RVing WITH KIDS

1. Manage your expectations when RVing with kids

First off, you’ll want to set expectations ahead of time with each member of the family. Understand that there will be a certain level of noisiness and lack of personal space involved. In an RV, you can no longer escape upstairs for a few hours of quiet away from your tiny humans – your space is often their space as well. You can help to manage this unique challenge that comes with RVing by setting boundaries with your kids before hitting the road.

If the bedroom belongs to mom and dad, decide whether kids will be allowed to join or if they’ll need to stick to their own sleeping areas. Know your kids personalities, and if you have an introverted child, try to give him or her some space that belongs to them where they can recharge after being overstimulated from being with the family all day – whether it be a tent you set up outside of the RV or a corner of the RV that is their designated play area. Knowing what belongs to who ahead of time can help manage the inevitable conflicts that arise from sharing a confined space.

2. Pack smart

Efficient packing is key when you are traveling with kids. You don’t want to bring too much that will further cramp the small amount of space you have to share, but you also want to make sure you have backup sets of clothes on hand when the kids get dirty from spending time outside. Make use of every inch of space that you have and decide where everything goes ahead of time to avoid having clothes and toys strewn about without a “home” during your trip.

3. Choose kid-friendly campgrounds

Families often don’t think of this before they try RVing with kids for the first time, but some campgrounds are more kid-friendly than others. Some will charge you $2-5 per child during your stay, which isn’t much on the surface but can pile up throughout your stay. That “kid tax” is a way of discouraging families with kids to stay there, so you may find far fewer families amongst your campground neighbors there.

There are plenty of places though that welcome RV families and even hold activities and holiday events for kids, increasing your chances of finding other families with kids to make friends with throughout your travels. Do your research ahead of time so you know how much it costs and if there are things like a playground or a body of water on site where kids can play.

4. Prepare entertainment when RVing with kids

Even if you choose the most kid-friendly campground out there, there can be long hours of driving to entertain the kids through and rainy days that foil outdoors plans. This means it’s important to have entertainment on hand to keep everyone from going stir-crazy. Tablets can always provide something to do (and often some much-needed quiet time for mom and dad) but you may want to limit screen time. After all, RVing is all about unplugging, right?

Decide ahead of time what your technology policy is, and plan accordingly. You can also play interactive road trip games as you drive, like finding the alphabet on license plates or counting the farm life or wildlife you drive past. You can also pick destinations with plenty of activities for kids to keep their days full such as Junior Ranger Programs at national parks.

5. Meal prep

Decide what’s important to you when it comes to food for the duration of your trip. Is your priority seeing as many sights as possible and getting by with quick, easy, crowd-pleasing fast food meals, or is sit-down dinner time with healthy homemade meals of bigger importance in your family? There is no right or wrong way – it just helps to know ahead of time which works best for your crew and to pack (and choose campgrounds) accordingly.

6. Assign chores and responsibilities

If you’re planning to RV for an extended amount of time, it’s smart to help your kids understand your RV is going to function as a normal household. With responsibilities for each family member. Decide what chores need to get done and who will do them. Come up with a system so kids can still learn about personal responsibility while you travel.

7. Think safety

While driving always make sure the kids are buckled in, children should always have their seat belt on when the vehicle is in motion. This will prevent any form of accident and ensure that your adventure doesn’t turn into a disaster

8. Enjoy being together

This is the most important part of your RV journey with the kids, having a great time together. Don’t be in a hurry to leave a particular place, kids like consistency, allow them to take time to enjoy and take in all they can see around them and don’t forget to share in the experience.