Long Trip with 4 Kids!!

Here is my list of ideas. You can play travel bango the kids with have a car with things they will see along the road a yellow car , a stop sign etc, You can have a a small treat for the winer if yoou want. Also brought a long color book and colors. You can get these books now that will only write on the page. Also brought books that you can read to them or they can read themself. Go to the dollar store can get little ttoys and other treats you can give them along the way at odd times. Make stops along they way when they need to run off the pen up emegy like a rest stop ot a park in a city you are going thought.

There are lots of the little 'road trip' games you can get - I know my kids always enjoyed tic-tac-toe on the magnetic eraser boards, as well as the connect 4 game made for car trips. Also, sometimes it is hard for kids to fall asleep in the car when they're on a longer road trip like that - my pediatrician had advised me to give my kids some Benedryl about 30 minutes before their normal bed time, just to help them fall asleep. It has worked for me everytime.

I have yet to find anything to beat the DVD for long trips. When we drove to KY (what a coincidence) I took my then 2 year-old to ToysRUs and let him pick out a vtech electronic learning toy. With a little guidance he picked out an alphabet learning toy with a green phone. There are buttons for every letter to push and a flip "phone book" at the bottom. He really liked that. We also bring a bag of picture books and small items like matchbox cars that my son can reach when he wants. Good luck. Wish we were going too!

I have travled a lot with my son. Let them each have a backpack and put things in it they would like to play with in the car. That way they won't say mom you didn't pack this toy or that toy, they have packed what they want. Then make sure they at least have a coloring book and crayons, each have their own, that way they don't fight over them. I would take my son to the dollar store and let him pick out a new coloring book for the trip. They don't cost that much and it was a new item just for him for the trip. Then I would pack snacks in his bag. Pack snacks in each of their bags this way again they don't fight over them. Let them each take their own pillow and blanket also. Put them in shoes that they can kick off and slide on real easy, this way you are not fighting with them to put them on and having to tie them all before you get out for a bathroom break.

I hope this has helped.
S. Jane

We went with my in-laws, my almost 2 year old daughter and myself 7 months pregnant from AR to Colorado, the next year we did it with a 10 month old and an almost 3 year old (recently potty trained) to South Dakota, during both "vacations" we took side trips it was so much driving-my girls were troopers! We had the DVD player, picture books, sticker books and dry erase board. One thing I would recommend is magnets. You can get some from WM and other toy stores where you create scenes using magnets which come in the magnetic case-my dd's love them and they are great for the car! Have a safe and fun trip!

Both of my older kids (just turned 7 & 5) love to listen to books on disc - we had gotten some from kids meal, and they will sit still and listen quietly (a rare thing). I'm sure you can find some to borrow from your local library. They love the "Magic Tree House" series, it keeps them spellbound.

Have a safe and wonderful trip - we've been to KY and love it up there!!

Wow! God Bless you and your fmly A.!!!

Those lap-style pillows with one side hard to be like a desk work great in the car! Bring those plastic boxes filled with crayons, pencils, and paper or coloring books. Those help for the moments when the t.v. becomes boring. Lot's of movies,cartoons preferably work well. And like you said, at those hours they'll sleep alot. Bring pillows and blankets for each child so there's no fighting over sharing when the sleepies kick in.

Good Luck! Have a fun trip.

D.

A. I love long road trips!!! We travel to New Jersey every summer with our 5 kids it is a 23 hour drive. My hubby and I take 8 Hour driving shifts and drive it all the way no stopping to sleep. I always let the kids bring their Gameboys or DS's. I also bring crayons, spiral notebooks, a few coloring books. books for the older kids. We play games like I spy, animal vegetable or mineral and the ABC game. I always make a Bingo game its their favorite. All you have to do is make a Bingo card and instead of numbers find pictures of things you will see on the road, like cows, tall building a taxi cab, trees whatever you can think of make lots of different cards the kids will want to play it over and over. I have my kids use a crayon to mark when they find an item. I also make the cards harder for the older kids. Enjoy this time with your kids you have their undivided attention. If you go into this as a fun and exciting adventure your children will as well and there will be alot less "are we there yet" "I'm board". Don't forget snacks I don't let my kids eat in the car except on long road trips. Animal crackers, Goldfish, small bottles of water with lids.
Have fun and be safe on the trip A.

Hi A.! Having the dvd player will be a big help- if you can rent some new movies or check them out from the library, that may help to keep their attention even better. I have four kids as well and we have literally traveled from one end of North America to to the other (Alaska to Texas). Movies were to get us through the bulk of the trip, but it quit working before we were even out of Alaska! I was amazed, though, at what a little conversation can do. Our youngest was 2 at the time and she did amazing. Of course, we had toys, books, crayons-- but the broken dvd player turned our trip to one amazing memory. Our two oldest kept count of the different kinds of animals we saw- domesticated and wild, then made a book about our trip complete with illustrations. Frequent stops were important, and when they were sleeping, we drove hard and tried not to stop. Best of luck!

small dry erase boards and markers are a life saver for us!

Try getting some color wonder paper and markers (or paints.) These are wonderful for the car. I love them because even if the markers get dropped or left in the seat, they won't stain.

I had a friend who bought several things at the dollar store. She wrapped them and after every couple of hours she gave one to each of the kids and let them unwrap them. It gave them something new to play with in the car for awhile and of course they loved getting presents. Just don't forget to get some for the ride home too!

