Vehicle Preparedness – Preparing for Comfort

Being prepared is more than just having some extra toilet paper and food stashed in your vehicle.  Vehicle preparedness also means being prepared for two of the biggest problems as a mom that I have ALL-THE-TIME in my vehicle.  “Mom, are we there yet?” and “I’m BORED!”  Those two are one of the everyday types of emergencies that we will face a million times more than getting stranded in the middle of nowhere without food, water, and internet.  Being able to comfort and care for a child no matter  their age is helpful, especially when you’re trying to deal with other issues.

Have you missed the first few articles in this series?   You can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

***There are links in this post.  Some of the links may be affiliate links. My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. All of these are the items that I have bought for my own family.  If you click on a link, your price will remain the same.  If you make a purchase, we may make a small commission that aids in the cost of the running of this website.***

Vehicle Preparedness and Comfort

Being prepared is more than just having some extra toilet paper and food stashed in your vehicle.  Being prepared also means being prepared for two of the biggest problems as a mom that I have ALL-THE-TIME in my vehicle.  “Mom, are we there yet?” and “I’m BORED!”  Those two are one of the everyday types of emergencies that we will face a million times more than getting stranded in the middle of nowhere without food, water, and internet.  Being able to comfort and care for a child no matter  their age is helpful, especially when you’re trying to deal with other issues.

Then there’s a second type of comfort.  It’s cold out and the heater broke on your vehicle yesterday and your appointment to get it fixed isn’t for another two days.  This is taking care of the physical aspects of comfort that crop up in our vehicles from time to time.

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn.

Vehicle Preparedness – Emotional Comfort and Fun

Is it like that in your family?  Do emotional comfort and fun go together hand in hand?  I can think of one of my children in particular that if the fun factor is low, then his emotional comfort level is commensurately low.

How do you help provide emotional comfort and fun in your vehicle.  Here are a couple of things that we keep in our vehicle to satisfy this felt need.

1.) Books

Keep a rousing book on hand in your vehicle.  Is there a book that you KNOW your kids would love, but you’ve never read it to them?  Keep a copy of it in your vehicle.  If you’re traveling and your CD player, DVD player breaks, or your Audible book won’t download, then you have a way to keep the kids occupied as long as you have one other reader in the car with you while you drive.

2.) Card Games

Whether your family likes to play Spades, Crazy 8’s, Uno, or Skipbo, keep cards in your vehicle. Playing cards will help your family occupy their time if something happens to derail a trip.

3.)  Travel-sized board games

There was a time when I would go to Kansas City for a week at a time twice a year.  When I would go, I brought my kids back a small gift from me so that I could show my kids in a tangible way that I really missed them.  One of the last times that I went, I headed over to Five Below to look for gifts for each of my kids.  Well, while I was there, I discovered several different varieties of travel-sized board games from Monopoly to Connect 4, Trouble, and Clue!  I’ve even found this set of 12 travel sized magnetic games.  The games are about 6″ x 9″ x 2″.  The ‘box’ folds out to form the table on which the board rests so that it can be played even if you don’t have a table.

4.)  Stuffed Animal or ‘Lovie’

If you have a younger child, having a spare stuffed animal or ‘lovie’ is really important.  If one is lost or you left it at home, you can still help your child feel the comfort that they get from their special stuffed friend.

So, once we have our emotional comfort bases covered, let’s talk about physical comfort preparedness.

Vehicle Preparedness and Physical Comfort

1.) Cooling

There are several ways to help those in your car cool down if it’s hot and your AC seems to not be working properly.  There are these nifty things called cooling towels.  My personal favorite is called “Frogg Toggs.” This is a cooling cloth.  You wet it and apply it to your skin to keep your body cool in hot weather.  I love ours!  It works really well.

Another option for cooling is this battery powered fan.  I ordered this one two years ago.  It’s small, so that’s an upside for your vehicle, but it’s small, so it’s a downside in cooling people if need be.  Personally, of the two options, I’d rather travel with my Frogg Toggs.  It’s smaller and everyone in my family can have their own in the same amount of space that I can fit one or two of these little fans.

2.) Heating

Blankets

In the winter, keeping warm is a must.  We travel with two of those easily mushable – yep, I just coined a word – fleece blankets.  I purchased this one at IKEA this last winter, and It’s cheap, works really well, and is excellently ‘mushable.’

Hand and Foot Warmers

I’m not sure where I purchased mine from, but these are the cheapest ones on Amazon.  They also have the best rating!  These are a great brand of foot warmers as well.  Keeping hands and feet warm will help keep your body temperature where it is supposed to be.

Mylar Body Blankets

Keeping your body warm itself during an emergency is really important.  You can keep your body much warmer by using Mylar blankets.  If you need to go with something less expensive because you have a large family like me, I highly recommend these ones.  If, however, you have more means and want something that will hold up much better, I would recommend these ones called Tact Bivvys. The huge upside are they are much more durable and can be reused!  The downside is that they cost considerably more than just Mylar blankets.

What About You?

Do you keep any emotionally comforting items or physically comforting items in your vehicle?  Are there items that you think should be included in this list that aren’t?  I’d love to hear!  Let us know in the comment section.

There are links in this post.  Some of the links may be affiliate links.  Some of the links may not be.  My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. These are the items that I have bought for my own family.  You can feel free to use my affiliate links, of which I will get a small amount in compensation, or you can choose to search out your products on your own.