Hi mamas!
My husband and I love taking roadtrips and will be taking another one in a couple of weeks with our 15 month old son. We are driving to Santa Monica to stay for 2 days and then to Las Vegas to stay for 5 days so it is a long drive (that we have done before but not with our son). We will be leaving right after our son eats dinner so he can sleep for the beginning of it and driving until we get to Utah and stopping to stay over night then back on the road again until Santa Monica. On the way back, we are stopping in Texas to stay a night. We would love any and all tips to make this the best and least stressful road trip for our son and us. Thanks in advance!
Thanks mamas so far for the all the great tips! Keep em coming if you have more! I will let all of you know how it works out when we get back :)
And yes, Anne Marie ... we do what to do this. Our son actually loves being in the car and watching all the cars drive by so we don't feel like it will be torture for him at all. We do plan on stopping as often as needed to let him run around and stretch for a while.
I think what we have to keep in minds as parents is this. We have to wear a seat belt on long trips. A child has to be in a car seat. I don't care how advanced and comfortable you think the car seat is, a car seat keeps a child very restricted. That is what is so hard on kids on these long trips.
We do this all the time.
Items that help:
Portable DVD player that straps to the seat in front of your child
Favorite movies or music cds
A tote full of small toys and books
Favorite blanket, binkie or security item
Small cooler with no mess snacks and sippy cups of juice
Childs flashlight (just in case it's nite time - hard to drive with interior lights on)
Crayola markers that only draw on the special paper
I suggest if he is awake, several short stops. Let him walk/run of the energy .
And, if you can sit in the back next to him, it sure does make it easier to tend to him and he may not feel as lonely.
Have fun.
This December our flight home was cancelled and we were diverted to North Carolina. So after a stressful day hanging out at the airport we drove all night and part of the day home. My son was absolutely fine! He slept all night, hung out for a few hours, then more napping. He was 15 months at the time.
My point is that we did not plan for it and did not have any additional material (not even winter coats :0) and had no problems.
Have a great trip.
Stop every two hours if possible. That's as much as they can take before screaming discomfort. Let him get out and stretch legs. As you said, start out when he would be taking a nap, hopefully he sleeps for 2 hrs straight.
If you don't want to sleep the same times as your son, you may have to get creative where you put the pack and play. We found at that age it was sometimes good in a closet or even the bathroom. We also had put it in the corner and created a barrier of blankets and chairs. There were a few times where we put her to bed in her pack and play and we left the room and I stayed outside the room and read while my husband took our older child to the pool.
Another hint since it sounds like you will be making multiple stops. Pack an everyday bag with essentials - medicines, bathing suits, pj's, toiletries. Then pack by stays - your Utah night would be one change of clothes for each person only. Dirty clothes would go back in that bag. That way you are only taking in the everyday bag, one small bag and the pack and play. Hauling a whole week's worth of clothes in for a one night hotel stay really gets old and makes life more difficult.
I'm proud of you for taking this leap. Maybe you will do what we have done with our girls. Our goal is for them to visit all 50 states by the time they are 18. Tara is almost 11 and will get number 31 this summer, Elise is almost 8 and will get number 28 this summer.
Most of these states were done on major drives. The first one was 19 states when Elise was 14 months old. We found that contrary to the "stop often" philosophy that it's better to go as long as you can without stopping and stop only if needed. Getting to the destination and relaxing is better. We also have found that 6 hours is the max driving we as grown ups like to do in a day.
We drove to Florida from Illinois when my son was 19 months old. We took some of his favorite toys and books, and we packed plenty of snacks and beverages for him (and us). Before we left, we went to the store and let him pick out two stuffed versions of his favorite TV/movie characters, and they were his "road buddies" - they were new so he played with them the whole trip, and they kept him company in the back seat. While on the road we stopped every two to three hours for 15-20 minutes to let him run around (and poop if necessary, because he wouldn't while seated in the car), or an hour or so if it was a meal time. We took a DVD player, but he really didn't even need them, he was content. We talked to him a lot and sang songs.
We honestly believe the reason he was so well-behaved during the trip is because we stopped so often to let him run around. Sure the trip took a little longer, but it was worth the extra time to have a pleasant drive for all of us.
Have a great time!!
sounds like total torture for an average 15-30 month old. Do you really want to do that?
Just the same as usual. Keep him fed, smile sing and talk to him and change him often so he is comfortable. He is just like us, will get bored, let him get out and stretch once in awhile. He will be fine!
We drove 500+ miles down to Missouri with my two young sons. We mostly tried driving at night and stopped at every rest stop to pee. Small snacks in the car and they liked playing with hot wheels. Also the doodle pad toy is fun. My sons like music just like daddy, so that helped. Whenever there was a park at a rest stop, we then took some time to play. Mostly just go with the flow, children are unpredictable.
