Getting ready in 2 weeks to make a 13 hour car trip with my husband and 17 month old. Mostly looking for suggestions on how to keep him enteretained in the car. He's quite "active" and generally hates being confined to the carseat. We already plan to have one of us sitting in the back seat with him, bringing lots of toys/books, a portable DVD player for his favorite cartoons and allowing plenty of stops for breaks. We are being flexible enough to even allow a stop for the night if need be. We thought about driving overnight or partly, but really worried about him getting very poor quality sleep and being a tired mess for the rest of the trip. He is NOT a good car sleeper, although I think he would be if it were very dark. I think we decided to possibly do half of the driving during the day and maybe half after his bedtime - hoping to at least minimize the amount of disturbed sleep before getting him into grandma and grandpa's house. Driving all night is also not an option because he would undoubtedly wake at every pee and gas stop - and when he gets overtired he has bad night terrors and I don't even want to go there.
Any tips on timing or making this work well? Specific games or toys for the car that may be more interesting and help keep him entertained? I was thinking if they are not his usual toys he might play with them longer. Any general tips or if you have done this are appreciated. Thank you!
I drove 14hrs with an 18mo old....... No other adult with me. It was just "Me and My Shadow..." My son who was only 18mos @ the time.
Snacks and lots of stops to stretch. Cars, paper with crayons, anything that doesn't make noise. You'll get aggrivated. The little one won't want to go back into the car after a while... Just a word of caution.
We have been taking 1 to 2, 10 hour trips and one 15 hour trip in the car with my kids, every year since each was 6 months old. We travel from central Illinois to Nashville, Tennessee and to Salem, West Virginia to see family on my Husband's side - His dad and step mom are in TN, and all his aunts and uncles and cousins on his dads side are in WV.
Usually there will be one solid hour of whining and crying near the end of the trip. Other than that they have always been very good.
We either buy a few cheap new dollar store toys or set aside some toys for a few weeks ahead of time ( hide them so they don't see/play with them) and have those for the car ride. We have little DVD players, lots of books, lots of snacks - when they were littler, Gerber Puffs, and those freeze dried fruits, and freeze dried yogurt drops, now goldfish, teddy grahams, apples, bananas, raisins. Special drinks and snacks and they don't get very often at home. We have kids CDs of sing along songs, and CDs we use at home for bedtime and that is the "cue" that it is naptime. we make sure to take blankets and pillows from home for better sleep away, and of course their favorite security item - blankie, stuffed animal, lovey.
Magna doodle, aqua doodle, paper and crayons ( just make sure to put the crayons in a ziplock, in the cooler with the food, so if you forget them in the car, they wil not melt all over if they are in the sun). Also, any magnetic things - we found a little bunny that is like a magnetic paper doll - you can dress him up in all different outfits - we just found an old cookie sheet to stick the magnets too - that was lots of fun for my daughter at that age.
Make sure to take long breaks at rest stops and get out and RUN around - maybe take a ball or frisbee for her to chase after ( I know it sounds like I am talking about a dog here, but you need to get the wiggles out when you do take a break)!
It is do-able!
Good Luck!
Jessie
Stickers will keep my son busy for a long time. A box of cute bandsids can also keep him busy for 20 minutes. Blow bubbles in the car. Just holding the wand in front of the blower makes lots of bubbles. Visit the dollar store or the dollar section at Target and pick up little things there. Plan on about one little gift for each hour or so that he will be awake. Wrap them up and give him one to open when he gets fussy. We usually plan a 10-15 minute stop every hour or hour and a half. It adds time to the trip, but it will save your sanity. Buy one or two DVDs that he has never seen before. Good luck!
I don't have a whole lot of recommendations for you.....I just wanted to offer a little moral support and best wishes!! I have a 17 month old girl and I can't imagine that long of a ride with her...LOL!! You are so much braver than I am. Although, it sounds like you have a solid plan, so your little guy will probably do much better than you think. They have a way of surprising us, don't they!
One thing I saw a friend of mine do recently with her toddler is take a cookie sheet and some of those letter/number magnets like you get for the refrigerator. She said her son loved it and spent a bunch of time playing with that, moving the letters around, etc.
Lots of rest stops every couple of hours or so. Let him get out of that car seat and roll around in the back seat or swap positions a little, stretch out all the way. Kids get cramped butts just like the rest of us when traveling but they don't have the freedom to shift around. Those five point harnesses don't leave much room for it.
We bought a MagnaDoodle for my 2 year old before a recent 18 hour car trip and didn't show it to her until we were really desperate. . The drive was a nightmare, but the MagnaDoodle did help:) Good luck!
if driving at night is an option i would do that. it is a lot easier on the kids...cuz we as parents adapt easier i think.
My brother always left after dinner with his kids and he and his wife would trade off driving. The kids would be excited to watch a movie at first, then would drift off sleeping and they would arrive a few hours after making a breakfast stop. If I ever fly with my now 11 year old again I am giving her Dramamine to make her sleepy. 4 Hours into an 8 hour flight she got panicky and wanted to get out. Not sure if you can give it to a child so young, but it is to prevent motion sickness but always makes me fall asleep.
I would suggest doing about 6 to 7 hours first day and stay overnight in a hotel that possibly has a pool. Let him do some swimming/water time before bedtime. This will help to relax him to get a good nights sleep and also give you guys a chance to unwind and relax in the pool as well. If he likes legos, buy him a small set and take a container to keep them in so pieces don't get lost. If he is anything like my daughter was at this age she could be entertained by this for hours. Another toy would be a travel magna doodle that he can draw pictures on and erase and do over and over again. Hope this helps. Best of luck
Buy a few new toys and save them for the trip bring them out one at a time through out the trip. Bring his favorite blanket, lovie, movies, and pillow. Allowing for stops and running around is key. Sounds like you have a great start. It wont be as bad as you think once you get going. Have fun, be safe, and take tons of pictures.
I would definitely do an overnight if he truly does not like his carseat. You can do some research along your route and maybe find some things he
would enjoy doing during a stop i.e., the zoo etc. Two 6 1/2 hour days are
doable. If you do decide to do one day, just keep driving as long as he is
happy-make the most out of it! Once you take them out, getting back in the
car is not always pleasant. Hope you have fun.
When my kids were really little, and we would make long trips to see my parents - I learned most of the McDonald's play lands along the way!
Now that I'm such a germ-a-phobe I'm not sure I would do that again. But it did help my boys burn off some steam.
The DVD player should help too.
Good luck and have fun.
