Need Suggestions for a Long Drive with Toddler!!

It looks like you have gotten a lot of great advice. If you can do it, I agree that leaving around the normal bedtime will help as the kids will go to sleep and you will have a more or less peaceful drive. Yes, unfortunately it will take its toll on you. As a toy i recommend the crayola wonder markers (they only show color on the "magic" paper). THe kids can doodle like crazy and you don't have to worry about messes or stains. We rarely let the kids play with markers so this became a "privelage" for them. I also recommend "play cell phones" for the kids so they can pretend also. Good Luck!

My kids have always loved stories on tape since they were little. I know they're young, but they still might like them. Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom is good. It's a combo of talking and songs.

Good luck!

A little trick I learned from my Mom...buy small toys or games for the car and wrap them before you leave. When the oldest gets fussy or will not get back into his car seat, bribe him with a present! Or reward good behavior with one. I loved it as a kid, so do my kids!!! Good luck!

It is imperative to stop and let him run around at least every couple hours but definately when he starts getting antsy. Play cames like looking for different colored cars.

When you stop to eat, make sure it is a place your toddler can run and stretch there legs, let them do that while you eat. Do not make them sit for the meal(it will be torture on everyone), let them eat it in the car if that is feasible. Ideas would be get sandwiches and go to a park, or fast food with the playland areas. Also favorite books and magna doodles are great.

Hi T.,

When we traveled by car to Utah (13 hour drive), we left really early in the morning (3 am). This way, our 2yr old son, 4yr old daughter, and 7 yr old daughter could sleep for a big part of the driving. Then, we had DVDs and only stopped for gas and potty/meal breaks a couple of times.

Hi T.,

It looks like you've already received so much great advice, but I'm going to add one more suggestion that worked so well for me when I had to take a long trip by myself with my son when he was 18 months old. Go buy a few very inexpensive small toys that will only come out for the trip. Plan to give a new toy approximately once per hour of the trip (or as incentive to get your toddler back into the car after you've had a stop to run around). Wrap each toy in wrapping paper (loosely and w/o bows to prevent frustration while opening). Your toddler will be so excited to get little gifts and the unwrapping will make it that much more exciting. This gift giving was a tradition in my husband's family. He and his sister are 14 months apart and his family took lots of enjoyable family road trips.

A few other toys that my son enjoys on long trips are his magna doodle, a chalkboard mat and those books that have buttons that make sounds.

From my experience with trips when my son was younger, your 4 month old will probably sleep through a good portion of the trip, but grab a few new clutching toys for him, too.

Good luck to you!

-H.

Do be sure to try to give your toddler enough safe running around when you make stops. It sounds like you may be the only adult on this trip. If that's correct, I don't envy you, but just be careful and stay calm... and put in enough stop times so that you and your little ones will not get too tired.

Get a travel size DoodlePro if you don't have one. Be prepared to admire lots of artwork! A zip bag or small tupperware container with treats like Cheerios, Goldfish, etc. and maybe teach Toddler the I Spy game now so you can play it on the road. The baby will sleep a lot.
Keep their diapers dry so they don't end up with bad diaper rashes. And if Toddler has a special sleepy time blankie or stuffed animal make sure it rides with him so he can doze off and comfort himself.
I do wish you luck!!!!

Hi T., From readng your message, it seems like you are traveling alone with the two kids. If that is not the case, and you do have your husband or another person in the car with you, then things would be less challenging. I have traveled for long car rides with my two girls, now 11 and 14 since they were small. I used to plan the entertainment bag well in advance of long journeys in the car or on the plane. It seems that the most successful trips were when I had packed as many new things as possible. I would hand the new toy/trinket to the girls as we traveled along, a good rule of thumb was one item per hour. We made a great game out of it, I know it sounds like bribery, but each hour, on the hour, I would have something new to pass back. Then we would talk about it together. Now, you are dealing with a fairly young boy--not quite two. Depending on how verbal he is, this may be too advanced for him. If he is able to look ahead and anticipate already, then this may work. We played a ton of guessing games in the car. DVDs and audio CDs were also a great way to entertain. Find the most animated ones you can...ones with animal or vehicle noises to get your son engaged in joining in with his voice. These are a few ideas of how I have succeeded in staving off boredom with my toddlers as they traveled with me. Since you also have a young infant, there is no doubt that you will have to stop frequently. Good Luck, T.. --K. T

