Entertaining Toddlers on 12 Hour Trip

We travel quite a bit with the kids in our van. I put together a "surprise box". I find little toys like the other responses suggest, then put them in a different boxes (usually pencil boxes, but whatever works) and actually wrap them. I give them a new surprise every 2 hours, so they don't get then all at once and get bored with them too easily. It works pretty well seeing as though both my girls are young (3 and 4).

Good luck!

I bought some trays from Michael's (there are two "wells" on each side). Anyway, I stock one side with crayons and paper and coloring books, and on the other side I put play-doh and cookie cutters... If you have a fear of play-doh like a lot of parents do, don't worry, if it crumbles onto your carpet, wait for it to dry then pick it up... Also, our portable dvd player is a Godsend!! Good luck!

I have not tried this, but I have a few friends who have and found that it worked great. They went with their kids to the store and had them pick out some new toys and coloring books and such. Whatever your kids are interested in playing with. And then they made a travel bag and they were not allowed to play with it till their trip. So they are new toys and they should keep their excitment for 12 hours. My friends said it worked great. Good luck!

Go get those portable aqua doodles, no mess and they have a lap desk type thing. Also the magic doodle where it can erase.
If you can get a DVD player, borrow one if you have to. Watching a movie will totally help time pass!
Make sure you get them out to stretch often too, burn off steam. When we went on a long trip when my daughter was 3 1/2 and my son was almost 1 at rest stops or stopped to eat, I let them run like crazy to help release some energy and it helped them nap on the road.
Books, Leap Pads, washable markers and paper(if you don't have to monitor them too carefully) and stuff like that helps. Put a big bag where they can reach it to get things out of.
The DVD player I have to say was my saving grace. They watched two movies in full length and fell asleep on the second one driving there and going home. Granted you can get headphones as it does drive you a little batty while driving listening to the same movie over and over, but hey, they loved it and it made time go by fast for them.

I go to the dollar store or get cheap toys from the grocery store. I only spend $10-$15, but I get them each 1-3 new toys. I give them one at the start of the trip, and as they get bored I give them a new one. I usually end up throwing these toys away within a few months of the trip, but they are excited to have "new" toys on the car trip and it helps keep the whining down.

I do similar things to the suggestions below. On flights, I go to the store and buy travel friendly toys. I wrap them up and let her open one every half hour or so- or when she gets bored. Some good things are flashcards, books, a magnadoodle, a new set of crayons. They also have this coloring set that you put water into the pen thing and they "color" on the pictures, and colors appear. Then when they dry, the colors go away. It's mess-free and you can always find water! I also buy snacks that she normally doesn't get. Oh, and videos work too.

Good luck!

We just took a long trip. I got so many ideas off the internet that we didn't even use them all. I had bought new little dollar items and a few new movies. I wraped them up and every other time we stoped they got to open one. I would do this with toys they might not remember they had also.The kids looked forward to that. We watched many DVDs. I also had a map and I would mark off our stops this way they could see how much longer. They also each had a back pack filled with some of their own things. I brought them both their own blanket, stuffed animal, and also a head/neck pillow (they helped so they didn't get a kinked neck while napping in the car). Have fun, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but I think it was because I was prepared.

A great help for us was the website www.momsminivan.com. They have whole list of games, activities and tips to help you get through road trips long and short. One game that we did with our 3-year old was Billboard Alphabet. (This works best where there are more frequent billboards.) We had fun singing and finding the alphabet for almost an hour (fairly good focus time for toddlers :)). Enjoy your trip!

I made road trip bingo. Just make a bingo like card with pictures of things they might see on the trip. Once they find it they can cross it off. I also pack little toys (like happy meal size) and only give them a new one once in a while. That way they aren't bored with all of them at once. When you stop to eat, and weather permitting, try to find a place they can play and run off some energy. This will make the car seat less dreadfull. Read books, sing songs, and talk about what fun things you will do once you get to your destination.

Have safe travels!

