Activities for Road Trip

Hi there! I wrote an article on "EHow" about this very topic--you might find some of the hints useful:
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_car-trips-toddler-go...

I live outside DC but used to live in South Carolina --my parents live in Maine and my inlaws in Canada so I have traveled *extensively* with my 3.5 year old and it can definitely be done! Good luck!

I just did a 9 hr ride to visit family with my 3 children (5 1/2, 2 1/2 and 9mos) I would recomend many of the things already posted as well as trying to leave at night or at least closer to bedtime (we leave around 5pm). My kids watch one movie then fall asleep and the trip goes smoothly. They also love to wake up already at grandma's house. Good luck.
C. G

I went to the library and got all the pop-up books and books with flaps that I could find. It kept my then 16 month old busy for the entire 8 hour ride. I packed lots of snacks and that helped to. For the next road trip, I am going to buy small, dollar store gifts and wrap them and then ever hour or so, I'll give him something new to open and play with.

I was checking my home emails and someone sent me this web site www.momsminivan.com and it has lots of ideas for traveling with kids - including games, food ideas, etc.

Good luck

The things that entertain your kids are going ot be largely the same in the car as at home.

I think the most important thing is stopping every couple of hours at least. itming is everything. We do a 6 hour trip VA to NY frequently. We leave early and drive as long as we can while our energy is high and the kids are fresh. We play the CDs and sing, and I read to them while my husband drives. When we can't take it anymore, usually 2-3 hours, we stop for an hour and walk around, potty, and snack. Walking is really important. Then it is nap time. We are quiet, no music, and I read to myself. When the kids wake up we stop for lunch and walk more. Then do the last leg, where we bring out the movies.

Books on CD for your kids might be fun, and bring lots of movies, since you never know when traffic will hit. Get a lap desk and crayons too.

Good luck.

We just got back from a road trip to Missouri from Maryland with my 4 year old. It was our 3rd major one since he's been born. Here are a few tips that I hope help you!
- rent more DVDs from the library or go to Walmart - the library is free and you can keep the educational ones (Blues Clues, stories on tape, Dora, baby einstein) for a few weeks. Walmart has a large assortment of $5 kids videos. Worth every penny!
- Visit the dollar store for a few really cool toys that you can stash for bad moments when attention needs to be diverted. Squishy balls, large dice, cards are excellent.
-Dollar general has trays that are plastic and have two "pockets" on each side. These will fit over the carseat and give your child a surface to color, roll dice, stick stickers etc. There is also a space to hold a sippy cup!
- stop often. Encourage them to run, hop, skip to the nearest tree! We stopped at school playgrounds, parks etc just for 15 minutes of burn off major steam time. It really helps.
Hope you have a wonderful trip with your little ones!

Hi A.!
Are you familiar with those collapsable fabric boxes they sell at Target and Home Depot, etc? I have one box of "stuff" on the floor infront of each kiddo. Sometimes it's tough because we need the space for our things - but otherwise, those boxes are always there. They are filled with everything from books to toy cars to play animals, etc. You also can introduce an old toy they've "forgotten" about or get them a few new things. Stickers are always good too (they just may get all over...hmm...).

Good luck and have fun!
J.

i have 2 girls 21 months apart, and being that my family is from new jersey, they learned very early how to survive long car rides! by trial and error, i learned to pack each child their OWN 'busy bag'... let them each pick out one 'friend', 3 books, a coloring book (i used to throw like 4 crayons each in ziplocks for them... any more crayons then that and i'd find them a month later melted to the floor)... stickers (for the coloring books, NOT THE WINDOWS! lol...), small snacks they can get into themselves, like cheerios, something that they can eat at their own discression but not ruin lunch, a small bottle of water each (or sippy cup), and i'd always throw in a 'surprise', usually some cheap party favor like those little hand held puzzle games or a little snow globe or something stupid (but bc its NEW they will think its the most fantastic thing in the world!!)... i found that as long as each kid had their own bag of stuff to play with at their own will, we were generally okay. after one of your stops, have them trade a book, or some crayon colors, so those things last twice as long. on top of that, pack an emergency bag. this is YOUR bag. i usually carry bubbles, sidewalk chalk, tons of snacks (i dont know about your 2 year old, but sugarless bubble gum is a godsend)... anything that you can distract them with just in case of a meltdown... stuff for either in the car or to let them blow off some steam when you stop. GOOD LUCK!! you'll survive :)

if they like to draw you could use Aqua Doodle, the magnetic sketcher pads, or the Crayola Color Wonder products. All of these things are great for long road trips because they can color and draw without making a mess if the stuff falls down in the car.... We have gone on a lot of trips and the things that we have used the most with our children (6 and 2 yrs old) are those coloring items, movies, and video games (Nintendo DS, Nintendo Advance and V-Smile). Another thing that helps is to try and plan the drive around a time that would be really close to nap time that way if they sleep then it will take up a good portion of the trip.

Take a metal pan with sides and get dif kinds of magnets. The kids have fun with that and they dont slide off everywhere. You can also do Chalk and dark construction paper so it shows up. Chalk wipes off very easily unlike markerand crayons. It wont mess up the car.

We just went to Wv which is a 6 1/2 hour drive for us with my toddler who is 2 1/2. What we did was get new movies from the librarry books on cd and new books too. Also brought snacks for the car. We also looked ofr things like cows and barns. I'd have to say he more intertained by the movies than anything though

They can color. The color wonder markers and books are great because if they color on anything other than color wonder paper the markers don't work! You can buy them little lap desks to color on. Maybe you could find a few toddler CD's they like? Playing "I spy" is fun in the car for little ones- at that age they love to look at trucks and cars too. Thats all I can think of for now...hope that helps! : )
Danielle

You might consider leaving at bedtime! My cousin just did that and her 1 yr and 2 yr old children slept, waking only once in a 10 hour car ride :)

This may be too late for your trip, but here's a great website worth bookmarking. It's Mom's Mini Van - 101 Car Travel Games and Road Trip Ideas for Kids:

http://www.momsminivan.com/

Bring along their favorite music. We always bring a lap desk/tray for coloring and snacks. Little books to looks at and most importantly a pillow, blanket and favorite stuffed animal. You may want to buy a new DVD that they haven't seen and would hold their interest a little longer. Good luck!

I dont use a DVD player in the car. I feel that a road trip is a time for doing stuff you usually dont do. I feel my son gets plenty of screen time at home. I get stickers and a sheet of paper, some car friendly snacks, we listen to music, and we TALK. We count we sing songs. works out great, my son is a road trip kid, he gets antsy after about 6 hours in a car (that includes potty breaks and a light meal stop) but it helps teach him patience too. Hope that helps