Hi T.~

Something that my mom did for us as kids and something that I have carried on with my kids, is to make a special "road trip" bag. I found a couple of inexpensive backpacks at Ross, and then went to the dollar store and filled them with some fun new toys. Every hour or so of the drive I would introduce a new toy to my kids. The novelty of the new toy distracted them long enough to get to the next stage of the drive. It worked nicely, and I didn't have to spend a ton of money to do it. Good luck!!

Hi T.,

I drove from NM to CAL with two very little kids years ago, it was almost 20 hours (and a return trip). Luckily, the monotony encourages them to sleep. Also singing songs, pointing out what you're passing through, and listening to fun music can all help. You'll survive, I promise. One thing that will help everyone is for you to stop stressing. The more stressed you are, the more little ones pick up on it and respond to it, and the stress doesn't help you either. Try to relax and even have fun, the more relaxed you are the easier it'll be for your little ones to be mellow. Good luck.

When my daughter was a toddler we took lots of long car trips. The biggest piece of advice I can give is that, when we needed to stop for gas/food, we didn't just pull off the highway at a the nearest gas station/fast food place. I packed lots of her favorite foods, and when it was time to stop, I'd pull off the highway in what looked like an area where you might find homes/neighborhoods. I would then look for a park (or a school playground). My daughter would be able to get out and run around a play for a little while before it was time to move on. If your husband is driving with you, you might even consider having him drop you and the kids at a park while he goes to gas up and then comes back to get you. That way, you can maximize the amount of time your kids have to play before it's time to get back in the car seat. Good luck!

Can you travel at night while he's asleep, anyway?
Make sure his carseat is _comfortable_! A lot of them (except for Britax, of course) are really lacking in the padding department, although some of the not-Britax brands have finally started to get a clue in the past couple of years. Would you want to spend an hour or two sitting in his seat (pretending you were the size to fit in it)?

With two car seats, you may not be able to do this but when we drove to SD with our two year old I road in back with him. We did a lot of talking and looking and I was there to hold his colored pencils so they didn't end up on the floor. It was amazing to see how much he matured in that week with having constant undivided attention. So if possible, have an adult ride in back witht he kids.

I always bathe the kids, put them in their jammies and head out around bedtime. Its worth being a little tired the next day because they sleep the whole way.

Just make sure the hotel knows you will be there at an odd hour - they dont usually have a problem as long as they know ahead of time.

Hi T.,

I have had my share of traveling with toddlers to Texas and Mexico Driving 18-36 hr with 3 kids. I found that it is best to travel at night or very early in the morning. They sleep most of the drive and DVD are great children's songs you can sing with them color cranes and books to read. I wish you a safe trip and enjoy.
Best wishes,
D.

Playing favorite music always worked pretty good for us. I was surprised at how much mileage (haha, pun intended!) we got out of that cd. For us it was "Toddler Favorites" I think its by "Music for Little People". Purchased it at Target. Good luck!!!

the best advice i can give...
leave about an hour or two before the 22 month olds normal bed time you and your husband split drive time and whoever takes the first shift should take a nap earlier that day or evening, the one taking the later shift should nap the next afternoon. there's no excuse for not being able to take a nap your two boys do i'm sure, laty down when they do. if you truly truly can't get in a nap, yes you might be tierd but the stress stops time and getting on each others nerves is no way to start a vacation. besides vacations or new places always invigorate the soul.

good luck and have fun :)

Hi T.,
If it's possible, you may want to try leaving very early so that they sleep the first few hours of the drive. When they wake up you can stop for breakfast and give them a good break out of their car seats. Then your movie idea would be great! Hopefully this will fill about five of your travel hours. For the final leg of your trip, get a couple of new toys that will entertain your 22 month old and plan on at least one other 20 minute stop for a snack and diaper change. Good Luck!!

