End “Are we there yet?” With These #Tips4Trips

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #Tips4Trips #CollectiveBias

Road trips are one of the many wonderful parts of summer. My family loves to travel and road trips are the most cost-effective way to do it. Though they can be fun with awesome snacks, movies, rockin’ tunes and road games, let’s not forget the elephant in the room. The dreaded “ARE WE THERE YET?” question without fail happens every time.

My kids have a time limit where they find it acceptable to be in the car, after they reach that limit, there is, what feels like, endless discussions on how much time is left before we arrive because they can’t possibly sit in the car any longer.

It’s happened to you and it’s happened to me! Here are some awesome tips to help save your ears and your road trip from the impending “are we there yet?” (insert whiny voice).

My #1 most helpful tip to avoid children from asking if you have arrived long before you do is to inform them where you are at! Get your kids involved in the traveling process.

How can you do this? We use Walmart Family Mobile service and let the kids follow along with Google Maps. Since the phones and plans from Walmart Family Mobile are so affordable we bought our kids an Alcatel One Touch Pop Astro ($64.88) from Walmart and corresponding service, which happens to only be $29.88/month (for the first line) Unlimited Talk, Text & Data service plan which includes up to 1G of 4G LTE data. (Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/frw8 or your local Walmart for current pricing.) The unlimited data allows them to follow along on the map without you worrying about the data use.

My next tip is to download apps that’ll keep them busy for a while. Netflix is a great way to have a lot of their favorite shows and movies right at their finger tips. I love the PBS Kids app because they can watch all their favorite PBS shows, which are educational and safe for young ones. You can also download an e-Reader so they can read some new books along the way. All of these things use data, but with Walmart Family Mobile data is unlimited so let them have at it!

With all the money you are saving from the Walmart Family Mobile plan you can load up on snacks – tip number 3. Get a good mixture of healthy snacks and sweet treats. Save more money by packing lunch items, or ingredients that can be easily combined to make a meal. Little jars of peanut butter and jelly with a loaf of bread are easy to bring along. Crackers and cheese are also simple to pack.

If for some reason the kids get sick of watching shows, following along on the map or playing on their new Alcatel Onetouch Astro Pop phone, print this License Plate Bingo game. The whole family can have a good time watching the cars and trucks that go by and marking off all the states as you find them! On our cross-country road trip last year we got all but 2! It was really exciting! You can also purchase my Ultimate Road Trip Activity Book on Amazon for $6.50.

So, now that you have the key to ending the whiny “are we there yet?” where will your travels take you? Wherever it is, Walmart Family Mobile would love to tag along!

What other tips do you have for keeping happy children?