Road Trip - Medford,OR

Hi E.-

I have done a lot of traveling with all three of my children. When they were small I found magnets work best. I would bring several small bags with a few magnets in them and a metal baking sheet. When they got tired of those magnets, I would trade the bag with different magnets. I hope this helps. Have a great trip.

Annemarie

We've had to do a few l-o-n-g road trips and hands down one of the best investments were the travel size magna doodles.

We did a road trip last year with my then 18-month-old son and we brought a DVD player, which was an absolute godsend! Other than that, just lots of different toys to switch out and prepare for lots of little stops where he can run around a bit. Have fun!

Oh, I hope you have such fun--- my 3 children and my 3 ( so far) grandchildren were/are great travelors. I used a small plastic laundry tub by the car-seats - with a small selection of toys --- and would change out the toys --- adding some small surprises - each time we stopped for a ''run and wiggle''' pit stop.

Blessings,
J.
aka- old Mom

We traveled from D.C. to Washington State when my son was that age and one of the best things we ever bought was a soft tray so that he could have cars and trains to play with on the train and color. I believe the one we had was star kids snack & play travel tray. I still use it all the time for him to eat in the car when we are on the road during lunch time. The other thing we did is coordinate out trip so that we could stop places and let him run. We traveled mostly during nap time and at night since he wasn't a child that could sit still very long. But the tray helped a lot.

Make a travel bag. This is easy to do, and can be alot of fun.
You have snack size baggies with finger foods in them. You have multiple juice boxes.
Try to take a break at McDonalds so he can run and play. Depending on where you are going some states have play areas in their rest stops.
Come up with NEW toys for the trip. They can be simple cheep things, but they are NEW... this will keep him distracted for a while.
Also make sure to pack his favorite toy.
While going over passes make sure he is eating or drinking. This will help his ears to pop.
Kids songs on the radio help also.
Ohh, and don't forget to point out cool things like trucks and cars.. LOL The kids love it.
Remember when you get to where you are, you may be tired, but he is going to have ALOT of energy to work out.
Good luck and safe driving
B.

We take a lot of road trips with our son who is 17 months and of course we always bring toys and snacks but the best thing I have found that keeps him occupied the longest is a DVD player with his favorite Noggin cartoons. The more mobile he got the more I found that it was harder for him to sit for more than an hour or two and not get cranky. Since we have incorporated the DVD player he has been good to go for a 5 hour car ride without any complaints.

Hi E.!

I would take paper lunch sacks and fill them with inexpensive items such as a new book, a small animal toy, car (whatever you child likes). I would fill about 10 of the, depending on our length of trip and fold them in half staple it and add a bow. If we reached a point where our amazing entertainment no longer worked (smile), I would hand her a new bag. It was so fun for her to get something to open and it was new. We took many road trips and this always helped those stretches between napping and boredom. I would also plan on twice the time to reach our destination. Make lots of "fun" stops along the way. Have fun!

Just today I heard someone say they bring a roll of masking or painters tape with them on the airplane (much cheaper and easier than stickers). Maybe that would work to entertain your little one but seems better fitting for a 2 year old. Also, cut some straws short and make a container that s/he can put the straw in a hole in the container.

#1 MOST IMPORTANT STANDARD RULE WHEN TRAVELING WITH YOUNG CHILDREN:

THROW THE RULE BOOK OUT THE WINDOW. Whatever works, works. They won't pick up bad behavior ...& traveling will be fun. Just as long as you say "because we're traveling we get to do ____!" AKA : Bounce on the seats in restaurants, park as far away as possible & walk "incredible" distances from parking spot to store (dawdle, hop, take your time), realize that you will never see ANY of these people ever again AND that you're doing the best possible thing for YOUR child (and your sanity), indulge in treat food, stay up late, be loud in the tub, etc.

((On the bouncing on the seats...tell your hostess that you're traveling and need a table as far away from other people as possible. A section no one is working, would be best...you just have to be okay with flagging a server in case you get forgotten from time to time. :))

((On being loud in the tub; ask your hotel reservationist for a room on a bottom floor/away from other patrons))
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One thing that worked great for us, when our son was that age, was to switch up what times we were driving/stopping. In part that meant that we were eating & driving on off hours from other people, and in part it takes best advantage on driving while the wee one is asleep.

