We're Taking Our 17-Month Old on an 8-Hour Car trip...suggestions?!

Hi, When my son, who is now 3, was 10 months old, we drove to Chicago from Florida! I brought a portable DVD player with plenty of Baby Einstein videos, and others...Also Lots of books, and crayons and tablets, even though he was young, he liked to scribble away...

Buy a portable DVD player.We bought one from Target for about $170.We drove from Fort Myers to Key West.I have a one year old and he loved it!

Plenty of rest areas for him to play and air out. One sit with him so he's not alone, and if at all possible drive some at night. That's they way we travel and it has always been benifical...... Music, Portable T.V (DVD or VHS player), Hand Games (itsy bitsy spider etc...)
Good luck

Invest in a DVD player and stop at rest stops to let the child run around. We bought ours at Best Buy for about 150.00. It straps around the seat in front of the child. We drove from FL to IL and both boys (2yo and 3 months) were angels. We sang songs from children cds....read books....and watched great children DVDs. We had the best time together and made lots of memories!! Thanks, C.

Hi we just drove from Orlando to Massachusetts and back with a 3.5 and just 1 year old.OH and a dog, call me crazy. I have to say don't know what I would of done without a DVD player and tons of kid movies. Best investment ever!!!!!! We started the drive at night and made stops at restaurants with play gyms in them like MCD's and Chik Fil A. We would stop at 5 at a hotel have dinner baths and normal bedtime and then load them up at 1 in the morning after taking a rest ourselves.They slept for most the trip and we mad it in 2 days. Good luck be safe

If he is into books, also get a slew of them from the library...if you do get a dvd player, a lot of libraries now rent tons of kids dvd's also, and FREE!... just check the return dates, as here they are only 5 days, I think.
Depending on your child, (if he still puts stuff in the mouth) walmart has these magnetic play tin things...they come in different types like construction, animals, circus, etc. They fold completely closed so they are easy to store. Also, some vinyl stickers or like wall stickers that he could stick and restick on the window, (depending on where your car seat is located) or himself, puffy stickers work real well (do I have any gen x-ers that still have their sticker albums? LOL). A new coloring book & of course crayons...I usually stop by the $ store before a trip, they always have different things and of course, cheap. Good luck, have fun and be safe!

We have a little 7 inch dvd player in the car. it is great for trips......let him ride an hour and enjoy the scenery, watch an hour video, take a nap, ride a little more when he wakes up, stop for a meal, ride a little more, then watch another video. if 2 hours of tthe trip is a nap and 2 is a video, that only leaves 4 hours of having to entertain, and that goes quick if you time it right with oys and books.

Hey J.,
I have traveled with my children to NY from FL driving (24 Hours straight). Usually I would sit in the back seat with the children. I make sure I bring a little cooler that fits in the back with snacks and all kinds of goodies and different kinds of toys and soothing music for entertainment. We do make frequent stops so that they can stretch thier legs and go to the restroom. I also would make it habbit of stopping once or twice at a Mcdonalds or Bking with a playplace and let them run wild for a little. This really does help alot. I know that 8 hours and 24 hours is different but kids are kids and they get impatient quickly. I think that being in the back with them helped alot. I have traveled with them like this since they were newborns. I cant say its always been peaceful but you make it as comftorable as you can even if the trip takes a little longer than you anticipate. Well, good luck.
God Bless
L. R.

Hi J.,

We did the same thing over the summer (twice!) and also have an under two boy. As much as I don't like doing it, we have a portable DVD player and he watched Toy Story and Nemo. It allowed us 90 minute stretches of piece and quiet. We also stopped every couple of hours so he could get out and run around. It takes a bit longer, but its worth it. With my daughter, I had a bunch of stickers and a notebook and she would sit for hours putting stickers on pages, but she is the calm child!! Be warned, though, between Valdosta and Macon, there is lots of construction. They are widening I-75 in big parts of that stretch so you'll hit traffic and slower speed limiits. Good luck.

K.

PORTABLE DVD!!!!!!!! We drove here from Wisconsin and I will tell you, it saved me! Good luck

Hi there! We just had a 14-15 hour one-way trip a few months ago, to North Carolina. My daughter was that age at the time as well. We also have an older son, about to be seven, which helped out some, but mainly to keep her occupied, we have a portable DVD player that straps onto the headrest, and she watched plenty of Elmo and Spongebob, (courtesy of her brother)..hahaha. Another thing to do is plan frequent stops, so your son can stretch out. Bring snacks, small toys, books. and he will nap some, which is always good!
On a side note, for drinks, I would avoid milk, in case he gets car sick, which my son has graced us with several trips when he was a toddler. NOT fun to clean up!!hahaha.
Have a great trip!
C.

Get a portable DVD player and rent some DVDs from the library like Barney, Caillou, Clifford...whatever cartoons are his favorites. Also, you can get him a toy car steering module, but it could be pretty noisy. Sing-a-long CDS are great too as long as you have the patience to listen to them for a few hours.

I'm not sure if he's quite old enough for it yet, but I got my daughter a LeapPad with a stack of books, and that kept her entertained for a while.

If he is able, Cracker Barrell has some great sticker books, the kind that you can pull the stickers off and put them back on. They have all different kinds, construction, fire trucks, jungle, etc. My little one loves the for road trips, as well as a way to keep entertained in restaurants. The Crayola Color Magic Markers are another good option, also a leap pad if you have one.

