Looking for Ideas to Keep My 18Mo Happy During a 12-14 Hour Road Trip in July

I would also save the dvd's until everything else had stopped working. When the kids were that young we also tried music~the instrumental song "Green Onions" (can't remember who it by though!) worked everytime! It has a great beat and would calm the kids down when nothing else would work. We would also make their favorite stuffed animals dance to the beat:) Sometimes we'll still use it and the kids are 7 and 5 now!

Have a fun trip!

Bubbles! We took a 2 week car trip when my daughter was 16 months old. When we had tried everything else and she was still screaming to get out of her carseat, we would take out the bubbles and blow them into the back seat. Worked everytime (at least for a while!)

Get a portable DVD player & movies or shows he likes. Get color wonders markers & papers. lots of snacks & drinks. Post-it notes they can stick anywhere. Favotire toys, doodle boards they can draw on & erase.

Hi B.,
I just did a 7 hour road trip with my 16 month old this past weekend. I great idea I got somewhere was to bring a small cookie/baking sheet and a bunch of magnets. You can set the cookie sheet on their lap and they can play with the magnets on the sheet. My son LOVED it. I got a set of the alphabet letters and some animals and it kept him SO entertained.

Good luck with the trip!

I know some parents don't approve, but we bought a dvd player for our daughter during road trips. It keeps her entertained for awhile anyways! That is always the best thing that has worked for us!

We travel to Canada (12 hour trip) every year with our 3 little ones so I totally know what you are in for. I hope none of my suggestions have been given already.
I always go to the state dept of highways (we travel thru MN and ND)and print out their map of rest stops so I know where to expect them along the way. Just google the states Dept of Transportation that you plan to go thru and they should have them all flagged on a map to print out.
I also like to collect "new" books, toys and music cd's from garage sales and thrift stores that they have never seen before and keep them to pull out on the trip.
Crayons are a no-no during the hot summer and I don't like having to search for marker lids so I usually get pencil crayons (not sharpened too pointy!) and new coloring books from the dollar store. Crayola has those fat egg shaped markers that are great for kids younger than 2 and they have no lids. Dim flashlights for dusk time when its hard to see keeps them occupied as well.
Good luck and drive safe
K.

We just took a 5 hour car trip with my 21 months old, and she loves books, so I brought a bag of those and gave her one at a time. When she got bored with one, I'd give her another. I also brought a doll and some other toys she hadn't played with in a while, so they were new and fun to her. Also only gave those to her one at a time. Finally, we gave her stickers that she spent twenty minutes sticking and resticking to her fingers, shoes and dolly!
We also listened to her favorite CD of children's songs and sang along for about 40 minutes to that.

I have not done this before, but my friend has done it several times with her three kids. She goes to sleep when they do they night before to some sleep, then leaves in the middle of the night (about 2 AM) and the kids stay asleep most of the 10 hr trip and the traffic is way less than any other time of day.

We drive to Michigan several times a year (12-14 hours) with our now 2.5 year old and I must say the best thing we've ever done is purchase a portable DVD player. For the first 8 hours of our trips she usually does pretty well with books, colors (we love the reusable coloring books that you can color on and wipe off), baby dolls, and stickers and then for the last few hours we let her watch Dora or Disney Movies/shows. When she was very little I also used puppets and would put on a puppet show for her but the DVD player is far more interesting to her now (and easier on me). Another thing we're going to try this year is to be sure we stop someplace for lunch that either has a play structure or a large field/space to run in so she can work out some of the pent up energy.

I just purchased some Sesame Street sing along tapes for in the car and my 18 month old just loves them. It keeps him quiet for a long time and he is an active little guy. Also those magnetic doodle boards. Play games with him like where is the truck, where is the motorcycle. Have plenty of snacks with you and stop every so often to let him run. Toys R Us has some fun drinking juices with charcters on the top. Pull those out when he gets antcy. Also crayons/coloring book I would also suggest or if you have a portable DVD player. Also, you could get a bunch of little things from the $1 store to keep him occupied.

Your best bet is to travel at night or in the evening so he can sleep. I have been travelling with my son since he was 10 days old- 12 each way to Texas and back. If you can wait to leave at 5 or 6 pm, it won't take long for him to fall asleep as he normally does- and the trip will be so much more peaceful for everyone.

We took a road trip last September and choose to rent an RV...I was hesitant at first but it was wonderful! It was soo nice to have a fridge right there so I could have healthy snacks on hand at all times.
I packed lots of little "presents" that I wrapped in tissue paper so he had to unwrap them (about 1 an hour) His favorite was the little MagnaDoodle thing. I just picked up a bunch of things from the Target $1 spot and the consignment store.

Good luck and enjoy!

