Family Road Trip Planner: How to Keep Your Kids Sane

While a family road trip can be a great way to spend time with the kids, it can also be a test of patience. Eight hours in the small confines of a car with your entire family is enough to drive anyone crazy. Luckily, I've been on several family vacations, so I know how to keep the kids sane on a family road trip. Just follow these tips on planning a road trip with kids:

Pack some snacks ahead of time.

It's cheaper and more convenient.

Road trip snacks are a must. My family always brought a cooler full of juice boxes, soda, and water and at least one bag of snacks. This is cheaper (and potentially healthier!) than stopping at a fast-food joint every time you're hungry, and it keeps you on schedule since you'll make fewer snack stops.

If your kids are anything like I was, they'll complain about being hungry every half hour. It's inefficient to stop for food every time, and it's frustrating to argue with them about why you can't stop for another 20 miles. Having that bag of snacks to hold them over until lunch and will cost you less in the long run.

Pro Tip: Make sure your snacks are portable. Crumbs are easy to vacuum up, but spilled chip dip might never come out of your car seat.

Ditch the "my car, my music" rule.

Choosing a tune everyone loves will keep the peace intact.

When you're in the car with your kids for hours on end, you have to compromise on music. Find some tunes that everyone loves, and you might end up cruising down the highway with the whole family singing along.

If that doesn't work, divide it up so that everyone can listen to what they want for a certain amount of time. The key is to bond over road trip music instead of forcing all the kids to put on their headphones.

Pro Tip: If you can't compromise, turn off the radio and talk to each other. Good conversation is better than arguing over what song to play next.

Entertain with games or books.

Keeping busy will help prevent irritability and fighting.

When I was a kid, we never had a car with a DVD player, but we had other ways to make the long drives fun. We brought along portable road-trip games, played "I Spy", and read books.

Any and all of these options are great for road trips, and mandatory for a road trip with kids. If kids are busy with a movie, game, or book, they won't feel the need to constantly ask "Are we there yet?" It'll also prevent antsy siblings from bickering and fighting out of boredom.

If there's a scenic route, take it.

Beautiful scenery will have the whole family happy to be there.

My family took road trips to my grandparents' place in Colorado, high up in the mountains. Winding through the roads, we stopped playing games and simply looked out the car's windows. Our ears popped like crazy at the increase in altitude, but we didn't care. Beautiful land surrounded us, and it was breathtaking. Moments like those made the cramped car ride worth it. It made me think, "Where's the fun in a plane ride?"

When all else fails, make a pit stop.

Sometimes getting out of the car is the only way to stay sane.

An occasional pit stop can end up as the best part of your trip. My dad, grandma, and I once ventured out to New York to see the National Baseball Hall of Fame. On the way home, we stopped at Niagara Falls as a spur-of-the-moment decision. That stop made the already memorable trip a vacation I'll never forget.

You don't have to stop at a world wonder, just making that gas-station stop will refresh everyone. It allows the whole family to use the restroom, enjoy a hot meal, and stretch before piling back into the car and hitting the road again.

Pro Tip: Indulge in the quirky roadside attractions. You never know what you'll find or how much fun it might be.