We love toys that have no parts to lose. Like Magnadoodles, and we have this activity cube (I've seen them at Big Lots) where things spin and move, but never come apart. We also always take the See 'N Say. Ours is the barn one, and it sings The Farmer in the Dell and Old MacDonald, besides all the animal sounds.
Which brings me to advice #2: Write down a bunch of fun, silly songs to sing. When you're on the road, you'll inevitably only remember one or two, then draw a blank. And if you don't know all the words, look them up and print them off (or write them down) so you'll have them in the car. Here are some I can think of right now:
Old MacDonald
Jack and Jill
The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
ABC's
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Disney Songs--Zippadee Do Dah, Winnie the Pooh, When You Wish Upon a Star, Bippety Boppety Boo, etc.

You can also take them on CD or iPod or whatever you have. That's nice when you're tired of singing, or if you just can't handle it anymore and they can have headphones. Aaah, silence is golden!

And to burn off steam, get them out of their car seats every chance, even though it's a pain. And although I hate the food, McDonald's is a great place to burn off some energy! Look for those PlayPlaces. Other restaurants may have them, too. I know one Carl's Junior that has a really great playground! For that matter, just look for a city park. This is also not great food, but once we found a Little Ceasars, picked up a $5 hot N Ready pizza, and found a big park to eat at. No picnic bench, no playground, but my boys ran and ran and ran, and we got fresh air. Then we all had a race around the park and all felt much better when it was time to get back in the car.

I took my kids, 4 and 6, on a 2 day road trip to Texas this Summer, and I was worried about the same thing. My husband was great about getting us all prepared (he didn't get to go with us). He bought those portable DVD players that strap to the back of the front headrests and made sure we had a folder full of kid movies. He also got both of our kids their own special tote box(sterilite makes a great one that fits on the floor in front of the kids back seats)and filled it with new toys that they didn't get to have until the trip. For our son, the 6 yr old, he got a new small lego set, a spider man book that uses the marker that only colors on the book(safe for the car), and he really liked to look at the print out of the map from mapquest to see what state we were in and how many more we had to go. Our daughter, the 4 yr old, got a new girly lego set, a view finder, and a tinker bell book. They shared a rubbing art set we found for less than $10 at Wal-Mart. It was a big hit and kept them both busy. We also brought along our V-Tech learning video game thing. You can also make your own travel bingo cards. Those are great! If you don't want to make your own, you can try finding them in a book store, or you can go online to print out some already made up. It is also a good idea to have a snack box and a cooler. They will probably sleep a lot of the time too. Don't worry, it will be an adventure!

1. Leave as early as possible. When we take a trip we usually try to leave at about 4am -- Then the kids will sleep for a few hours then we can stop for breakfast. I alway think the drive time you can get in before noon always goes by faster that after that time.
2. Take along a few outdoor play things just for the rest stops. a ball, frisbee, bubbles ect.
3. Pack a few surprise bags ( ziploc bags with a small toy or game and a little treat or snack) and give each kid a new one about every 3 -4 hours. It'll break up the boredom for them.
4. Take lots of breaks...It'll make the road trip a little longer, but it'll be easier on everyone. ...I have to remind my hubby that the goal is to get there in one piece with our sanity -- Not get there in the record fastest time! :)
5. Check the internet to see if there are any fun places to see along the way. Some of our best memories of trips with the kids have been seeing the cheesy tourist stops, old west towns, dinosaur parks, big rocks, ect.
6. Most important, Have fun see the sites and keep your sense of humor!

we made it through 16 hours to Korea on a flight and back again...portable DVD player, pick out one or two new toys that are just for the trip, they pick them out and then put them in the "bag" or some container just for them for the trip. I stuck with snacks I already know she loves. Color Wonder books are AWESOME because they can't color on themselves, the seats or each other. and Usborne Books just came out with 100 things for young kids to do when they travel, they are dry erase flash cards, I sell them so I tried them out...my 2.5 year old just colored on them but they had fun mazes and different things on them--I even used a few. www.celestsbooks.com if you are interested in those. but for 3 hours...color wonder, DVD's that's my vote

I will probably be saying the same things you have heard, but in case something I say is new, I'll go ahead.
We did a trip last year with my 3 year old. ONly it was 24 hours! We left late in the evening. That way she slept for a good portion of it. seemed to really help.
New toys. I got her paper dolls, something she had never done. drawing, flashcards, books. I got new books so we had something new to read. Of course the DVD player, I don't know if we would have survived without it. It gave me a break from being the entertainer too. New snacks. Tapes/cd's. Anything new is usually good. Make sure there "loveys" are reachable.

