Family road trips are meant to be a fun, adventurous affair. At least that’s what families always hope for before setting out on one. However, such family outings can turn boring and unbearable if you’re not well-prepared. Whether its a short trip to the city’s outskirts or a long, cross-border adventure that involves night camping; there are certain road trip essentials that you need to keep at hand. Read on to find out what equipment you need to include in your family road trip checklist; for maximum comfort, safety and entertainment.
Road Trip Clothing and Camping Supplies
For long road trips, whatever clothes you park for yourself and your kids have to be comfortable. If it’s summer, pack some light clothes for breath-ability. The last thing you want is your kid complaining of discomfort and interrupting the journey due to the heavy-fabric t-shirt you had them wear for the day. As you’ll be spending most of your time inside the car, remember to also pack some comfortable flip-flops for everyone. If you’ll be making multiple rest stops but would wish to avoid nasty-looking public bathrooms, bring a toiletry tote bag along, where you can keep your hand sanitizers, wet wipes, and other toiletry supplies. Lastly, don’t forget to carry a mosquito repellent, as it will keep you and your family safe from bacterial infection at your camping spots.
Baby Car Seats
Ensuring your kids’ safety and comfort during road trips is key. And what better way to do this , than by investing in a good quality baby car seat for your very young ones. According to Elite Car Seats, your choice of a child car seat should be based on safety, comfort and aesthetics. For instance, if you’re looking for maximum safety for your child in case of a road accident, you might want to try out a baby car seat from a brand that incorporates impact protection features, including side collision impact protection.
Car Seat Organizers
Family road trips can quickly become unmanageable, as kids are bound to throw toys and snack wraps all over the place, leaving the interior of your family sedan looking like a huge mess. Getting car seat organizers can help you solve this issue, as you can simply attach them behind the front seats and neatly arrange the kids’ toys and snacks in them.
Packed food and Healthy Snacks
It’s also crucial to eat nutritious snacks during road trips, especially if you’ll be the one driving, as proper dieting helps one stay alert on long journeys. Examples of such nutritious snacks include protein bars, cereal bars, and carrot sticks.
Smartphone and Bluetooth Speaker
Listening to music is one of the best ways to pass time during long road trips. Having a soothing playlist on hand during your rest stops is a nice way to bond with your family as you take in the scenery and enjoy the food you brought with you. A smartphone allows you to download music apps like Spotify where you can create playlists that goes with everyone’s taste, including the kids. If your trip involves overnight camping and you need to get the kids to sleep, you can download the YouTube app and search for children’s lullaby songs. A Bluetooth speaker also comes in handy, by making the music audible enough for everyone.
Power Bank
As you’ll be depending on lots of electronic devices for your entertainment and to stay connected to people back at home/work, you need to pack a power bank to recharge these devices. The last thing you want is your phone going off right when you’re making a call to your business associates back home to see how things are going while you’re away. For your camping needs, you might need to invest in a solar powered power bank. Some of these are even waterproof to withstand bad weather conditions.
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First Aid Safety Kit
The importance of a first aid kit cannot be overstated, especially if your road trip involves adventurous stops on countryside sites and attractions. The kit should include some sting cream for insect stings and bites, as well as other first aid essentials like band aids and ice packs.
Apart from the ones listed above, there are several other items that are worth including on your road trip checklist, depending on the season in which you’re taking the trip, the duration of the trip, the distance you’re looking to cover, and the number of people in your family. If- for instance- you’re looking to take a road trip during winter, you might want to include winter boots, a shovel and a de-icer in the checklist.