Good luck and have a safe trip.

I'd suggest take a drawing board, but a few new toys and give one at a time so a new toy is always interesting.
Take different snacks he likes, that will occupy him for a bit, if possible bring a portable DVD player and play something he likes. make frequent stops so he stretches out a bit. it won't be fun but doable.
good luck

I have a soon to be 16 mth old and we drove 20 hrs to Boston (straight through). My daughter hates the car (cries most days on the way to daycare)so I was really nervous about how she would react during the long trip. Much to my surprise she was amazing. She has never been interested in TV so a portable DVD player didn't even hold her attention for 5 minutes. We brought lots of toys for her to play with in the car and books to look at. We started driving during her nap time to give us a good start and made frequent stops so she could get out and run around for a little bit (10 minute breaks). I also sat in the back with her the whole trip. It really helped because I was able to play with her, point out stuff (like trees etc) and she really enjoyed having the company. We also made sure we had lots of snacks in the car and pacifiers. Needless to say she was amazing and slept the majority of the way. Unfortunately it made it hard on us was we reached our destination because she definately was not tired then but it was well forth it. Good luck with the trip!

Invest in a portable dvd player.

I would have one person sit in the back with ur son to keep him entertained with books, coloring, maybe a toy that lights up and interacts with him. Hope this helps. Have a safe and wonderful trip.

DVD player, lots of snacks, books, and kiddie songs!

Hi J.,

I would suggest (if you don't have one already)investing in a DVD player for the car. We travel alot to see family from Miami to Lakeland and when I put Baby Einstein in my toddler stays occupied for a while. He will watch it over and over. We also play little singing games and when thats too old I just put on some jazz music and let him play with some toys.

We just took a 10 hr trip to the Panhandle and it actually went great... We stopped alot like every 2 hrs for a break stretch legs, etc. We made the stops quick but it really made the ride easier for the kids to take a break too..

Hope this helps!

L.

We have made the trip to Atlanta and to MS with my 23 month old and our 4 month old...what has worked is either buying or borrowing a portable dvd player and buy or borrow some kids dvds, the Wiggles, Barney, Veggie Tales etc... Other things to have are maybe a new toy, colors and coloring books, stickers and lots of different snacks. If a melt down happens just take a pit stop somewhere and let him out to run a round for a few minutes. It is doable and you will be there before you know it:) Happy travels!!
P.

My son is alittle older, however once we get into the car and travel, it's not long before he's asleep. Just make sure you take off his shoes on such a long trip. Be careful and have a safe trip.

I did the same trip with my 3 year old and 18 month old by myself from Orlando to Atlanta. My only advice is to borrow or invest in a portable DVD player. The trip was a breeze and the videos kept them entertained all but 2 hours in which they slept:) Good luck.

Go at night or early mornin so she can sleep it is so much easeir we take our (now three year old) when he was younger and really had no troubble we would travel from p-cola to mephis. My son also loves car rides so that helps as well

S. R

Hello! I travel from Pensacola to Chattanooga all the time with my little boy. Our family is there and my husband works 30 days at a time offshore, so usually when he leaves for work, we head to TN. It is about 7 hours and I have made the trip alone with my son since he was 8 months old. He is now 33 months. I have found that the best thing is a DVD player if you have access to one. We put it in the car for our trips to TN and it usually works. We also stop every 2-3 hours. I try to make it somewhere he can get out and play like McDonalds. That way he gets to move his legs some. I also keep a box of toys right beside his carseat so he can reach in and get what he wants. I hope this helps!! Good luck! By the way, we go to Atlanta quite a bit and the Creative Discovery Museum is amazing for little ones.

We just did an 8 hour car ride with our 22 month old, it is do-able but definitely trying at times. You must have lots of snacks, fruits, crackers, cookies, even some snacks you normally wouldn't allow him to have, and plenty to drink. I also pack 1 whole bag full of toys that I know he hasn't played with in a while. Before the trip like 1-2 weeks before I will go through all of his toys and pull out stuff so he is not playing with them, then on the car ride it is like a new toy. Be prepared to sing some songs and this is also a great time to point out things that you see on the rode and talk about their sounds like a car goes vroom vroom and truck honk honk and a cow moo moo. If you have or know anyone and can borrow a portable DVD player or labtop and play your child's favorite movie or TV shows that will help waste an hour. I also recommend to be ready to stop at atleast 2-3 rest stops for some diaper changes and a chance for your son to run around. Hope this helps a little and have a safe trip.

We used to take car trips from South Florida to Maryland with our girls. What I would do is get a cookie sheet and some magnets. They worked great. Of course get some he can't choke on. Also if you can sit in the back with him the cookie sheet works great for crayons and coloring books. Also he will probably sleep a good bit of the ride. Take plenty of breaks so his little bum and legs don't fall asleep on him. That makes for a bad trip. GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!!

I've done that before! My 2 boys do well with those "magna-doodle" things or "doodle-pro". Books are good, but that depends on your child's personality. The biggest lifesaver is a portable dvd player. If you don't know someone who will loan you one, you can buy one from best buy or circuit city (you may even check wal-mart or target) for $200 or less.

Good luck!