Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this without going insane? I have the typical 3 1/2 year old boy. We are going to Florida and it is a 14 hour drive with no stops. I already know we will need to stop many times to let him release his energy...etc. We have installed a DVD player already. He won't color or draw in the car either (not my choice...but his). Any other suggestions? Thanks!
Update: I'm too afraid to drive at night. I've had a few close friends killed by drunk drivers. I do plan on stopping around 10pm and staying at a hotel for that reason. I don't want to risk my family's life. I know driving at night would be the easiest, I just can't do it.
Everything went ok. The dvd player was what helped the most. Thanks for all the responses.
I stock up on dollar store junk and just pull one thing out every so often in bewtween potty breaks. And we always do potty breaks somewhere he can run and play. I keep a basket of cars, trucks, trains, firetrucks right next to his car seat too. Also a little mini mag light is fun for them. Not a big ol flashlight that will distract the driver, just a little beam.
Drive at night while he is sleeping ;-) take plenty of toys, and snacks. Be prepared to entertain during awake moments.
Plenty of snacks-on-the-go like "little guy (or gal) trail mix" ~ whole grain cereals like Life, Quaker Oat Squares and Cheerios mixed together with a few butterscotch chips and raisins tossed in, pretzels, apples slices, string cheese, fruit juices in boxes and plenty of water are musts. The frequent stops to give him a chance to potty, walk and maybe exercise a little, and some books would all be helpful. Along with some DVD's he should be fine.
I would begin driving in the wee hours...around 4 a.m. Daylight is coming and it's not quite so frightening then. I'm sorry for your loss of friends to drunk drivers - that happens in the broad open daylight too. I do understand your anxiety though.
Get him some kiddy cd singalongs and he should enjoy it.
Bath him, put him in his pajamas and drive at night.
Bring some of those markers that change color as they draw. I think they are called color explosions. don't bring them out till about 3 hours in when he is out of his mind bored. bring some video's he has never seen. plan if possible to drive part while he is asleep. we always leave early like 3 or 4 am. that way they sleep a good 4 or 5 hours. gas up the night before and then you can just pick him up while he is asleep and put him in his carseat. bring along a blanket and pillow.
Your DVD should be a lifesaver for the trip, make sure those batteries are charged!
Do you have a travel potty, like a "potette plus" from babies r us? You can set it up in the car when you stop, so that your kid doesn't have to use the gross rest area stops.
When you do stop at a rest area, hopefully there will be a nice grassy area for him to run around a bit and get his wiggles out.
Bummer that he wont' draw in the car, maybe pick up some small treats from the Target $1 section or party favor section and wrap them in tissue paper, so that he has little things to play with if he gets bored of DVDs.
Do you have any of those annoying kid toys that make music and sing songs? They'll drive you nuts but will probably keep him entertained. (like the leapfrog alphabet pal, & stuff like that)
Good luck on your road trip!
leapster! it works wonderful with my kids! It says 4 years and up but my girl that is two, can get entertained, not that she actually plays but she pretends really good!
But have enought DVDs, they do most of the work. I have driven already two times and back from Houston to Orlando, Fl.
Leap Frog text or scribble writer
Have you considered driving at night? Maybe starting at 3 or 4 a.m.? That would be my best suggestion. Just put him in in his p.j's and when we wakes could be your first stop for breakfast/changing clothes etc. I think that would help alot. We did that when the kids were little.
We just came back from a 14 hour trip. We decided in advance of the trip to chop it in to two days. We remarked to each other many times that we don't think we would have saved anything (sanity, money, or other) by plowing through in one day. We have a 6 year old and just barely four year old. When not told what to do but simply given a couple of options okay to all of us it was a great trip. We switched off the CD in the CD player between the 6 year old the 4 year old and our stuff and we did not have any music that none of us could not tolerate at all. If I was taking DVDs I would have the same rule that it cannot be a video of something that I do not stay in the same room while they are watching it. We had plenty of notebooks for the four year old to color in and each had several small stuffed animals to oversee and interact with. We briefly considered getting a DVD player but after figuring we would need one for each and then they would complain if there were any technical glitches we just decided to go without and save about $200 dollars too. I would be cautious about sharing what time to expect to do whatever or when you will pull over for sure. That is the one thing that sticks out in my mind from this last trip is how pissy the 6 year old would get if we were not at a destination by the time it said we should be on the clock. Construction and poor directions sure will make a guess not work as well. I would perhaps share what will happen at the next rest stop but make no promises of when that is. Lastly our kids probably would have been content to sit in the car all day because their seats were comfy with no luggage under their feet and a drink readily available. So make sure the seat is as comfy as possible including a beach towel over the seat when he is not in it so the buckles don't get hot
DRIVE AT NIGHT!!! That's my only advice. We did this on a 12 hour trip to the San Francisco area & it was a lifesaver.
Start putting toys into little sacks that aren't transparent. Whatever he likes to play with - cars, bendable figures, musical things, etc. Only let him see/play with one category at a time. If he is playing with cars and sees another toy, he may want the other right away, or will get frustrated trying to decide.
Don't give him the option of what he wants to play with. Just wait until he gets bored and hand him another group of toys. (He may just want to look around at scenery for a while.) Hopefully you aren't leaving for a while and you can start putting away toys now. They will seem "new" if he hasn't seen them in a while.
If he throws the toy, then wait a long while until he gets another one. Tell him that it was not appropriate to throw things in the car. Teach him to give it to you or to set it down.
Have new snacks that are fun, too.
Oh gosh, that will be fun. :) I would definitely do a little research online and find out where there are some parks along the way to stop every three hours or so (maybe give him 20 minutes).