Jen C.
Dixon, CA

Hi T.,
With all the great advice below, I'll just add what's worked for us. We've driven 7-8 hours with our son about 5 times since he was about a year old until now -- he's 2.5. We get up at his normal time but have everything ready to go before he gets up. So then we just get in the car and he eats breakfast there. We plan to stop every 2 hours for a "rest break" and try to find rest stops along the way to do this. We prepare our son before we stop that we will only be stopping to play for a little while. The second "break" we usually do lunch right after. Then we put on quiet music and have our son nap (if we're lucky he'll conk out for 2 hours).
We have standard travel toys that only come out in the car for the trip -- Magnadoodle, big sticker book, post-it notes, crayons, string toys -- and then special new little toys to break up the trip. Toddler Tunes is a must and amazing how many time this will pass time! With the DVD, you will gain even more time.
What you'll probably find is that it's just a lot of swapping out for something new. And in the end, you will get there!!!
Good luck.
-E.

Hi T.!

You'll be fine! Don't worry too much!

I would try to plan to leave about 1 1/2 hours prior to a normal naptime for your toddler. I personally, have learned to turnthe TV on right away during our trips. The drive goes by much quicker.

I always plan to stop alot, say almost 1 stop per hour. With 2 in diapers, this could happen naturally :o) But when you stop, make sure your toddler gets to run around. I enjoyed stopping at the Rest Areas because they always had open grass to run around in. Very good for toddlers.

My way of getting back my boys back in the car, was the movie! When they were yound I had purchased cheap DVD's for road trips to keep them occupied with a new movie.

Oh yeah, bring a blanket or something for changing diapers in public areas.

If you're traveling alone, then you'll want to make sure your infant is "hands-free" on you. Your toddler will need your full attention when you stop!

Happy traveling!

~N. :o)

Hi T.
We frequently drive to San Diego (8-hours or so) and the thing that works best for us is to leave around 5 or 6 pm or so. We have a 15 month old and 3 month old, and this way the 15 month old hangs out for a bit then falls asleep at 7/7:30 at normal bedtime. It's a bit hard for you but easier on them. Take snacks, books, sing along songs for the kids, and red bulls for you and your husband! Good luck!

Hey T. -

One of the things that worked really well for me when my kids were younger was to plan at least one stop near a park -- I just looked on Google Maps. Then, I told them they had exactly 30 minutes at the park, and they had to do 4 laps around the park, swing for 5 minutes, do the jungle gym for 5 minutes, etc...I made it out to be a game. They looked forward to it (a park they'd never seen, yippee!) and ran like mad when they got there. Snacks and a drink back in the car, I then asked them -- name five things about that park you'll remember. Of course, this would lead to 25 things they'd remember...and suddently we were at our destination.

Good luck!

J.

Just a quick suggestion....magna doodle. Crayons get lost and fall t the ground. With the Magna doodle it's all attached, and he can draw until finished, erase and start over.

I agree with others, stop frequently and let them run around and stretch. Play with the baby and let him lay on his tummy. We have two sons that are now 5 years and 22 1/2 months. Every time we go on a trip it takes about 2 to 4 hours longer because we need to stop for play breaks. It takes longer, but it saves us a WORLD of frustration. Good luck and try to take it easy!

http://www.chefwalton.com

We give our daughter (we started this when she was 18 months old) a bag, backpack or a square box and she can put whatever she wants to take with her in it. I offer suggestions on things to bring but ultimatly the decision is hers. I then take a separate backpack and I put in her leappad or leapster, a coloring book and crayons, her DS, and her MP3 player (dad's hand-me-down). We also pick3-4 movies she would like to watch and that are not too annoying for on the road and put them with the dvd player.

She has her "box" of toys next to her and I put the other stuff behind the opposite seat, and pull it out when/if needed. Depending on what time we leave, she will usually play for a bit, talk with us, then pass out for a bit. If she starts getting frustrated or anxious, I pull something out to distract her.

I do pack a few snacks, goldfish, bread, fruit cut into small cubes, ect... in a small cooler or l=insulated backpack.

Hope this helps! I drove with her from San Jose to Colorado and then from Colorado to Texas this summer, and had minimal crying or anything from her.

I'm momma to a wonderful 6 yr old.