Good luck.

Hey! I just took my 3 boys on a 6 hour road trip and was worried about the same thing. What we did is made surprise goodie bags with little like dollar toys and than we would give them a bag every hour of the trip, so they had a new toy every hour and this totally kept their attention! Good luck!!

When my husband and I move out of state and go to visit family, we plan to travel at night while the kids are asleep

Hi I have to make this short, I am short on time. But I once traved 5000 miles with my 1 1/2 year old and almost 3 year old in the car.. I had books and toys they had never seen before (or not for a long time). Lots of interesting snacks, music, etc. We played look for trucks, looks for yellow car games etc. We 'danced' to make the car go faster. Key note: We stopped every 2 + hours and chased a ball or played at a park (unless they were asleep). Also imp they didn't go to bed until much later like 9 pm every night due to all the sleep during the day. Also we stopped around 4 ish every night and let them play for a couple of hours.

Good luck, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Just be inventive. I loved all the talking we did on the trip!
R.

Leappads and MagnaDoodles are great. New toys. Target often has entertaining small toys in the $1 section that we've bought hours of quiet with. Regular breaks are key. We sometimes eat in the car to buy sanity and take a break to actually play, rather than to sit and eat. The three year old might enjoy the playschool camera. The 2 yo, too, if you're up to spending that much. Be prepared for lots of blurry, unidentifiable pictures that they will be very proud of and you will have to save for a while on the computer. GL! We live on the road with my husband, so if you get mid-trip and run into problems, send me an email. We've probably dealt with it. A must for a child not potty trained is 2 piddle pads from Babis 'R Us!!! Also, if juice gives them problems, cut it with water.

Books on tape fromt he library...fairytales good and short.
Magnet boards...Mellissa and doug have good ones
Color wonder markless markers
singing together...especially echo songs like going on a Bear Hunt
Plan stops every two hours, potty first, time ten minutes to run around..and really run or do a mini-scavenger hunt, and potty again.
And, movies are always a good fix for late in the afternoon when it is hot and you just want to get there. We have old cars so use a computer with a cigarette adaptor cord.

Oh, and it took 9 hours to drive to Kansas City. With my 3 and 2 year old it took 12 hours. Also, leave at 4 am or earlier. I am lucky to have a morning person husband so he drives at like 2-4 am and then we all wake up at 7 and have breakfast. Half the trip is over for us.

I've taken two long trips with my youngsters and have had a good bit of success by breaking it up and adding in things they like. Even most small towns have websites and you can use them to find playgrounds through a "recreation" department. Try to plan to stop every 2-3 hours so they can burn off some energy. Find restraunts with playscapes too. I use Yahoo Travel to create an itinerary.

Another thing to consider is that sitting that long can hurt their backs. I'm not sure how big yours are, but if their legs dangle it can get painful. Leaps and bounds has a good footrest that flips up and down for convenience.

We also play roadside BINGO. You can make up a board of things you expect them to see along the way (red car, cow, dump truck, silo). Use stickers or print off pictures if you're not an artist. We liked ours so much we laminated them at Kinkos.

That's a long time. Whenever we travel like that we try and do some of the driving when our daughter would normally be sleeping. The one tip I have is come prepared. Bring snacks (that aren't too messy, I almost did myself in with melon), favorite books, CDs and surprises. We brought a spiral notebook, crayons and lots of stickers and this helped pass the time. Also if their car seats are near each other, let them both play with puppets and put on a show for each other. There is also an older book called 365 TV Free Activies and one called Things To Do on the Go, that might give you more ideas. Have a safe and fun trip.

In addition to some of the great suggestions already posted, we check out books with accompanying CDs from the library. They can listen to the story while looking at the book.