on the way out. We also take water bottles – and if I’m well prepared, we take a snack. Games are popular for us too – and occasionally a story on CD or something like that. 🙂
corine says
I am the second of 8 children in my family… and we traveled JUST LIKE YOU DO! We were always paired up; and as a big sister… I LOVED IT! I will forever be thankful to my parents for haveing a bundle of us! 😀
Corine 😀
Andi says
I read your blog all the time, I don’t normally comment, but I just have to on this one! I would consider myself an expert on traveling with kids. Many of the times it is “alone” with kids. Last Summer the kids and I traveled from Northern Minnesota out to Oregon to visit my family. It is a 4 day drive each way, I was 6 months pregnant with out #7 when we left home, we were gone for a month, and I had a broken CD player in the car… we had such a good time. Everyone thought I was NUTS! I still have no idea why. We had fun. I will share my strategy with you if anyone wants to hear what works for us.
Andi
Amy says
Feel free to share here in the comments! 🙂
Tonya says
Andi, you are amazing!!! I am terrified of taking all 5 of my kids on a 14 hour drive by myself (I really want to go visit my parents, but my husband hasn’t been able to get off work). One of my biggest fears though is just being too tired to drive!! Definitely give us your tips!
Andi says
Sorry I didn’t reply sooner….sick kids…
I was afraid of being tired too, but it usually was not an issue once we got going. On this last trip however I was tired on the way home. go figure..I was 7 months pregnant by then and had been a single parent on vacation for a month. I also loose 1 hour every day of the trip because of the crossing times zones on the way home. Anyway, on the 2nd day I could NOT keep my eyes open and was really afraid I would fall asleep. I don’t drink caffine so that is not an option. I pulled over at one of those quite “no service” type of exits and told the kids in a very serious voice that mommy was VERY tired. I told them they could look at books or draw quietly for a few minutes util I woke up. If they could not handle that then we would find a hotel at the next stop and be done for the day (one with no pool-because of course I was too tired) and that would add one extra day of travel…or we could risk me falling asleep and getting in an accident. It sounds a bit harsh to mention the possibilty of an accident – but it was complete truth and I needed them to behave. They were very quit. I nodded off for about 20 min. and that is all I needed and the rest of the day went fine! Does that help your fears any? I will try and post a bit more later. That is all I have time for right now.
My biggest fear the first time I went alone was how to manage getting in and out of hotels and all our stops with 3 very small children. I did most of my planning based on that concern and it worked so well that we still travel that way now even if My husband is with us (and we have 7 kids now). I’ll share that next chance I get.
Stephanie says
I glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t like to grocery shop with my kids!(4 under 6years old) LOL! We try not to do the DVD thingM we only have one player and not everyone can see the screan so it usually ends in disaster. Instead we bring books on CD’s and childrens praise music for them to sing along to. We share most of the same rules you do. Magna Doodles are good for the car too because the kids can draw without coloring the windows, seats, etc. Can’t wait for the next post!
Tonya says
Amy, great post! I’m eager to read all the comments!
Karrie says
We do lots of trips to my parents, which is about a 5 hour drive. I do it by myself with my 3 kids and every time it gets easier. We have 2 DVD players with headphones and we use them sometimes. Usually only if I have had enough and need some quiet time. I sometimes buy little toys from the dollar tree and throughout the trip I give them a new little something to play with. We usually pack food and snacks. The kids know where I stop for potty breaks and know they have to wait till I get there. At one of the potty breaks we usually stop and walk to the pond or river to watch and run a little. Thanks for your post Amy, I enjoyed it!
We use books on tape and fun music CD’s. We play I-spy, try to do the alphabet with liscence plates. Things like that!
