My husband and I will be driving round-trip from Virginia to Texas this summer with our 2 kids, who will be 3-1/2 and 1 at the time. We have a minivan without a built-in dvd player system, and we can't afford to get one installed. We're looking at buying a portable dvd player and finding some way to attach it between the two front seats, so both kids can watch. The problem is that we don't have regular removable headrests in the front--we have the kind of front seats where the headrest is just all one piece with the seats--kind of molded at the top (I don't know if there's a name for this kind of seat...) Many of the strap-on dvd cases we've seen seem to require removable headrests to work. Has anyone found a solution for using a portable dvd player with non-removable headrests? Having our 3-year-old hold a player in his lap doesn't seem like a good solution.
Also, does anyone have brand and model recommendations for an inexpensive but reliable portable dvd player? We want to make sure the screen size is adequate for both kids to see and that the volume is loud enough for them to hear without headphones.
Any other travel recommendations are also appreciated--this will be the longest trip we've ever taken with the kids, and I want it to be as painless as possible since we're hoping to make this trip every year or two to visit grandparents.
Really great advice from everyone! Thank you! I'm looking forward to this trip more and more.
We have a similar situation. We bought a portable dvd player/2 screens from Walmart last summer. They have velcro straps that you unvelcro, wrap around the seat the best you can and revelcro. They work great. This player has the dvd unit itself built into one of the screens so you don't a player and 2 screens. Less wires, less mess, easier to use.
Good Luck.
We have a truck with a pull down center. We set the DVD player on it and it was sliding everywhere. During a Wal-mart stop, I bought some double sided tap (craft/seemstress tape). Put it on the bottom of the player,and it stayed put.
Some other tips.
1. Travel at night as much as possible to get the benefit of their regular sleep schedule.
2. Get several little state specific toys. As you cross into a new state, they get that toy.
3. Pack a bunch of patience.
4. When packing suitcases, I pack 1 suitcases for each night that we are staying some where. 2 if its multiple nights. Then when we get to the hotel, we only have one suitcase to unpack instead of 4. When we get ready to leave, that suitcase gets all of the dirty clothes, and moved to the back of the trunk until we are home.
My husband thought this was crazy at first until we got to the hotel. We had to get out just one little carry-one and settled in 20m, while our relatives spent 20mins. just digging each suitcase out. They literally had to unpack the whole car.
5. Since you'll have to consider diapers/pull-ups, Buy a package of each and keep them toward the back door of the van. They do you no good if you have to dig for them. Also, you only need to take enough to get there, unless you don't want to buy more once in TX.
6. Buy a large container of wipes just for the inside of the car.
7. Remember to pack a small bottle of dish soap/sponge/bottle brush and towel for washing cups/bottles.
Good luck.
M.
K.,
We recently purchased a dual dvd set from Sam's club for about 150. RCA put them out and they are awesome, they can work in tandem or play two different movies, each screen has it's own remote which may come in handy later on when the kids are older and they attach easily to head rest with velcro straps. We drive every weekend from Virginia to Maryland and we have no issues with them at all, no overheating, no problem with the kids seeing the screen and best of all no bickering from the back seat. Hope this helps
I cannot remember the model but I got my dual dvd player at Target for $88 on sale and it has straps to where you just strap it around the seat. You do not have to remove the headrest. These types of players should be going on sale now since summer is coming up so you may want to check the Sunday paper.
My husband and I had looked at something for our SUV and saw some nice dvd players for minivans that go between the two front seats. The screen is on a slant so it's easy for the kids to see, and it used batteries and had a cord that would plug into a car outlet. I don't know the name, but they looked really great, and they weren't that expensive. We just saw them at Wal-Mart, but I'm sure other stores must have them. Good luck!
Have you ever tried books on CD? My son loves to hear them in the car. There is a great series, "The Magic Treehouse" by Mary Pope Osborne with many, many hours of listening. My 2 1/2 year old loves the adventurous themes (they visit prehistoric times, ninjas, knights, outerspace, etc) and often pretends to be Jack, the boy featured in the series. I think it really stimulates his imagination and promotes a sense of adventure. There are many other series out there. Also, there's always sing-along tapes/CD's. Libraries are full of these.
