Every parent should keep a few basic emergency supplies in their car to handle breakdowns, accidents, and other unexpected road problems. Supplies like a first-aid kit, torch, water, and blankets can help keep the family safe until help arrives.
Car problems can happen at any time, and they can be especially stressful if your children are with you. These eight supplies can make unexpected situations easier. Almost all of these items are cheap to buy and take up little space.
A few of these supplies are useful in winter, while the rest can be used year-round. Here are eight items that parents should keep in their cars for emergencies.
1. A Complete First-aid Kit
A basic kit should have bandages, sterile gauze, a small pair of scissors and gloves. Whatever the injury, having these on hand means someone in the car can act right away. A good kit can even save a life.
For parents, it also handles the everyday scrapes that come with traveling with children. Check the kit now and then and replace anything you’ve used, so it’s ready when you need it.
2. A Flashlight and Spare Batteries
Cars can break down after dark, leaving a driver standing on the roadside with no light at all. A torch lets you change a tire, read a map or find something in the boot.
Packing additional batteries is worth it because they extend the light’s use. Also, keep the torch easily accessible at the top of the trunk.
3. Water and Non-perishable Food
Nobody knows how long a wait for help will last. If a car is stuck for several hours, nonperishable water and food can keep everyone going until help arrives.
With children on board, a few snacks and a bottle of water make the wait easier. Sealed, long-lasting items are the better choice, since they won’t go bad between trips.
4. A Blanket and Warm Clothes
A heating system can fail without warning and once the engine stops, the cabin cools quickly. Blankets, gloves, beanies and scarves give passengers a way to warm up when the car can’t do it for them.
Parents can pack a few extra layers in children’s sizes, because adult clothes won’t fit them well. Folded into a bag in the boot, these items take little room and stay ready all season.
5. A Scraper
Winter weather is hard to predict and snow or ice on the glass can block the driver’s view. A scraper clears the windows and the rest of the car, and it takes up almost no space.
Keeping one in the car all the time means the driver is never caught without it on a frozen morning. It’s the simplest item on the list and might be the easiest to forget.
6. Antifreeze and Windshield Washer Fluid
Both fluids are necessary for the vehicle’s safety and proper operation. In cold weather conditions, antifreeze keeps the engine in good working order by regulating its temperature.
Windshield washer fluid removes the road debris from the windscreen and improves visibility. It is much easier to fill them up before the cold weather arrives than to buy them on the way at a gas station.
7. Boosting Cables
Cold weather is hard on cars and batteries often suffer first. They lose power easily when temperatures drop. A set of boosting cables in the boot gives a stalled car a way to start again, usually with help from another vehicle.
For a parent stranded with a car full of children, that can turn a long wait into a quick fix. Owning the cables isn’t enough, though. But having the cables isn’t enough, since knowing how to use them correctly is just as important as having them.
8. Sand for Grip in Snow
Heavy snow and ice can build up around the wheels and leave a car stuck. Spreading sand under the tires gives them traction and helps the vehicle move again.
One warning goes with this item: de-icing salt shouldn’t be kept in the boot, because it can cause rust. A small bag of sand takes up little room there.
Road emergencies don’t come with warnings, and having just a few things on hand helps you stay in control.
For parents traveling with kids, it is a small effort to do now that can help you handle problems later.
