MomsTalk: Survival Guide to Spring Break Trips

Are we there yet, Mom? Spring break for Fairfax County Schools is next week. That means thousands of McLean families will be boarding planes, trains and automobiles as they head to locations near and far in search of rest, relaxation and family fun. Anyone who has traveled with children knows that just successfully arriving at your destination can be more than half the battle. The McLean Patch Moms share their travel successes and failures .

Anne Wydler, McLean resident, married with two daughters

We’ve made a lot of roadtrips to Tennessee, most of them without Dad, so I’ve had a lot of trial and error on keeping two  little girls entertained for 7+ hours.  A few of the things that have worked:

1) Videos: Yes, everyone uses videos in the car, but my girls don’t like movies (or really anything with a bad guy).  So we go to the library and stock up on PBS/Nick Jr show DVD’s - these wonderful inventions hold up to six episodes of your favorite children’s programs.  The key to library DVD’s is to get a few more than you think you’ll need because inevitably a couple of them will be scratched up.

2) Cameras: On our most recent trip, I handed one daughter my iPhone and the other my CoolPix and asked them to take pictures of the snowy landscape.  The five-year-old took pictures of her view, which turned out to be mostly sunshade and strange angles of 18 wheelers - no wonder she wants to watch several hours of “Max and Ruby”. The seven-year old took a fascinating (yet creepy) montage of her American Girl doll - various zoom depths, various body parts - you get the idea.

3) Snacks: When we first started taking these roadtrips, the girls would beg for snacks before we were even on 66.  I felt pressure to dole them out slowly to keep them guessing over the course of the trip but they would beg and plead and wonder what I had to offer them. So now, I pack their lunch boxes full of treats (both healthy and well, road-trip unhealthy) and give them those boxes as we pull out of the driveway.  They know everything they have available to them for the whole trip and they choose when to eat what.  They may eat the Tootsie Roll Pop at 8am but then they’ll be eating the fruit at 1pm.