Your Nintendo Survival Guide to Summer Traveling

     

One of the greatest examples of family trips gone
array is National Lampoon's Wally World

     This summer with families loading up their cars for trips across the country, parents have one thing on their mind...will my child behave??  Yes, it is the age old fight against having fun, and getting to the fun.  There will be whining, unscheduled pee breaks, and I am not going to lie- there may be vomit..... I am sorry to have to break it to you like this, but your picture perfect outing will be filled with all these nightmares and more-BUT.. what if you had a tool to help things go a bit more smoothly? What if there was a magical device that made it possible to have fun while going to the place where you planned to have fun!? I know! I am excited too!  The Nintendo 3ds XL has you covered.
   Now I know we are all thinking...does my child spend too much time in front of a screen? Are the games too violent? Will this keep them interested?  I am here to tell you- as a Nintendo kid from the 80's and a gamer mom- THIS WILL SAVE YOUR TRIP.  The Nintendo 3ds has everything your child needs to keep themselves entertained- and if they get bored- guess what? You get to play.



    Here is what you do- buy your survival kit.  This includes the Nintendo 3ds Xl- (read our review on the device itself here) case, back up battery ( I don't think I need to remind you on how important a backup battery is) charger,  and for your sanity- as well as everyone else in the car- headphones- oh yeah and games- multiple games. Put this all in a bag separate from all the other things you have packed for your child's entertainment. This is plan b- and when you are traveling there is always a need for a plan b.

     If your child does not have a 3DS XL and will be receiving this for the first time- make sure you do some recon.  Before your trip- make sure you turn the device on, It may need to update- do all the
set up BEFORE HAND- this will save you when things are tough and entertainment is needed. Set up, the Wifi- if your car is so enabled, parental control settings, an account for the eShop (for handy dandy last minute game purchases in the hotel if it rains, or if someone gets ill).
     If your child already has a 3DS XL make sure you make it clear that you will not be bringing it on the trip. So in essence- lie. Yes lying is bad and wrong and all of that- but this is in the name of vacation, and family bonding so it's OK.  Plus you read this online so that makes it automatically true.  There will be fighting about this one- but just remember that you may lose a battle and win the war.  Make sure you pack the games that they are playing at the time, and do yourself a favor and pick up an extra title that they have been asking for- just write it off as a travel expense- it will be worth it.

Nintendo themed book bags-
Great for travel as well!

   Ok- its game day, you guys are piled in the car, It is hot, or too cold depending on the level of the air conditioning.  You have already pulled out entertainment bag numero uno.  Your child has colored, made friendship bracelets, read a book (hopefully?) and has now  whined no more but no less than three times that they "are bored" or said the infamous words "are we there yet?" Now is the time to pull out the big guns- Plan B has become imminent.

    Be prepared for squeals of delight- if they are getting this for the first time- or "OMG YOU DID BRING IT" if they already own one.  Make sure you get many many thank you's out of them before they start to play- and for the love of God make sure you have them put on their headphones- because gosh darn it you deserve the amazing sound of silence that is about to come forth from the back of the car.  You are about two hours in by my calculation- and you deserve it.

Drop proof baby! 

      If your car has WiFi- or you have one of those fancy hot-spots on your devices- you can even stream Netflix from the 3ds XL which is just an added bonus, and will guarantee even more quiet.  With any luck this will bring you forth into the last leg of your trip- you may even be able to get some bonding in before you hit the destination. Go playing, helping them beat the boss or laughing at the antics of the characters on the screen.  I myself have some of my fondest memories of me and my mom playing Mario on our original NES- I was always so impressed that she could do the double jump.  So...if you want to be as cool as my mom- do some recon on the games they are playing and pull out some cool moves here and there- they will love you for it.


      Now, when you get to where you are going- it goes without saying that you do not have your kids playing during the vacation- that is for time with your family and there should be little to no screens as possible.  However if it rains, if someone gets sick- this will be a lifesaver.  Make sure you have your back up charger at the ready at all times- make sure when they are not playing that the DS goes right into the secure hard case so that if it gets bounced around it will be safe.

So many games to choose from! 

     The trip is now over- and it was AWESOME! Oh yes- everyone got along, no one got sick, there were no lines on the rides and you got tickets to every show you wanted to see.  Everyone is tired, and ready to get home.  Your kids do not think you have anything else that you could possibly pull out your pocket to make the ride home be any cooler. Oh how the youngin's know nothing because YOU my friend have bought a brand new game along for the ride home.  Just like on the ride there you wait until they have gone through all the toys, games books in the plan A bag- then whined no more but no less than three times that they "are bored" or said the words "are we home yet?". You pull out the brand new sealed Nintendo awesomeness.  Enjoy the rest of your ride home Mom and Dad- you have earned it.