Each year, my family and I make the trek from the Raleigh/Durham NC area to Syracuse, NY for Thanksgiving. Since I am unwilling to spend ridiculous amounts of money on airfare, and the fact that I don't want the TSA checking out my business, I drive.
For me, any drive longer than about two hours is unpleasant. I'm one of those guys that can't sit still for very long. I need to walk around and keep moving after I've been sitting idle for bit. Traveling with children adds further challenges. Diaper changes, restroom breaks, finicky eaters, cries of "I'm bored," and "When will we be there?"
Tech has helped us at least keep the kids entertained while in the car. Between my daughter using my iPad for drawing, and my son popping imaginary bubbles on my iPhone, they stayed entertained for quite a while. We also listened to portions of an audiobook on my iPhone, which I was able to wirelessly send to my stereo using a Motorola Bluetooth device. An available option, if needed, would have been to watch a streamed Netflix movie on the iPhone.
I remember car trips when I was kid. Since I get dizzy when I try to read in a car, there were only a few ways to occupy my time: drawing, listening to the radio, or sleep. Our children have much more technology available to them. As long as my children are still using their imagination and creativity, I see no problem allowing them to use tech devices sparingly.
I'm pretty easily distracted. This is not a great trait to have while driving, so the quieter the kids are, the better.
Driving without a GPS these days would seem odd to me. Our GPS gives us traffic conditions, so it is able to route us around heavy traffic if it will shorten our travel time. I can't remember the last time I looked at a paper map on a car trip.
What are your experiences with tech on car trips? Do you have any tips to share? I look forward to your feedback!
