That summer road trip with the family doesnt need to be stressful.
ILLUSTRATION BY FERNANDO COBELO
Maybe its my own childhood that makes me so wary of screens in a car.
Not that my two kids, aged four and six, know theyre there.
Credit:ILLUSTRATION BY FERNANDO COBELO
Why not in the vehicle, too?
So far, its worked.
Hands-on activities
Weve found that variety is the key to keeping our kids engaged.
(In our van, we only allow letters from license plates if theyre on vanity tags!)
NPRsBut Whyis another good one that helps parents by answering questions like Why do pigs oink?
(We pack a headphone splitter that lets both our kids listen at the same time.)
Rest-stop game plans
We rely on a big-picture strategy when it comes to taking breaks.
Even if the days goal is to drive 500 miles, well need to pull over plenty for restrooms.
We try not to waste our time milling around anonymous gas-station parking lots.
Atlas Obscura also spotlights hundreds of locations important to Black and Indigenous history, including many in North America.
And while it tests the boundaries of screen-free, well use theLibbyapp to download e-books, too.
