Hi! To start off, we drove from MN to WY with a 2yo who HATES the car. From the start he would cry until he threw up (and this was just from the hospital to our house). So when it was time to head to the inlaws, we left at 6pm the first night and got all the way to the black hills before stopping ourselves to catch some zzs in the car. Then we got up and went to the black hills (with the time we saved starting the night before) and ran around for a few hours until our limbs got so cold we had to head back in the car. Then out came the magna-doodle. He was enamered (sp) with this for most of the morning (through nap) and onto lunch. We had lots of stops (mt rushmore, parks, walking trails, ect) to stretch our legs and keep the sanity.
We also kept all the food in the trunk and had meals and most snacks during breaks. And we cleaned the car every time we stopped for gas.
He made it all the way there without a tear. I wish the last 8 hours on the way home was the same........
Magnadoodles! This just worked wonders for my 25 mo old son. We took a 5 hour car trip (one way) and he only slept 1 hour of it. He played with that toy ALOT
When we took a two week vacation by car out west with the kids, I made sure that we stopped every two hours. This may seem like quite a bit, but it really didn't slow us down too much. I would pull over at rest stops or restaurants (for about 10-15 min each time) and everyone would take the time to use the restroom (I didn't hear one complaint about having to stop for potty breaks this way!) and to stretch our legs. It helped the kids burn off some energy and that helped keep fighting to a minimum!! (sometimes I would pick two points and have the kids race each other back and forth, cheering them on....which encouraged the children to burn that energy!)
We also have family games that we play in the car. There are always the 20 question games (I spy, Who am I?, What am I?, etc...), we take along Trivial Pursuit game cards (geared for the kids age...usually Disney), we sing songs and make up silly lyrics (who knew Over the River and Through the woods could go so far! lol) We also took magnetic games and boards meant for car travel, the kids had their own MP3 players and story books on tape to listen to when bored, and then there is the game that my dad played with us when I was a kid, we make our own variations to it, but here is the basic rules....
Each child picks which window they get to look out of, usually the one they are sitting next to, and count the animals they see. Cows, Pigs, and Horses are all worth one point. Cats and Dogs are worth 5 points, pure white horses 20 points, and an elephant 100 points. The object of the game is to get to 100 first. However, if you see a graveyard out your window, you lose your points and have to start over at 100 (though the game doesn't end until someone reaches 100). I've used this game many times over the years, always adapting it to the kids age and abilities. We've counted cars, trees, houses, particular colors....whatever the kids felt like. They had fun making up their own rules and picking new things to count. For lack of a better name, we call it the counting game. We also had the silent game....try to see who could stay quiet the longest..lol Never did care much for that game as a kid, but love it as an adult! ;) (We use it to get the kids to calm down and tend to quiet activities, especially when driving through heavy traffic or areas where we know we will have to go through several exit/entrance exchanges such as in Chicago or when it was close to nap/bed time).
Traveling can be fun, mostly, if you keep in mind the energy the kids need to burn off and keep them mentally stimulated, things should go well. My kids loved our long two week trip all those years ago and they still talk about it, all the fun they had not just at the places we went, but the fun we had along the way too.
Neza-
Our family lives 8 hours away by car...by the time you stop, stretch, eat it is at least a 10 hour trip. We do many of the things already suggested.
Here is a link to a game your kids may like to play in the car -
www.happymomonline.com/pages/busybag-jr.htm
www.happymomonline.com/pages/busybag.htm
They are called busy bags and are like I Spy in a bag. The older kid version has 40 items inside with them listed on a card which fits into a pocket on the back. The younger kid version has 20 items inside and the items are pictured on the card which fits into the pocket on the back. They are well made (I have 5 kids and they have used and abused them!) and will last for a long time.
Best wishes on your trip.
Blessings!
Heather :-)
Neza,
We have taken NUMEROUS 12 hour car trips with 3 kids. Althought the kids are older now and we have it down to a science, when they were younger, here are some of the things we did:
Small cookie tray or other metal object (tin can or box) and magnets!
BIG SNACK ATTACK BAG...A big ziplock bag for each child, filled with lots of different snacks that they could pick at whim.
Photocopy of map with a line drawn where we started and where we had to end. The kids could then use a crayon or colored pencil to trace each step of the trip. This was a HUGE hit.
