Late-summer car trip? Here's how to survive the drive.When Mary Webb's daughters were 7, 5 and 3, she drove them from Cambridge, MA, to a remote cabin in Maine. The 41-year-old landscape architect felt well prepared for the six-hour journey, having loaded the car with pillows, DVDs and the Annie Get Your Gun CD. Her girls, however, were not so sanguine. "They squirmed. They fought. They all wanted the same space," Mary recalls. "It was a struggle just to get there."Hot summer weekends are ripe for road trips, with more than 35 million people due to hit the highway this Labor Day alone, according to the American Automobile Association. But as much as you may be up for the escapade, traveling long distances with little ones can put your patience to the test—especially when your youngest starts asking, "Are we there yet?" just 15 minutes into the ride. Here, the experts' secrets to jauntier jaunts.Prep with your kids. "The difference between a fantastic trip and a disastrous one is planning," says Mary Rodgers Bundren, author of Travel Wise with Children. If kids are allowed to participate in preparing for their journey, they'll be more engaged in it—and you'll have a better shot at success. Ask your preschooler to bring a suitcase for his stuffed animal or to gather everyone's toiletries for you to pack. Your older child can pack her own bag and devise an imaginary trip budget. Have a Q and A with all of your children by asking what they think the family should do after arriving. "They'll love the responsibility," Bundren notes.Talk it up. Get kids excited about their destination by talking about regional words (catamaran, banyan, spelunk), offbeat area sights (the World's Largest Penny in Woodruff, WI; the Paul Bunyan statue in Bemidji, MN) and famous locals (Martin Luther King, Jr., in Atlanta, GA; Amelia Earhart in Atchison, KS).Be strategic about basics. Before you leave, do a quick Internet search for rest area exits or other places along your route where you can take the kids for regular bathroom breaks. If you're going on a particularly dull drive, encourage them to sleep by packing pillows and blankets and leaving at naptime. It's a good idea to bring along a bunch of kid-friendly snacks: Healthy finger foods loaded with complex carbs and protein will help regulate blood sugar and minimize tantrums. Smart choices include whole-grain crackers, pretzels, cereal, apples and string cheese. Feeding kids at the start of the trip may also help ward off motion sickness, since hunger makes it worse. If it occurs, stop and let kids out of the car for a bit, or engage them in singing or conversation to distract them. Some children with carsickness may benefit from medication; if it's a common occurrence, consult with their doctor before the trip.Prepare for other emergencies by packing a first aid kit. Marjorie Hogan, MD, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, suggests aceta-minophen and/or ibuprofen, soap, a washcloth, antibiotic ointment, 1 percent hydrocortisone cream, bandages, gauze, tape, an ice pack, tweezers, sunscreen and insect repellent. And maybe a few Swedish Fish to ease the pain. To prevent fussing and fighting, give each child his or her own "zone" in the car, says Dr. Hogan. "All kids should be placed in car seats until age four and booster seats until age eight and use seat belts afterward." Physically separating them in this way may keep arguments to a minimum.Soothe crankiness creatively. By mile 453, you've worn out the Dr. Seuss audio books and Dora the Explorer soundtracks. Everyone's grumpy and tired—including you. That's when you break out the following activities:

Seal the deal. What you do at the end of a road trip is almost as important as what you do at the beginning of it. When children remember how much fun they had on the journey, they'll be raring to go on another one—and your future travels together will become a lot easier. While you're away, have kids keep a journal of their impressions, written on the back of local postcards. Send them home so everyone can read them when they get back, then put them in a trip scrapbook. Don't forget to play the video you've recorded, too. With luck, your children's memories of the trip will last far longer than the trip itself.