For many families, summer holidays mean long drives to the destination with kids in tow. It's cozy and fun in theory, but the reality of a road trip often fills parents with dread—especially with traffic jams or delays. Remember the 2014 record of 994 kilometers of gridlock on French highways? Screaming or arguing kids only make it worse, turning a vacation start into stress.
When our kids were young, road trips were tough. They suffered from motion sickness, so we'd always keep a bucket with bags, wet wipes, and water in the backseat. They've outgrown it mostly, but the bucket stays—as a habit and now often a makeshift trash bin.
Little ones got bored fast, hitting us with 'Are we there yet?' after just 20 kilometers, followed by bathroom pleas. We'd improvise: I'd tie toys to their car seats for easy access. I still recall a sweltering drive to Belgium without AC or GPS—two red-faced, screaming toddlers didn't help my navigation at all.
As they grew, boredom led to endless candy demands. We created a simple rule that still works: one candy every 100 kilometers, with the GPS as impartial judge. Traffic jams might delay it, but no exceptions. It slashed the nagging dramatically.
Keeping older kids occupied got easier. Favorites include spotting funny license plates (German plates are goldmines), 'I Know Someone You Know Too'—a yes/no guessing game about a person—and the letter chain (e.g., boy names like Kees-Simon-Noud-Daan-Nico, where each starts with the previous one's last letter).
When candies run low, games grow stale, or backseat squabbles erupt with the destination still hours away, try the ultimate: who can stay quiet the longest?
How do you keep the peace on long drives with kids?
