Activities/advice for a Three Day Road Trip with 16 Month Old

Get a portable DVD player if you don't have one and set it up in front of her (we got a strap that goes between the seats that holds it between the front seats) with something she likes (barney? Kids songs?), it helps pass the time when nothing else works! It worked for us!

Whew, 3 days... honestly, my daughter is 16 months old and I could not see myself driving with her for 9 hours each day for 3 days. I would seriously reconsider whether flying is an option for you.

One thing that you could do is driving at night for a few hours at least, while she is asleep.
On long trips we stop every two hours or so, but the longest trip we've driven so far was 8 hours...and we took one two hour break after 4 hours so everyone got to stretch their legs and run around.
We have done a few long plane rides (10 hrs+), but that isn't really comparable, because you do get to get up and can devote all your attention to your baby - if you're the one driving, that won't be possible.

I like taking along a mix of new toys, favorite toys, books and electronic toys. We don't usually have electronic toys at home to play with, so they are a special treat and pushing the buttons can keep my daughter entertained for a while.
We also listen to CD's and sing along to pass the time. If you can, you could switch her between cars every now and then so she gets to see the other parent and some new stimulation and you get to have a break.
Have a safe trip!

M.,

My husband is in the military so I often find myself in the car with my 2 children. You've gotten some good advice. Consider your daughter's personality and your own and pick what you think will work for your family.

My children are within days of being exactly 2 years apart. They are now 3 and 5 and have lived in 3 different places(Virginia, Missouri, and Washington). We have spent a lot of time traveling wether moving, visiting family, or vacationing. Our driving strategties have changed based on their age and wether I am alone or with my husband and wether we have 1 or 2 cars.

One thing to consider when planning your trip is that you will be changing time zones.

Some people have suggested traveling at night - if your daughter sleeps well in the car and you don't mind driving at night, go for it. Just remember you are driving for 3 days and will need some rest, too. If she sleeps while you are driving, what will she do when you are trying to sleep?

I myself am a morning person. My children, too, are their best in the morning. Therefore if I am involved in driving, we usually get up and go right away. Sometimes we even have breakfast in the car. It helps to pass some time. Then we drive for as long as the kids are content. At this time of day they are almost always good for at least 4 hours and someitmes longer. Then we stop for some lunch and find a place for them to play. Then they are usually ready for a nap - in the car they sometimes nap for as long as 3 hours. I usually have a snack ready for them when they wake up to buy me a little more time. Before I know it, we've gone another 4 hours and are ready for a dinner break. If we are traveling for several days in a row, we usually end our day here and let the kids unwind at a hotel after dinner. If we are close to our destination, we keep going after dinner.

For car entertainment here are some things I do. My kids have special animals and blankets that always come in the car with us for trips. I also help them to choose some things for a backpack that they can sit on the seat next to them to play with along the way (these things are usually played with for a while then dropped to the floor or somewhere out of reach - we just pick up and repack at each stop). On the seat next to me, I usually have some small surprise things that I pick up at a local dollar store or elsewhere and distribute them on an as needed basis. I also keep snacks and books on the seat next to me. My children love books and music so we stash the CD player and car with kid appropriate music and bring along CDs that read books to the kids. We do have a portable DVD player that we reserve for long trips so the kids also like to watch a movie sometimes. Use your imagination, too. You can play car games like I Spy, etc.

As I mentioned, my children's ages really have driven our schedule on our many driving trips. The paragraph above describes the schedule we used when we drove from MO to WA when our daughter was 1 and our son was 3. My husband and I drove separate cars. However, my daughter's very first long trip was from VA to MO when she was 2 months old and my son was 2 years, 2 months. On that trip, I was traveling alone. I was lucky, they were great!!!!! Since I was nursing my daughter, I drove until she was hungry. I would stop at a McDonald's where my son could play while I fed her. Obviously on this trip, I stopped more often.

Good Luck on your upcoming trip and move. We too will be moving to MO but not until May. Whatever you plan, remember to be flexible.

she may be a little young, but books on tape that you can put into the cd player in the car...a magna doodle for drawing, drive part way during the evening so she can sleep a bit, stop at playgrounds every so often to run around...good luck!