What about buying a DVD Player for your car?

basically, plan to stop every 2 hours to get out, run around, and stretch with him. if you see a playground, that is an AWESOME opportunity to stop driving for a while. i would also HIGHLY recommend packing picnic type foods to eat along the way. stop at every rest stop that you can. even if he is asleep, get him out let him stretch and walk and whatever else to get some energy out. my son will literally say "i wanna GET OUTTA HERE!" LOL. anyway, good luck!

I would probably invest in the DVD player also. Other than that, www.onestepahead.com has some decent travel toys, also a magnadoodle, tons of books, you could do a google search for travel toys, and you could also go to the dollar store and load up on tons of toys that will be new and fun that you could disperse throughout the trip as he gets bored. Also, lots of stopping to stretch and run around!!! Have fun and good luck!

Hi B.,

We also travel several times a year to Indiana, been doing it since my daughter was a few weeks old. Now at ages 6 & 3 we are pros. Even drove all the way to Orlando for DisneyWorld! (23 hours!!) The other moms' suggestions are exactly what we do as well. Portable DVD player works wonders while they are awake. (mine loved the baby einstein videos when they were your sons age) And leaving at bedtime is also a great choice. We left at 7 PM for Orlando and they slept till TN when we finally stopped for breakfast! Good luck and enjoy your trip!!

When we found out we were expecting our third child, we knew the time was right to 'experience' a trip to Disney for our other two children - since a baby would change timing for a few years. Turns out it was me that needed those frequent stops for bathrooms and nausea - since we overplanned for the kids.

We packed those things mentioned, and our two-year old loved the DVD player, even though she'd never watched a movie in her life - and to this day doesn't care for them. She loved having music or silly programs in her view. Also the magnadoodle, magnetic toys, lots of colors and large beads - just things to keep her hands busy. (We also talked about what was to come. We planned specific stops and mentioned early that we were trying to find the ?? and could they help us?)

And we dressed the kids in comfy clothes for bedtime - so they'd be ready for a carseat the next morning - without being in jammies. All of my children need to be 'changed' before heading out the door. We'd get up extra early (like between three and four) and wash up - pack the van - and then, lastly, carry the kids to carseats. Worked like a charm. We managed to pull off those early morning hours of driving and chatting as the kids slept their way into a late wake-up. We would later take mini-naps between us and drove strong through the afternoon naps.

We were on the road for nine days - with two completely on the road - and had very few issues - again, mostly me!

Good luck, and have a great adventure :)

T.

Traveling at night is an awesome idea, as well as the dvd player! We also have a travel backpack that our 18-mo old is only allowed to play with in the car. Every time we travel long distances I fill it with new and different toys, movies, and snacks to keep him entertained. I think the biggest trick is changing it up so they don't know what's coming next! Stopping and stretching/playing is an absolute must as well as stopping for meals, rather than drive thru just to give you another reason to get out and move around. Have fun!
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Thanks for posting, needed some of these good ideas myself for a 8 hour trip with our 20 month old in June! Good luck, hope your trip goes well!

I have no great ideas. Let me know what you hear, though. I have a trip coming up this fall with our two-year-old.

i just took a 8 hour trip with my 15 month old twins. We made sure that we planned the longest parts of our trips during their naptimes and we would stop after the naps and find a park in the city we stopped at and let them get out and run around for a bit.

we also took plenty of snacks like animal crackers. You could also maybe take a kids song cd along if your little one likes music. or grandpa could read books! we took books along on our trip as well.

definately be prepared to stop tho. no matter what you bring i don't think any kid can stand being in a carseat more than around 2 hours so you'll have to stop a lot! we ended up having grumpy boys a lot on our way home!

The DVD player and new movies are always a life saver for us. We save the DVDs until it gets to a point where nothing else works. I also usually take along some new books, music CDs, and some small toys that are new. Stickers and paper to put them on, or reusable stickers are great! They will keep our daughter entertained for quite awhile. When we were little my mom would record herself reading some of our favorite books. Then we could listen to her read the stories to us. We also try to plan the longer part of the trip (the distance with the fewest number of convenient stops) during nap time. We have found that our daughter tends to nap a little longer in the car than she normally does. Have a fun trip!

HI B.! I LOVED Rebecca K's magnet and cookie sheet idea! Just make sure the magnets are too big for them to fit in the mouth. I am going to try that!
We took our son on a trip to Colorado when he was 18 mo. He did SO well! We stopped only few times.
Music was the best thing we could do. I was hoarse from singing by the time we got there! Have a few different kids CD's in the car.
Luckily you have grandma and grandpa with you! That in itself will be entertaining! Have a great trip!
Also.....tons of books are great!

We take several trips that are longer in the summers as well although they are not as long as this. I like to go to the dollar store and buy little new toys to play with or as "prizes" after games like "I spy" or when the toys we brought from home have lost their appeal. New coloring books have also worked well for us. We also like to stop every few hours or so at a rest stop or playground, but there is no resting here. We run off some energy by chasing or playing follow the leader etc. We also bring several healthy snacks like oranges that have been pre peeled or grapes and crackers etc. and dole them out sparingly.