I take my son to meet his dad every weekend. It is a 3 hour total drive for my son. He is 4 years old and is starting to really hate the drive. Any suggestions what to do to make him more comfortable and make the ride more enjoyable? I feel so bad for him!!
My son's father and I meet halfway, which is an hour and a half (approx) for each party, so my son is in the car a total of about 3 hours.
Hi moms! Thanks for the responses thus far! I am working on getting the weekend visits lessened, but per our agreement he gets every weekend until we have a trial where the judge changes it or until my ex and I agree to something else. Problem is, it will cost us about 10k to have a full blown trial and get what we really want. My ex really doesn't have my son's best interest in mind. My ex wants to see our son every weekend because that is what he wants, not because it is best for my son. When we first entered into this agreement, we lived 25 miles from each other. I have since moved for many unavoidable reasons, hence the current three-hour drive.
I have tried books on CDs and such....I think he is just so irritated at being in the car more than anything. Maybe getting out and stretching his legs halfway would help. This is really wearing on our family and I appreciate all the helpful suggestions! Any pillow/blanket suggestions that are best for car seats/long trips?
books on cd rock car rides!! You can find tons at the library! Also, I found with a long trip to Florida when my daughter was 5 she & her big brother had a blast with pipe cleaners! They made such cool things & they clean up easily. I'm not a fan of dvds & cpu games in the car, kids need time to tune out & look out the window, everything is in their faces to entertain them all the time, being a passive rider can be a really good thing. :)
D.
For car trips, we rent books-on-tape or CD from the library and listen to them for an hour or two, sometimes the kids take a quick nap, too. So, we bring along their pillows and snuggle blankets.
We don't do hand-held gaming systems or DVD's in the car. We wanted to get them in the habit of being comfortable with less, so we wouldn't have to have those items each time. We watch DVDs at home, just not in the car. And we don't really do Play Station or that kind of stuff.
Now, before a trip, they ask, "When can we go to the library to pick out our stories???" and we all get to enjoy a nice story together. Plus, it is usually pretty quiet once the story is going.
Have a safe journey, mama!
Have you tried a Leapster or other hand-held gaming system?
We have a portable DVD player. You could get him one and he could watch some of his favorite movies.
Get some books so he can read to you while you are driving.
Get some fun sing along kids songs. Play the I spy game. Try leaving early so he sleeps some or all the way.
Look for games or things he can do while you are driving?
Good luck!
i agree, dvd player and nintendo ds or leapster, you wont hear a word lol
Hi Kim,
We bought this kind of desk/tray thing for my daughter who is 3 and would get very antsy in the car and drive us both nuts! It works great. She can eat on it and also color, play with her ponies, even a bit of play-doh and cookie cutters. It was only like $20. Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Kids-Snack-Play-Travel/dp/B000...
We ordered it from amazon and love it. It has a seat belt thing that goes around her waste to keep in on (she is still in a five-point harness car seat) and has pockets on the sides for all her stuff.
We also have a dvd player and let her watch movies she loves. We also invested in a couple kids cd's to let her listen to as we drive. I swear I was going hoarse from all the singing I was doing! LOL. She loves Hi-5 and Ralph's World and I can stomach them myself =) If all fails....I resort to singing that song where you put in people's names...Mary Mary Bo berry Fa Nanna Fanna Fo Fary Me Mi MO Merry....Mary! I let her pick the names and she could have me do it for hours! Hence, the new table and dvd player. We also go to my inlaws quite often which is about 3 hours roundtrip.
And, I hope this doesn't sound rude, but is there any chance that you could have the visits changed to twice a month, but just extend a few extra days to limit travel? I know nothing about custody arrangements and it is definitely important for him to spend time with his father regularly.....its just sometimes kids need to relax just like adults. It must be tough on him to be shuffled back and forth every weekend. Again, I'm not trying to guilt you, I am sure you are doing your very best. Good luck, I hope these suggestions help.
Can your ex come to you?
