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Published May 21, 2008 05:57 pm - Without the proper preparations, traveling with children can leave parents feeling like they need another vacation as soon as they return home. Parents offer tips for making long car rides more fun for the whole family By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com Are we there yet? Those four little words can unsettle even the most serene parents during a long car trip, and with students out of school, many families will be headed out of state for a well-deserved vacation. But without the proper preparations, traveling with children can leave parents feeling like they need another vacation as soon as they return home. Parents like Penny Brown, a Carl Junction mother of four, said it doesn’t have to be like that. She insists the car ride can be just as integral a part of the trip as the destination if approached properly. In the end, those hours in the car can make the car ride a time to remember rather than something parents wish they could forget. “You’ve got to make an adventure out of it,” Brown said of the car ride. “I think people can get too focused on getting there, but interruptions are part of the deal.” Frequent stops Brown, her husband, Andy, and four children, Joseph, 13, Levi, 12, Ashley, 11, and Rachael, 9, just returned last week from a family vacation to Niagara Falls and said the trip up to the natural wonder was just as memorable as the main event because of some preparation. Brown did some Internet research for entertaining stops along the way to Niagara Falls. The family stopped periodically to tour caves in Ohio and look at Lake Eerie. She also made sure the family van stopped in each state so the children could say they had been in that state. Frequent bathroom and snack breaks also helped to keep spirits high during the long drive, she said. “If you already have the idea that people are going to need to stop in your mind, you tend to travel better, and make time for those goals,” she said. Audio antidote Jo Sitton, the Southwest Missouri Community Alliance’s SafeKids coordinator for Jasper and Newton counties and a local mother, said car rides are a great opportunity for children to learn. When her children were younger, Sitton would buy, borrow or rent books on audio cassette or CD. As the children grew, so did the maturity of the selections and the entire family was able to enjoy everything from the Bible to classic literature and fairy tales. 
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