Getting The Kids to STOP Asking "Are we there yet?" on Family Vacations

by Janis Brett Elspas

MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

As we continue along Route 66, we keep finding more really cool off the beaten path things to do with my kids that I think other families will enjoy just as much.

Anyone who has ever taken a child on a roadtrip knows the inevitable question kids always seem to ask: "Are we there yet?"  Why not make the journey as much fun as the final destination?  For example, to a typical kid traveling with his/her family, the desert might look boring and monotonous from the highway.  If parents can point out all the jewels scattered along both sides of the highway, kids will have a whole new way of looking through a car window as the world whizzes by.

On those long stretches of open road, here's just the tip of the iceberg of all you can show your kids

• A collage of landscape textures, from varying shades of sand to multi colors of rocks to different types of trees, plants, and other indiginous vegetation
• Native wildlife ranging from birds and animals to insects
• Beautiful sunrises and sunsets
• A multitutde of various types of clouds and formations by day and stars in the sky for as far as the eyes can see by night
• Different sorts of climates, temperature changes, wind variations, and an assortment of weather conditions that include both clear days and storms
• All kinds of road signs and billboards and possibly other man-made structures 

That is why I love the wide open highways of America -- there is always something to look at along the way that I can point out to my kids.  Besides, my children and I also enjoy exploring America's small towns, especially those that offer historic examples of American design and architecture.  It also explains why I've talked so enthusiastically with them while driving and looking for roadside remnants of days gone by.

Watching my kids getting as excited about seeking out these relics as I am, of course, is a blast.  More importantly though, I think what is most fulfilling is the shared experience that results -- adventures and discoveries that we can talk about with each other.  What a way to open up the conversation with one's teens and for us all to learn together in the process!

On this trip, my teens have rarely asked, "Are we there yet?"  Instead, the moment we wake up in our motel each morning they want me to go over a map with them, together deciding where we will be headed for the day. How about you? How do you get your kids excited when traveling by car?  Feel free to leave a comment and share your own ideas below this post.

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