Jenn says
With 4 kids under 5yrs old we have found that “practice makes (almost) perfect” for traveling. I don’t want to be testing out new skills on a cross-country drive! No, we can’t practice 12-16hr trips but we do little practice sessions quite often. We go on Mystery Drives where Daddy & Mommy choose the destination and the kids ride along to see where it leads -we don’t usually let them take entertainment(sometimes maybe a doll or book) and they have learned a lot about just riding quietly and looking out the window -or just interacting as a family. These drives are usually 1-2hrs and are some of our favorite family time. I also grocery shop with all 4 kids alone every week -it’s good practice for all of us, me included(!) at how to stay together & manage well when we’re out & about! I have found that MY attitude is what makes or brakes our trips -no matter how long or short they are. If my heart and mind are in the right place as I respond to (and lead my kids) it is much easier for me to help my kids do well on a trip. We are looking forward to our first big trip of the year in early May 🙂 12hrs out to E.PA then road-trippin’ it back to MI over a week’s time visiting friends and attending family members graduations -fun times!
Laney Homan says
Great post. most of my traveling while we were in seminary was “alone.” Though I will admit that it did slow down significantly after #4.
I wanted to add that everyone these days seems to have dvd players in their vehicles…my sister gave us one for Christmas a couple of years ago and I noticed that my kids bickered WAY more in the car with this. I don’t know why other than movies were more of a “normal” activity. We play lots of games and I really like to travel with audio books for the family. I also bring along “kid” music that we don’t listen to when my husband it along. 😉
Amy says
We don’t have a DVD player and I am pretty sure we never will (hope that doesn’t come back to bite me!). Ty is really big on taking in the scenery, so he is constantly pointing things out to the children. Sometimes I wonder if they would just become dependent on the DVD player. 😉
Justine says
I am a single mom and I love to travel. I took my 2 birth children to Washington D.C. when they were 3 and 6 (we live in OK so it is a LONG way.) I have also taken them to Michigan by myself. Last summer we went to Minnesota (about 11 hours for people not traveling with kids.) At the time my kids were 10, 9 (adopted Jan. 2010 and has Down syndrome, so more like a 5 year old), and 7. It was my new son’s first big trip with the family and he did super. We had a great time! We also love to camp. Now I have 2 foster kids. I have not attempted to travel with all 5 of the kids. Currently that is a bit too scary. I don’t even like taking them all to the grocery store. We take lots of snacks and water and listen to music and audio books (love Hank the Cowdog for road trips.) We also play travel games and try to stop at interesting places. My biggest tip is to not drive too many hours a day. Get a hotel and take a couple of days to drive if you need to.
Andrea says
Yep, we do everything with our 6 going on 7…it’s not difficult when you have a system in place. In fact, it seems our 12 passenger van is quieter, more organized, less trash-filled and more peaceful than some with only 2 children in tow..because we want it to be and commit to it.
We’ve taken several large road trips (ID to CA several times and to Oregon 10+ hrs, Seattle-5+ hrs) with all the kids. I also routinely drive distances with all of them since lots of where we live involves country driving.
Great tips!
Andrea
Blessings!
Doula Brandi says
I’ve made several 6+ hour trips ‘alone’ with the kids. In order to cut time and expense, I pack a little divide dish w/a lid for each kid. In it will be some sort of protein snack (lunch meat, cheese or nuts) a veggie (carrot sticks or cucumber slices) and a fruit (apple slices, or dried fruit) or crackers. That way when they are hungry, I open the travel cooler in the seat next to me, pull out their dish and hand it back. I don’t have to take my eyes off the road and it’s quick and easy. We save stops for gas and bathroom breaks.
on the return trip home, which is usually harder on the kiddos, we try to break up our long drive w/a stop at a park and let the kids play for about 30 minutes or so. this makes for a much quieter ride home, since they usually fall asleep shortly afterward.
Amy says
LOVE this idea!
Becky says
Last month I took my 5 kids, 6yrs to 10 mos on a 2700 mile, 44hr roundtrip to Florida. My husband was recently advanced to chief and his pinning was taking place there, so off we went! I broke the trip up into 4 days, so thus, 4 stops. I packed each nights needs into a single bag. So, when we stopped at the hotel to sleep, I grabbed the double stoller and 1 bag. We really had a great time and I’m crazy enough to be looking forward to the next! 🙂