Road trips with kids: how to plan your stops

With kids in the car, the stops are half the trip. Planning them well is the difference between a good drive and a long one.

#Plan to stop every two hours

Most families do best stopping about every two hours, or more often with toddlers. Put the stops on your plan instead of waiting for someone to ask. A scheduled stop is calmer than an emergency one.

#Everyone goes, every stop

The oldest rule on the road still works: everyone tries, even if they "don't need to." It's the best defense against a request five minutes after you merge back on.

#Look for a family restroom

A family or single-occupancy restroom makes it much easier to take a small child of a different gender, help with a diaper, or keep everyone together. Travel centers and newer rest areas are the likeliest to have one.

#Pick stops with room to move

Kids who've been buckled in for two hours need to move. Rest areas with grass and picnic tables, or travel centers with space to walk around, give them a few minutes to run before the next leg.

#Time stops around meals

Combine a restroom stop with a meal or snack break, and you'll cut the number of stops without anyone getting cranky. A restaurant stop also usually means a cleaner restroom.

#Watch for the empty stretches

Before a long rural stretch, stop whether or not anyone asks. Thirty miles between exits is a long time for a four-year-old.

#Keep a car kit

Wipes, a change of clothes for the little ones, a few plastic bags, and hand sanitizer. You'll need it exactly once per trip, and you'll be glad it's there.

#Let the app watch the road

Best Exit's drive screen shows the best stop ahead as you drive, picked for the restroom you use and what you need, and can say it out loud so you don't have to look. After you stop, it asks how the restroom was, so the next driver knows.

How was your stop? Rate the restroom in about ten seconds. Rate

Stopped here? Rate the restroom.

Reviews come from the Best Exit iPhone app. It asks right after you stop, so scores come from people who were just there.

iPhone app coming soon