How to Make Traveling with the Whole Family Less Stressful

Kevin Gardner
3 min readDec 19, 2019

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Everyone loves the sound of that. Everybody is excited and thrilled, all while getting their gear together. Suitcases (check!), favorite movie for car DVD player (check!), and favorite travel snacks(check!). In the car and down the road you go! But almost thirty minutes to an hour later, everyone is cranky, arguing, and complaining saying “ ARE WE THERE YET!” Sounds familiar? Who said it had to all begin and end this way? Taking certain extra steps can eliminate a lot of stress for a trip. It doesn’t matter if you are traveling by car, train, plane or greyhound, the same methods can apply. Of course, things are going to have to be catered to everyone’s needs. It is pretty much a given that the bigger the family the more expensive it will be, but spending time away from home together and seeing new things is priceless.

Depending on your family size, no matter how you are traveling space does matter. If driving, try to rent a van or nice sized SUV so everyone could have leg room, and also it is important that the driver is comfortable. Feeling closed-in for an extended period of time can become annoying and frustrating. If riding on a plane, train, or greyhound, you just have to make plans to accommodate beforehand the best way you can. Going a couple days before to see if you can get a personal view of what the spaces look like will allow you time to either find a different way to travel or figure ways to make the ride as comfortable as possible. Working smarter and not harder is the key to a stress-free travel. See if you could rent a private area for your travel if you feel that it is more efficient for your family.

What family members would not like to watch a good movie or show while they travel! I have four children, so letting everyone take a turn to watch their favorite movie works for us. Sometimes we get lucky and everyone likes the same movies. If not, The other three either is site seeing or on their phones. If everyone has phones, make sure that all phones are FULLY charged and have chargers with them before leaving. We have both Androids and iPhones, so we make sure the car chargers also match. This is an important rule! Make sure everyone including the driver takes a restroom break before leaving, so that you do not have to stop within ten minutes of the trip. If you are planning on driving, make sure you get plenty of rest the day before and the day of if possible. Making sure the home was left with everything off and locked will relieve the stress of thinking something was not turned off or if something was left open. There is nothing more stressful than to think something got left undone and you are now 30 or so miles away from home. If able to, having good conversations and laughing is the best way to go. It does not have to always be silent. There are tons of travel games that can be played. Depending on how far you are traveling, lets just say it is going to take a whole day to reach your destination and you plan on driving the whole time, taking breaks to a gas station will allow everyone to stretch out and use the restrooms. If anyone gets car sick, you may want to take some preventative measures. By checking out Le-Vel Thrive Reviews, you can see if any of their products will be right for you or your family. You would want to plan to make your stops in certain increments, like maybe every two hours or so. It all depends on how far you are going and if you do not plan on stopping and sleeping anywhere until you get there. Follow these basic steps should create a smooth stress-free journey for your family.

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Kevin Gardner
Kevin Gardner

Written by Kevin Gardner

Kevin Gardner graduated with a BS in Computer Science and an MBA from UCLA. He works as a business consultant for InnovateBTS

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