Hey K.,
My husband and I made this trip 2 summers ago with our (then)2yr old, 6mo old (boys) and 4 yr old lab. Our strategy was to take it in 2 days, stop at rest stops every 2-3 hrs (unless they were asleep or interested in something) We also did not have the built in DVD player and bought a portable Sony. We did have the removeable headreasts and strapped the portable case between the seats--I'm don't remember exactly how we hooked the bottom--but it worked out great and kept the 2 yr old entertained (the dog entertained the 6mo old)
The actual trip was pleasurable--a lot of driving but lots of fun. With lots of stops we were able to keep the kids and dog well exercised. The 6 mo old drank bottles in the car, ate solids and played on a blanket while everyone else ate and ran, ran, ran...with a ball to chase during the stops. We kept an open mind and really just had a go with the flow attitude.
I packed an overnight bag for the boys and one for us so we only had 2 small bags to carry into and out of our hotel. Also I packed sandwiches & snacks for the cooler so everything stayed as much as normal as possible. Diapers/pull-ups and wipes were kept by the back door of our suburban--easily accessable during stops
We are going again this year--by plane as we don't have as much time for vacation this year.
Our sony dvd player worked very well and into the next year until our 2 yr old (who always wanted to carry it around the house while watching movies) dropped it about 5 times and the last time was on the tile floor and it did not work anymore. We have just replaced it with a Durabrand ?? (recommended by the salesman at wal-mart) because it had an extra large screen but is a tight fit into the carrying case. Only time will tell...
Good luck with your trip!
We had this same problem a few years ago. We ended up buying a tv that you can have in your house (it had cable connections), but it also had a car adapter! The screen was larger then most portable players and we just rigged soemthing up with bungee cords! Kinda like this one...
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=portab...
We bought dual dvd players by audiovox for our kids. We have 3 kids 9, 3, and 1. The dual ones are great because they can connect together so that the 2 littliest ones can watch the same movie or they can disconnect so that my oldest can watch her own movie, she usually uses her ipod though. Anyway, they were about $150 at Target. They do strap over the headrest but there is an elastic band that is adjustable and a velcro band so it should still work with you headrest. I hope you find something you like. We bought these players about 2yrs ago and have traveled to FL, NC (3x), NJ (4x), and many smaller car trips. We have never had any problems with them.
We set a small flat top cooler in between the two seats and secured it on top of that. We couldn't get it to fit around even with the headrests. It hung at a bad angle.
K.,
I dont have a recommendation on a brand as I have 2 different brands and I really have not noticed a difference in the 2, but as far as putting it between the 2 front seats, Wal-Mart carries a holder that straps onto the driver and passenger seats head rest so the player hangs in between the front 2 seats, this has been a saving grace for us with my kids because the ones the the 3rd row alwasy complained that they could not see the screen if it was mounted to either seat. If I remember correctly it was between $20 and $30. Enjoy your trip.
We recently made that trip with our older children. We don't have a portable DVD player, but we do have a laptop computer. We got a cigarette lighter-to-plug connection for the laptop and played DVDs in the laptop. Our vehicle has a place between the front seats where the laptop wedged in rather securely.
I'd recommend getting a AAA tourbook or camping guide. The route we took from Virginia to Dallas was very straightforward and rather rural. There are a LOT of state parks. I think things will go better if you plan to stop often to let the kids play in the parks. There are also children's museums that might make the trip feel more like a child-centered adventure rather than a long drive. When my children were younger, I drove them to Nova Scotia. I planned a couple hours of driving, a stop for a movement oriented AAA-recommended adventure then a few more hours of driving, then a AAA-recommended inexpensive motel with a pool. The more they sleep, the farther you can go. The more they move, the more they want to sleep. I also pre-packaged and hid some surprise in-the-car activity books and treats.
Good luck! You may find that the kids sit and space more than you expect.
We just bought one from Best Buy yesterday! We bought the Insignia (I think that's the brand name - it's in the green box). It has two screens that strap to the headrests and the DVD unit sits on our middle console. It comes in 7" $230 and 9" $320. We had this same thing that lasted for about 3 years with a lot of use and died the other day.
Ee travel all the time and just had to buy a new dvd player for the trips (we have a 3 yo and 18 mo). We had an RCA 2-screen DVD that strapped vertically around the headrest (required removable headrests) - until my son broke in on our trip last weekend (during the 5-hour trip) - so we ended up stopping at Best Buy and bought another one mid-trip. Here is the one we just bought:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8814642&...
This one wraps around the headrest area of the seat horizontally and has an adjustable clip, which I really like b/c I can adjust the clip to be extra tight around the seat and then we don't have a problem with it sliding down the headrest (we have adjustable headrests and found with other ones that wrapped horizontally with velcro - the dvd player would slide down the headrest and not secure properly because I couldn't get it tight enough).
Hope this helps!
