There are only so many hours you can spend in a car before you start to get hopelessly restless. It makes sense: our bodies were made to run and jump and play, not sit in a metal box with wheels for hours on end. While you can't run and jump and play in a moving vehicle, you can find other ways to make the time go by faster. Listening to music is a great way to make those long road trips more fun.
Listening to music is pretty simple. If you have at least one working ear drum, you can do it. However, it’s not always easy to pick the music for an entire vehicle. It's more difficult than just choosing what song you should play. Different people have different tastes in music, and some types of music may be inappropriate for younger children. You may not want to listen to your favorite song with your grandma riding in the car.
Dad wants to listen to talk radio, little sister wants to listen to sing-alongs, Uncle Todd wants bluegrass, and Grandma wants rap. How do you decide what the entire car should listen to on a road trip?
The Dictator – The co-pilot is in charge of the music. What he or she says goes. If the person in the front passenger seat wants to listen to polka for 3 hours straight, then so be it. The car may not like it, but each person gets the same privileges when it's their turn to ride up front. Expect a rebellion with this approach, but it's simple.
The Council – See if the car can find some common ground. Maybe there's an artist or a genre that everybody would enjoy listening to.
The D.J. – One person is in charge of taking requests from the entire car. They pick the songs when no one has a request.
Always be prepared – Each person prepares a CD or hour-long playlist for the road trip. Establish the order and hit play.
Set a timer – Each person gets 30 minutes, an hour, or however long to choose whatever music they want to play. After their time is up, it's the next person's turn.
Take a break – Talk, play games, do a crossword, make plans. Music is great, but there are plenty of other things that can keep you occupied on the road.
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