When you are traveling this summer, it’s always a struggle to make sure that your children are eating well. You may feel that drive to slack off a little, because it’s summer! Resist that urge, because this is actually a great time to help your kids learn good habits, and the technology available to us today can help a lot in keeping your family fit and happy on the road.
The phrase to remember is “plan ahead.” Remember when you were kids – you know, just a few years ago – and road trips meant you pulled over and got some interstate fast food as quickly as possible while roaring ever onward to your destination, or hoping that maybe, somewhere, you’ll find a rest area when somebody in the back seat starts complaining of a growing need for a diaper change? There’s no need to do that anymore. Not even on one of those endless highways like I-16 that are between us here in Atlanta and one of Georgia’s beaches. (We admit that it is possible that some long roads, like those that cross the Yukon, might seem more wearisome and desolate than I-16, but it’s pretty unlikely.)
The first suggestion is to take a few minutes before you leave, looking over your route, and find a better place to stop than the same, over-familiar fast food that’s already available in your neighborhood. Use resources like Urbanspoon or food blogs to find places to eat ahead of time. Don’t think of cheap food as fuel; make your stop a destination. Certainly, you will add a few more minutes to your trip if you sit down and eat instead of using a drive-thru, so just leave a little early, and enjoy a meal at local barbecue joint or a meat and three, and enjoy some vegetables instead of a greasy bag of fries.
With that in mind, keep an eye out for local farms along your route. Let’s say you’re traveling north into the mountains on US-23. Between Gainesville and Dillard, there are at least five places to stop for fresh fruits and vegetables. Take a few minutes at either a large farm or a small roadside stand, and get a basket of strawberries or blackberries instead of bags of potato chips and candy from a gas station. A note of caution, however: if your family is anything like mine, you might end up with a back seat full of unintentional jam, preserves, and jelly from some of these farms!
On a related note, wherever we go (and we travel a lot!), my family plans ahead for what we call “Baby Mercy Breaks.” Whether it’s just ten minutes to get a few wiggles out or an hour or more of leg-stretching, knowing in advance where we can find a highway rest area, state park, or even another children’s museum in another city is incredibly helpful, and keeps everybody in the car sane and happy. Don’t just use them for quick restroom breaks; plan to stop and get some exercise for a few minutes!
It’s a really great, sensible idea to tack on a couple of hours to your drive to eat well and play well. Just plan ahead and make the journey as important as the destination!
Growing Into the World 