In december we are planning on a long trip to see some family. The ideas I need is things to keep the kids busy and not be bored on the trip. We will be traveling from arkansas to michigan. My kids ages is/will be 4 yr, 3 yr, and the baby will be 9 months. Any ideas will be thankful. God bless everybody!
I haven't done a long car trip yet with my kids but I always thought those lap trays would be a good idea for long trips so they can color.
if you end up traveling at night, we always bring glow sticks. We don't travel without them. We always keep baggies close at hand. They work great for snacks. Water cups are a must have.
Highly recommend a portable DVD player. It will eat through batteries though, so try and find one that plugs into your car lighter. I'm a traveler and have taken my now 13 year old on many long distance trips since she was an infant. The DVD player is probably the best travel tool I've ever purchased. Have a great trip.
Color wonder, DVD players, small hand held games (maybe invest in an L Max for the older two to share), small toys.
I have travel across the United States with my now 7 year old. We have traveled at night most of the hours. I made sure to have coloring activities, barbies so we could have a contest who is dress the best, lots of toys that are her favorite. We have traveled across the United States 4 times now since she has been 5.
I recently went to Chicago with my grandmother, 7 yr, and 4 yr girls. We took puzzles, coloring books, story books, I bought a DVD player (amazing), took snacks (in a small tote so they didn't get all smashed and stepped on) and drinks (in a cooler- saved a bundle on food that way), and plain old pen and paper. I also gave them a very small suitcase and told them to put what toys they wanted to take in it. My trip wasn't nearly as long as yours, but I hope that helps some.
Try to do most of the driving at night. The children will be sleeping and there's a lot less traffic. Plan several potty stops and let them take a few minutes to run arround and release some energy.
A dvd player is a great investment. Also, bring along one of those magic doodle toys, so they can take turns drawing pictures. A cd with kids/preshcool songs will keep the family singing and help to pass time. If you can read in the car, bring along some story books to read to them.
In addition to what Sindy already posted (which were all great ideas) make sure you bring the 4 y/o's and 3 y/o's own pillows (cause they might fall asleep right along with the baby). I would also bring something active (like soccer balls or basketballs) so when you stop at a rest stop the kids can wear themselves out. You can also bring sing along CD's or if you have a portable DVD player sing along DVDs. My baby loved noisey toys at that age which is what I always brought along for her for road trips (musical piano, sound book, portable mobile). Have fun!
Some favorite toys of my kids for car travel are magnetic drawing boards, books with lift-up flaps, toy cell phones, leapfrog and the DVD player. I try not to take toys that have smaller parts that can easily be dropped - that inevitably happens and they we have problems. Have a wonderful trip!
We've never done road trips onver 2 hours, we fly. However, our neighbor with 3 girls under 7 always drive.
They tell us that their trick is to drive at night when the girls are sleeping. They leave right at bedtime and the girls sleep. By the time the girls wake, the time they are keeping them busy on the road is less. They have the DVD in the car as well.
They drive from TX to NC several times a year.
Best wishes for safe travels!
My husband and I have traveled at night before and it really did work; make sure you can do that though because no more for me, I love my sleep, lol. DVD players are great, travel board games, my 2 year old has an aqua doodle; it's meant for the wall, but we bought an extra and cut it up into lap size papers and let him draw on that on the road.
