When you want to take a driving trip to another state or across the country, it can be challenging with small children. Being confined to the same space for hours can be tough for them and you may feel stress creeping up inside you when you only wanted a fun adventure. Luckily, with the trip-planning measures below, you can increase everyone's happiness on the road.

Get Childrens' Travel Trays

You may already be planning to bring snacks and other food items so that you don't have to stop often for food breaks. However, if you and your spouse will be in the front seat, handing off food to your kids in the back is an easy way to cause frustration. Their laps may just not be adequate for juice boxes, bags of potato chips and sandwiches in baggies. You might find that more food and drink ends up on the floor than in their bellies.

Travel trays, such as fromMy Lap Box , can be a lifesaver on road trips. The trays will help you and your kids get everything on one hard surface so that they can focus on eating and not on doing a balancing act with everything. Because you can select from many different designs, they may enjoy looking at the tray as well. 

Trays provide value even after the kids are done eating. A sturdy surface can always be helpful for craft projects they're working on and can give them somewhere to rest their mobile tablets, coloring books and crayons. They may be more eager to do some of the activities you brought if their trays make those activities easier in the car.

Give Them a "Job"

To reduce bickering in the car, you may want to give out small "jobs" to each child. The job may involve counting cars of a particular color or checking for license plates from other states. This will keep your children occupied with different tasks and out of their electronic devices.

Stop Often

Even if you're successfully feeding your children without the need to stop, your kids may prefer stopping as frequently as possible. Try planned stops each hour for bathroom trips and stretching the legs. These stops need not be long and delay your trip too much, but ensuring everyone has a chance to use the restroom or get diapers changed will keep everyone more comfortable and happier when you're in motion.

A road trip with kids can be fun and memorable. With these suggestions, improving your trips can be done