Reading Time: 3 minutes The Surprising Benefits of a Family Road Trip
This is a collaborative post by Ellie Jo about the benefits of family road trips.
A family road trip isn’t just an efficient way to get from A to B; it can have surprising benefits too. If spending hours a day cooped up in a car with your kids sounds a little daunting, there’s no need to panic! No matter what age your children are, a family road trip can be fun, exciting and memorable.
To learn more about bonding as a family while you’re traveling, take a look at the top benefits of taking a family road trip…
Surprising Benefits of Family Road Trips
Improved organization
If you’re a parent, you’re probably used to reminding your kids to do something repeatedly. When it still doesn’t get done, you’re probably used to giving in and doing it yourself too! When you’re on a road trip, you typically don’t spend long in the locations you stop at on the way to your final destination.
This means you need to be organized about what you’re taking with you and what you want to use. If your teen doesn’t charge their cell phone when you stop at a motel, they’re soon going to realize the negative effects of poor planning! Anyone who goes on a long road trip learns the importance of planning ahead, so you can help your kids to develop these skills when you’re en route to your destination.
Understanding road safety
When you’re spending hours behind the wheel, you have to be aware of potential hazards and dangers on the road. However, it isn’t just the driver who gains experience on the road. When you take a family road trip, your kids will be absorbing what’s going on around them. From seeing new types of road junctions to looking out for potential obstacles; a family road trip can teach your kids a lot about being safe on the road.
Better communication
A family road trip inevitably means being cooped up in the same vehicle for hours on end. Although you can take a break, enjoy local sights and incorporate some overnight stays into your trip, you’re still going to be spending a lot of time together.
Squabbles and arguments are to be expected – and the kids might have disagreements too! However, being in this environment will enable you to learn to communicate with each other more effectively and resolve conflicts more easily.
Planning the Perfect Family Road Trip
A great road trip requires an adequate amount of planning. By doing so, you’ll be able to factor in stops at local attractions and take detours to places you’ll enjoy. This keeps the trip fun and helps to prevent boredom, so it’s the ideal way to keep kids entertained when you’re taking an epic family road trip.
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Rachel is an Austin blogger, educator, mom, wife, young breast cancer survivor writing about health, saving money, and living a happy life in Austin, Texas.
Rachel has written for HuffPost and Hometalk and has been featured on KXAN, Studio 512, Fox 7 Austin, and CBS Austin.