Wow I do not envy you! I liked road trips till I had 4 and more. I now have six kids. My older kids play with their DS's but the younger ones are harder to entertain. So we play this game with the 3 yr old boy and the older kids. We call out a color and we have to find that color tractor trailer truck cab. After whoever wins, they get to pick the next color.

We recently went to disney world with my three kids, (6, 3, and 4 months). We packed color books and crayons. For my three year old I bought a crayola color wheel. It was less than two dollars. I it is just what it sounds like. A plastic easy to hold wheel with a different color chunky crayon on each side. It was easier for her to use than a ziplock of a bunch of crayons, which is what we gave our six year old. We also packed a few beanie toys that are small and easy to play with in a car seat. And lots of movies. If you have magna doodles those a great too.

We are also driving to Kentucky for Thanksgiving, 10.5 hours, but only have 1 daughter who is almost 6. Luckily, part of your drive is at night when they will sleep. That is what my brother, who lives in KY, would do with his 4 kids when they made the trip home to MS. I suggest art supplies, if your kids like to draw or color. Our daughter loves it! She does not really watch the dvd's (hopefully she will this time) and she rarely sleeps on trips. If she sleeps, it's only an hour or so. The younger kids could maybe have books that have audio...I know they make some that actually read to the child, and then there are ones that you press the buttons on the side. Magna-doodles are good, etch-a-sketch, hand-held games, etc. Good luck!

A., all of my kids (4) were little sleepers and would often fall asleep when we pulled out of the driveway and stay asleep until we pulled into a motel or whatever our destination. Of course those were short trips. When we drove across country, I made up individual activity bags for them. Go to the Dollar Store and let them choose items they really like...crayons, coloring books, story books, puzzles, small toys that stretch the imagination, etc. They can play little word/memory games with you, also. In their bags, you can include little snacks and small juice containers in each (if you want). Along with the DVDs you have, this should keep them occupied during the trip. This idea works when traveling with grandkids, too. PS. We never traveled with all 4 of our children at the same time. Our 2 boys are years older than our 2 girls, but we have traveled with 3-4 grandkids at one time and what I shared does work.

My friend Lynn travels with her kids every other year to California and when the kids were very little she had to change from a "get in the car and drive til you get there" person to taking time to make lots of little stops. She knows the route well from driving it so much but with kids she got a AAA trip planner and found places to stop such as public parks with play equipment, some only had park areas. She also found places to eat such as Burger King and McDonalds that had indoor playgrounds. If you play games or have activities when you leave Tulsa your 2 older kids may be distracted until you stop for dinner somewhere in Arkansas. I would think a movie in the DVD player wouldn't hurt even then for the little ones. After dinner and some serious run around play time getting back on the road and settled down may take a few minutes but the kids should settle down with a movie or something that doesn't require light since it will be getting dark. Also you will have a time change when you cross over into Kentucky from Tennessee. The kids should be asleep by 8 or 9, car travel seems to put kids out sooner because of the vibrations of the car I think.

The times I have traveled from N. Central Ok to Coweta I went up 11 to have more sight seeing stuff instead of constant Turnpike. It took us over 4 hours because I stopped off at parks, convenience stores for walking around, stopping for snacks, etc....I had 2 grand kids, age 1 and 3, my daughter and my Mother. The trip was lots of fun for the kids. They didn't cry or get bored, my daughter (21 at the time) was very bored and wanted to argue all the time so she made the trip horrid for me, and my mom enjoyed being with everyone and tried to make the best of it. We headed back home after a several hours of a swim party. The kids were out in a few minutes of getting in the car. My daughter was out by the time we got to Tulsa, my mom and I enjoyed visiting the next little bit because I drove the turnpike home.

I think you have selected an excellent time to travel due to the excitement of going somewhere and then dinner and then dark and sleep until you get there.

Good luck.

Ok lets see: I spy is always good,
The Airplane game (when they are older) When they see a plane in the sky they have to tell you where by using the clock system 4 o'clock, 12 o'clock and so on. it kept us quite for a while because we were busy looking fot planes.
I have story readers for my kids and that helped out on our 7 hour trip this summer.
There are travel games that are small and they work good to.
Music !!!
And another game is the lissens plate game (when they are older) They have to find lissens from their state and in the end of the trip who ever gets the most can win a prize. 1.00 or what ever.
Bring pillows and blankets to make them cossy to be able to sleep.
Good luck and have a safe trip!----A.

Hi A.,
We took our first long road trip this summer - 12 hours of driving with a 4yr old and 6yr old. The DVD player is brilliant! That will keep their attention for a good amount of time watching movies they enjoy :o). A friend of mine had a great suggestion that I used and it worked great for us. When you get a chance take a solo trip to a dollar store and stock up with fun little games, coloring books, crayons, toys, etc... things that will keep them busy and of course are age appropriate. Don't let them see any of the stuff until the day of the trip. Pull out a new toy/game every hour or space it out throughout the trip. Since it is something 'new' it's a fun surprise and will keep them busy. The dollar stores are perfect for finding inexpensive fun stuff that is great for car rides. My boys were looking so forward to every new surprise I had for them it really cut down on complaining :o) Oh, and it was great motivation for them to behave at rest stops and food stops :o)
Have a great trip! Good Luck!