Driving with kids and dealing with the small emergencies of family car rides should be considered its own Olympic sport. My best mom hack for driving with kids and keeping my? Packing a whole list of small yet essential items.
Want to skip right to the list? Jump ahead to Here’s what’s in my car’s Iron Chest for driving with kids.
Curious where this “Driving With Kids” list came from and how to apply it to other parts of your life? read on!
When my son was around four months old I went to my one and only Baby Yoga class. Ten minutes into the class my son had a massive blowout all over his onesie and onto the only pair of pants I could fit into at the time.
Unsurprisingly, neither of us had a change of clothes.
While other moms stretched luxuriously through various yoga poses and their babies calmly napped on oversized pillows, I was busy trying to put us back together with the magic powers of paper towels and water.
On the hot and sticky ride home I wondered – is feeling slightly defeated by each day an integral part of motherhood?
As it turns out, it is…at least part of the time. Fortunately, along the way I did adopt new methods to delay defeat, my favorite being the Iron Chest Method.
What is the Iron Chest Method you ask?
For that, I will need to tell you about my father-in-law.
The first image that comes to mind when I think of my father-in-law is of fresh, crisp, bank-issued $20 bills. During my husband and my first year of dating, I would find them everywhere – in jacket pockets, in the car, even in the tiny bike bag,… EVERYWHERE.
This was my father-in-law’s doing, and he called this the Iron Chest – the emergency fund for all things small – ice cream after a bike trip, a smoothie at the beach, a tip for an unexpected service. My husband and I adopted this Iron Chest Method and often tuck $20 bills into every diaper bag, gym bag, wallet, car, and bike, and it has come in handy many times, even in this era of digital wallets.
But this also made me think – what would mothers deposit in their Iron Chest of parenthood? What small defeats could be avoided with some strategic placements of small everyday items?
These thoughts led me to use the Iron Chest Method for many aspects of my parenting life.
My favorite?
Preparing for what I like to call “Motherhood while Driving“, the anticipation of dirt, hunger, varying energy levels, and the occasional sickness that comes with driving with kids.
Here’s what’s in my car’s Iron Chest for driving with kids:
I. Passenger Area
- $20 bill and loose change
- Travel-size pain reliever packets
- Anti-nausea medication (adults & children)
- Disposable nausea bags
- Caffeinated chewing gum
- Mini first aid kit
- Deodorant
- Car visor tissue box
- Unscented wipes
- Sanitizing wipes
- Over Belt Poncho
- Back seat trash can and organizer
My favorite on this list is the Use Over the Belt Poncho. Is your child’s jacket too bulky to wear in the car seat? Take it off and throw the poncho over it without unbuckling. Looks like someone might get car sick again? Put the poncho on to contain the mess in case you’re not sure manage to stop in time…
ll. Trunk of the Car
A family drawstring bag with:
- $20 bill
- Anti-diarrheal medicine
- 3-5 heavy duty Trash/contractor Bags
- Zinc based sunscreen
- Assortment of car-ready snacks such as: bunny fruit snacks, raisins, trail mix, individual serving cereal packets, or a snack variety pack
- Water packets or boxed flavored water (not bottles)
- Reusable paper towels
- Wet Bag with potty needs by age, wipes, and toilet paper
- Female hygiene products by need
- Mosquito repellent and anti-inch cream
- Hydrocortisone cream for reducing swelling from bug bites or stings
- A pair of food scissors
A kid’s drawstring bag with:
- Change of clothes, hat
- Quick drying towel
- Kids’ activities for long-haul drives/flights
I’ll repeat that last one – keep a pair of good scissors in your car. Need to cut up your toddler’s food in a restaurant? Open impossible plastic toy packaging? Remove scratchy tags? Scissors to the rescue. If you take one thing from this post, it should be this.
The truth is, preparing for the future is part of the mental load of motherhood. We never know what’s coming but it will most likely be messy. We can’t change what’s coming but we might just be a bit more ready for it when it does. Small wins are really all we can hope for most days. Why not start with making driving with kids just a bit more enjoyable?
What to learn about what’s in my Iron Chest for car-related emergencies? Visit Family Car Emergency Kit? Make Sure to Pack These Items for simple ways to prepare.