Surviving a Road Trip with Teens

Road trips are a great way to see the country and get some quality family bonding time. The ability to go wherever the road takes you, stop wherever you feel and travel at your own pace is so alluring, not to mention so much cheaper when you factor in airfare for the whole family. Teenagers, on the other hand, famous for their moodiness, may beg to differ. To a bored teen, endless hours in the car with the family can seem like sheer torture.

Follow these road trip tips when traveling with teens so your vacation is a memorable success rather than a disaster worthy of its own movie franchise.

Never Forget the Chargers!

Today’s teens were raised with their electronic devices and social media. Yes, asking them to take a break from them is too much to ask for. Understand the value your teen places on these devices and make sure they have access to them to keep them happy.

Bring a Friend

Teens are social creatures and time with their friends is supremely important. Encourage your teen to invite one of their friends along on the family trip. When teenagers have a friend with them they are less likely to get bored. As they say, the more the merrier, especially when the additional person in your group makes your teen happy.

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Give Them a Voice

When your kids have a voice, they are more likely to get excited about something. Give your teen some responsibility by letting him or her help plan the trip from the destination to the route and all the stops in between. They can give you valuable insight into planning stops and activities they are actually interested in seeing. Make sure the destination is clear and remember the purpose of the family road trip is to have fun together. What happens along the way is what makes the memories.

Plan Frequent Stops

Everyone gets a little stir crazy when they’ve been sitting in the car too long. Combat the road fatigue by stopping as often as possible. While you probably have a lot of miles to cover, you’ll want to turn around and go home if tensions get too high, so stop at those rest stops and roadside attractions to get some fresh air and stretch your legs, your family will thank you for it.

Pack Some Extra Patience

Traveling can be a stressful, especially when you pack an entire family into an enclosed space for hours on end. Kids will argue, parents will get irritable, everyone will get bored. At some point, these things are all inevitable. The key is to get through these bumps in the road and not let them be the highlight of the trip.