Old fashioned looking out of the window...who can spot a green car first? A red car? A cow? A traffic light? You can even make up a bingo card for the kids...with pictures on them if the kids aren't readers, yet!
Have a great and safe trip!
Wendy...mom of three
www.kidlutions.com
I have seen this idea in magazines or online somewhere: See how many miles you have to travel and make surprise bags for certain mile increments that you determine (e.g. they get the first one at 50 or 100 miles) The bags could have a snack in them, a toy from the dollar store, stickers, a craft, a new coloring book, etc. This way, they have something to look forward to and things to keep them busy. We also had some audio CD's when my kids were younger of "Blue's Clues" It was almost like an episode, but it was just audio...they would sing along and figure out the clues, etc. I don't know what is out there now that might be like this, but I'm sure you could find age appropriate something that's kind of like an audio book...maybe even holiday stories on CD or MP3.
Look online for other ideas too...you could search for something like "road trip activities for kids."
I got this idea from a friend, take a 9x13 cake pan that has a lid and use that for crayons, paper, whatever. They can use it as a lapdesk in the car and closes to keep all their stuff neat and tidy.
Also, buy some new toys (or get happy meal toys) that they have never seen before and pull them out on the trip.
Good luck!
Something I haven't seen mentioned yet, but my kids love to do in the car. Viewmaster. I purchased each girl (2 yo and 6 yo) their own and then bought one of the light-up projectors for the evenings. You can buy tons of reels with popular characters and it keeps them busy for hours, plus if they are complainers about the sun being to bright, the sun is perfect to shine through their Viewmasters.
A suggestion I had from another parent but I haven't tried was to bring along a laundry basket for all the toys. That way when you arrive somewhere you just have them throw all the toys into the laundry basket and they are ready to get out. (and the laundry basket can always travel easily into the hotel for the night)
For garbage I take an ice cream bucket and line it with a plastic grocery sack and place under the seat of the oldest child, so they are in charge of putting all their garbage into that container - and then empty it at a gas station. (Also convenient if someone happens to get sick, the bucket is an easy size for the lap and a plastic sack can easily be tied up and thrown away, and replace a sack into the bucket, instead of cleaning the bucket.)
Sorry, I rambled so long. Have a safe trip.
The surprise bags worked great when we traveled with our kids! ( we had 2 at the time...now we have 4 ) We gave a bag to them every hour and then they would play with whatever it was for quite awhile and it was entertaining. Also clip boards are handy for them to color/write on. But the BEST thing was when we went from a van with no T.V. to a van with a T.V!!! All I can say is when you have family out of state like we have it is a life saver! They would watch T.V., fall asleep....... We also have a couple of those hand held Video Now...things. Our younger 2 like those as well. Also little snack bags that they can choose from.....
Good luck! BEth
put the 6-year old in a booster seat.
it will help him see better.
Thanks everyone for such great ideas and for sharing your driving experiences.
Our trip went pretty well; we did buy a DVD player- just one for the kids to watch together. I brought all our DVD’s in a CD booklet, plus I borrowed some new movies from the library (Free!). The DVD player was very helpful- we only turned it on when the kids were getting ansy. However, when we reached the curvy, bumpy, mountainous part of our driving trip, the 3 yr old got carsick from watching the video! and we had to use it only on smooth/straight freeways. I had a large garbage bag to put the dirty clothes in when we had to stop and strip him down on the side of the road!!
We had lots of car snacks, and McDonald’s has the best bathrooms for road trips…
Small travel-size bottles of Purell and baby wipes were tucked into the glove compartment for cleaning hands.
We have a regular wagon-type car, so I found a rectangular “rubbermade” plastic tub that fit between the 2 car seats. That was filled with small toys the kids played with for hours- Small people & animals, cars…they created a little village using a large book over the box as a tabletop. Each kid had their own little pocket holder that we attached to the seat in front of them- for putting little things in.
Also pipecleaners were good to keep them busy creating things.
We packed small “Hotel bags” to carry in each night to the hotel, and left the big suitcases in the car.
When we stopped at gas stations or rest stops, we had the kids get out and do jumping jacks. They thought it was very funny. We also bought them each a cheap pair of sunglasses at a truck stop- it kept them occupied for a while.
Because pillows are so bulky, we had blankets we could roll up to make a pillow, or use as a curtain in the window.
Next time, I’ll bring a couple towels, because when the little guy got carsick, we made a bib for him with paper towel, but a real towel would have been helpful.