We checked out of the hotel at 11 after playing in the room/pool/etc...ate brunch...got in the car & he passed out. (of course the baby had breakfast earlier as well)

When he woke up we stopped at a rest area for usually around 30 min.

Drove for about another hour, stopped at a restaurant (appleby types with booths so you can block them in and let them bounce about on the cushions...just ask the server for an out of the way place for a bouncy toddler). Ate/bounced/etc.

Back in the car. If my son fell asleep we kept driving. If he didn't we drove for about an hour, stopped at a rest stop. He would typically fall asleep after playing at the rest stop.

Drive until wake-up...eat dinner. Same kind of bouncy boothes, or a McDonalds-type place with a playground.

Drive for about an hour. Stop at rest stop.

Bedtime passout....drive like bats outta hail...check into hotel around midnight.

This is the GENERAL schedule...the actual schedule was determined, of course, by when he woke up. :)

wakeup-11am = Playtime & brunch
11am-1pm = Driving (aka nap)
1-130 = Rest Stop
130-330 = Driving (aka nap)
330-430 = Lunch & Playtime
430-530 = Driving
530-600 = Rest Stop
600-730 = Driving (aka nap)
800-830 = Dinner & Playtime
###-###-#### = Driving
1200 = Check into hotel

We averaged 300-400 miles a day, with a few 500 mile days. While my son at that age usually only took 2 naps, he (to this day) he invariably adds at least one when we're in the car a long time. It took about 24 hours for him to go back to his normal schedule once we got to where we were going, although he instantly dropped back into travel routine once we were back on the road.

We liked applebys for lunch because it was inexpensive (at lunch time) and healthy, and mickyD's/burgerking types for dinner because of the play area. Anytime you need to stop and wash your face (sooooo wakes you up when driving), or use a restroom head to the golden arches and spend a buck on fries/whathaveyou. Their bathrooms are always always always clean. As opposed to gas stations, which invariably leave you feeling grimy.

One thing we found, too, was not to use the window sunshades...we don't usually, but were concerned about him getting too much sun through the windows. They made him carsick. Come to find, talking with other travelers that this is a pretty common reaction. We used a hat & sunscreen instead with no ill effects.

On a personal level, while we'll use DVD players on planes, we avoid them on car trips. There's always just sooooooo much to see and appreciate and imagine out the window.

Have fun!!! Traveling is the absolute best :) And coming home always feels so wonderful.

Z

Includign the other ideas, we brought music with us that we could turn up and dance to. We may not be able to stand up, but we could still wave our hands and make toys dance when we needed to get some energy out and had no planned stops. A variety of music worked best for us. Our son now knows when to rock out and sing along. He doesn't have the anxiety of singing that naturally comes when they get older and realize people pay attention to them:)

We take plenty of snacks, milk and water, books and a few novel items--things he's never seen before--to examine. One of us also sits in back with our 16mo son to entertain him when he gets bored. Peek-a-boo, songs, etc., making funny faces at each other, etc., are popular. He loves to take a look at items such as the insulation sleeves from Starbucks cups, securely capped water bottles, drinking straws, and other things he doesn't generally get the opportunity to play with. Since he's fastened in a seat and closely supervised, I allow more latitude in the car than I would if he were just running around the house. Our boy won't sleep more than about an hour in the car, so I make sure I've got lots of tricks up my sleeve. He travels extremely well, as long as his mind is occupied.

Hi,
new toys never worked on my son (on the plane or in the car...). I tried it several times :). I bring his favorite snacks (although am always little nervous in the car, but there is two of us so I can always "jump" in the back if needed), favorite CD and as far as "toy" everyday items that somebody suggested already worked the best. Box of tic tacs (unopened yet), package of gum, paper cup and sleeve, water bottle etc. And we stop every 60 - 90 min if he is awake and let him run around a bit. 4 hour drive takes us now about 5,5 - 6 hours...

Hi,
Buy some new kids music.. Like maybe a baby einstein music cd :) my kids love new music on long road trips.
Lenc