10 Must Haves to Keep in Your Car, Especially if You Have Kids

With summer travel season upon us, you want to be sure you and your car are prepared. Having kids means you should be prepared for everything. The unexpected always happens, so you should be prepared.

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This is a list of my 10 Must Haves to Keep in Your Car, especially if you have kids.

1. First Aid kits with plenty of Bandaids- If you have kids, you should carry a first aid kit.There is a reason this is #1 on my 10 Must Haves to Keep in your car.  You never know when an emergency will pop up. The kit doesn’t have to be big. Mine includes plenty of bandaids, sterile guaze, medical tape, anti-itch cream, Tylenol, antiseptic wipes.

2.  Books – I have a few books for each child in the backs of the front seat. They are usually a combination of readers, activity books (dot to dot, word search, Mad Libs, etc.) and comics. It helps prevent the “Are we there yet?” when they get bored. They are also helpful when we go out to eat. Note: I’ll swap out these books often to prevent the kids from getting bored with them.

3. Snacks- I keep a bag of nuts and trail mix in the car. Nuts and dried fruit are  good options, especially during the summer. Both don’t melt or get sticky, plus they will seldom make a huge mess in the car. For younger children, snack crackers would be a good option. Snack bars and energy bars are also good choices.

4. Hoodie or sweatshirt – You never know when the weather will change and it’s good to be prepared. Even in summer time, we keep them in the car. They don’t take up much space and you will be thankful when you walk into a store or restaurant that has the AC on artic chill.

5. Pocket knife-  My handy Swiss Army knife has been a life saver. From cutting off clothing tags to cutting bandage tape, you never know when this will come in handy.

6. Water Bottles – We take at least 2 water bottles with us everywhere. We fill them before we ever get into the car and never leave home without them. I don’t like plastic bottles because they are wasteful, but can also leach harmful chemicals into the water if you leave them in your car for a long period of time.

7. Car charger and USB cables-  I keep an extra set of USB cables for the iPad and my phone in the car. They never leave my car. That way, when an electronic device fails, I can charge it with no problems.

8. Tissues or Toilet Paper– It never fails that the someone will need a tissue when you don’t have any.  I keep a pocket sized box of tissues in the console and a roll of TP in the glove compartment. The toilet paper seems a little redundant, but nothing is worse than being in the middle of nowhere and someone has to go to the bathroom. Sometimes a tissue just isn’t enough for an emergency roadside stop.

9. Trash bags  If you have kids, you have trash. I keep small grocery store bags and a large kitchen trash bag in my car to curb the mess. Plus they come in handy when you have wet, soggy clothes or messy items like flowers/shrubs from the nursery.

10. Duct Tape – It’s the ultimate fix it upper. It’s comes in handy on everything. I once had the strap of a sandal break. Duct tape was able to hold it together until I got home.

So these are my 10 Must Haves to Keep  in Your Car.

What other suggestions do you have?