Have you considered doing part of the driving at night? Maybe hanging out for part of the day doing fun activities like a park or a swimming pool or anything like that, then driving during naptime, making meals a little longer---my daughter tends to do fine in the car for 4 or so hours of actual awake time, but more than that is pushing it a bit. I don't think that the three days will matter much---I don't think the little ones really tend to think of it like that. It's just whatever's happening today is happening. Have a great time---there's lots that's fun to see between Seattle and Kansas City!

The longest I've ridden in the car with one that age is 3-4 hours. We stopped half way thru for 30 minutes or so. The reason that we did stop is that she was beginning to get fussy.

The difficulty that we had was staying overnight in a motel. We did that only once for one night. But from that experience I'd suggest taking her bedding with you. The blankets will have the same odor and texture that way. My granddaughter cried and fussed for quite awhile before going to sleep. We did use the motel's crib. She had slept in her own crib at home. I don't know if that would've helped but if I were to do it again I'd try it.

We did a very similar trip about that age Seattle to Chicago. We did not have a DVD player. My husband went through our route and identified all the parks in every city - we'd stop for lunch and before dinner at a town that had a park - we also bought lots of books including Rodger Piddy picture books so she'd have something new.

My only note is that it took longer then we would have otherwise since we stopped earlier in the evening then we use to doing that trip. So we'd stop at 7:00 PM and we'd also have to leave later since she is not a morning person.

You'll do fine.

We moved to the east coast (51 hours away) when our kids were 10 months and 2 1/2, we took 40 days to get there. We had made the mad dash across and back with our pets, boats, and extra vehicle so we could take our time with the kids. (my parents watched the kids while we did this for 10 days) When we moved back across 3 years later the kids were 3 and 5 and we didn't have the time to make multiple trips so we became a traveling caravan with my husband and son in the truck pulling the boat and our daughter, cat, dog, and myself in the minivan pulling a trailer. We took about 10 days stopping to see some family along the way. We got on the road between 10 and 11 each morning so the kids could have their running around time before getting into the cars. We also let them play at a playground or ride their bikes in the parking lot we stopped to eat in at lunch and then were done driving for the day by 6pm or so. The minivan has a portable DVD player and once in a while my son would want to watch a movie so I would have both of the kids for that but most of the time he liked being in the truck. I wouldn't do any more stops then normal. As for being worried about driving for 3 days, it is just 3 days she will get over it and probably have good memories of it. My kids loved staying in the hotels, they didn't see much of the countryside due to movies and sleeping (my son gets carsick so took part of a dramamine everyday we drove). But they talk about our trip sometimes and recognize all the hotels we stayed in, mainly Super 8 because of pets. Oh make sure she has her favorite stuffed animal, blanket, a couple of toys, our kids had what they wanted in their backpacks so they could get to the toys they wanted. Good luck, it is fun.

I have driven on several long trips with my son. I never really stopped anymore than I normally would have, I just spent a litte more time at each stop. I would make sure to get a small, hand-held DVD player, new DVD's, fun music, coloring and unusual snacks (I would get my son pringles, gummy fruits, juice boxes and other things that he never got at home). Also, lots of new toys to spread out over the trip (just small things that she'll like). I would keep the bag of toys in the front and hand them back one at a time (as they would fall on the floor).

I did all my driving with just my son and I, but there was a suggestion to bring a friend which is good if you can.

Good luck!

hi mellisa, i would make sure that she has enough clothes and food andtoys for the trip.when she is not sleeping tell her to look out the window and see the trees ,flowers or whatever.this somtimes helps. or if she likes to sing sing some of her favorite songs with her but be sure to keep your eyes on the road. as for rseting,we used to stop a roadside rest ares and take a brake and stretch our legs. sometimes we would spend the ight in our car,and set our alarm for an early start. we traveled with 5 children. good luck to you and have a safe trip. amom and grandma and greatg.ma.

See if a friend can drive with you, she could help entertain the baby while you drive and you guys could take turns. Then you could pay for her to fly back