Three and a half hours into holiday travel with their kids is when “peak stress” hits parents, according to new research.
The survey of 2,000 parents with kids aged 5–12, who have traveled for the holidays with their child in the last year, looked at the highs (and lows) of traveling with little ones during the end of the year.
Parents report being most stressed just over three and a half hours into their trip — but 12% said their stress peaks in the first hour.
Where is this stress coming from? Parents said that keeping their kids entertained is the most demanding aspect of holiday vacation (64%).
Broadcast-ready version of this research story
Following that, dealing with temper tantrums (46%), trying to find bathrooms (43%) and hearing “are we there yet?” from the backseat (40%) were all found to be the top stressors for parents.
In fact, 28% would rather listen to nothing but “Baby Shark” for the entire trip rather than deal with traveling with a screaming child. And 13% said getting a root canal sounds like a more pleasant experience.
Commissioned by Welch’s Fruit Snacks ahead of their FruitSide Assistance campaign, and conducted by Talker Research, the survey revealed that despite the stress and difficulties, 93% of parents said traveling with their little ones is still completely worth it.
And in good news, nearly nine in 10 parents feel much more prepared to travel with their children this year compared to years past.
Planning ahead is key — the average parent has their travel itinerary completely set in stone over two months (2.3) before they hit the road.
“During the busy upcoming travel season, when highways are jam packed, and cars are bumper to bumper, parents know delays, boredom and tired kids can turn holiday magic into a test of endurance,” said Jason Levine, Chief Marketing Officer at PIM Brands, the makers of Welch’s Fruit Snacks. “We wanted to help these families by giving out kits including everything needed to handle kids’ on-road travel mishaps.”
Eighty-three percent of respondents said the key to a successful holiday with your kids is a robust roster of snacks.
This might be due to parents using snacks to prevent temper tantrums (78%) — stopping those stress-inducing meltdowns from occurring.
But snacks can be good for kids and parents alike: 80% of respondents have eaten the snacks they packed for their children when traveling.
Regardless of who’s eating them, fruit snacks (73%), cookies (64%) and cheese puffs (50%) were revealed to be the big three snacks parents absolutely must have on a trip.
What should you look out for when picking out these crucial snacks? According to parents, individual packaging is the most important thing to look out for (63%).
Snacks that are easily transportable (60%), not messy (59%) and don’t need to be refrigerated (59%) are also key.
With the goal of ensuring travelers have easy access to snacks, Welch’s FruitSide Assistance will be available for a limited time, on I-95 between New York City and Boston, the 5 Freeway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Interstate 55 between Chicago and St. Louis.
Included within the kits the van will be handing out are coloring activities and games, a blanket, a phone charger, a fruit-shaped squishy toy and fruit snacks.
Alongside having snacks on hand throughout the trip, many parents (61%) reported that they tend to get less strict about rules in order to keep their kids happy.
Seventy-seven percent said they give them more screen time than normal, with 62% letting them indulge in more junk food. Alongside that, 61% of parents said bedtimes go completely out the window, too.
And while six in 10 parents agreed that traveling with their kids is the most stressful part of the entire holiday season, that doesn’t mean they’re not trying to be meticulous about planning to make the journey as smooth as possible.
According to the data, the average parent plans to spend $911 on everything related to travel this holiday season — from gas to lodging to snacks for their children.
“We know travel can be unpredictable, so our goal is to help families stay happy along the way. It is our way of spreading joy, making the journey as enjoyable as the destination,” said Levine.
ADVICE FROM PARENTS ON HOW TO TRAVEL WITH KIDS LIKE A PRO (*Responses edited for clarity)
“Be flexible. Things will go wrong. That’s okay.”“Be patient.”“Make sure that they’re happy. Give them plenty of snacks and electronics!”“Be prepared for meltdowns. Pack healthy snacks and their favorite toys.”“Make a flexible plan. Decide how much you think your young child can handle in a day, and then plan a little bit more, but with the understanding that it’s fine if you don’t get to all of it.”“Always keep one surprise thing in your bag as a token for your kids to behave well during the trip. It can be a toy or a game.”“The calmer you are, the calmer they will be. Act like it’s normal.”“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Babies will cry, toddlers will melt down, tweens will pout and teens will ignore everyone. It’s just a part of life.”“Go with the flow.”
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 parents of children aged 5–12 who have traveled for the holidays with their child in the last year; the survey was commissioned by Welch’s Fruit Snacks and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12, 2024.
We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:
Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentiveProgrammatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in
Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.
Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.
Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.
Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:
Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speedersOpen ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant textBots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify botsDuplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once
It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.
