Driving from Michigan - HELP!!!

[saylorbunch]

What have you done to occupy your kids on the 20 hour drive??? My 4 kids are ages 8 - 14...

 

[LadyBeBop]

1) Are you driving straight through or stopping for the night?

2) What route are you taking? I know I-75 pretty well since I live just south of Cincinnati.

In any event, a portable DVD player and videos are your friend.

 

[iamadisneynut]

We drive at least once a year from south western Ontario. Kids range in age from 5 to 14. We have a DVD player, hand held video games, iPods, and iPad, etc. we have no trouble! Lol

 

[catho72]

We drive 18 hours from Chicago and leave around 8pm so the kids sleep for a good portion of the trip. We pack food (sandwiches, PopTarts, cereal, granola bars, etc) in the car so we don't need to stop for food. We have a DVD player in the car and rent movies from Redbox. The DVD's can be returned to any Redbox so we watch the movie once and return it the next time we stop for gas. The kids have iPods and Nintendo DS that they play with as well. They also get a kick out of seeing the different license plates on the cars/trucks we pass.

Have fun!

 

[mistysue]

On our last trip I planned activities for them and then at the last minute my mom handed me two grocery bags of stuff to do. Based on that experience I just want to say DO NOT OVERPACK the activities! My other two were 1 and 3 but my then 9 year old basically just emptied the bags immediately and we arrived in Florida with so much crap on the floor of the van it fell out of the door into POP's parking lot. She gave them craft kits, beads, random things I would never dream of giving a kid in a car.

If you have a puzzle doer or a lego kid, bring them a cookie tray or cake pan to work in. I took a disposable cake pan that came with a lid and packed it with two puzzles inside. Now there is a working space for each puzzle and an obvious "away" to put them. (clearly it needs to be small puzzles or a large cake pan)

The items they cared about were the DVD player (with headphones), one book each, a gameboy with some games, one puzzle and a notebook/coloring book with writing object each. This year I happen to have a kindle fire and a galaxy nexus 7 which will be on the drive with us. I got a power adapter so we could plug things in.

If your kids will play video games, look on craigslist or at those game stores in malls that may sell you cheap used gameboy games, then try to get one or two cheap gameboys if you don't have anything like that. The SP and original DS will play the old cartridges which you can get really cheap... I just did a search on ebay for gameboy sp- it looks like you can get a system with about 20 games for maybe $50, there is a bundle right now for 4 systems with 18 games for $120. Old games can keep you into them for a long time. But don't waste your money if your kids will care that it's not a new system.

With your kids ages a lot of it will depend on their individual interests but I would try to keep it light at maybe give each of them a bag to pack. Then I would be sure they each at least feel like they have space- be certain to bring an extra set or two of headphones so they can ignore each other. Make sure you replace air fresheners before the drive. DD's feet bother my DS, so I actually put an odor neutralizing disk under her chair... never said anything to anybody and nobody noticed when her shoes came off.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

Movies, iPods, books/nooks/kindles, road games, and talking about what we're going to do when we get to WDW. At one point we kept DS5 busy by having him look for different colored cars -- red, yellow, green, blue, then orange and even purple (we knew he'd never see one). Well, around Montgomery, AL, we actually saw a purple car -- a 90's era Crown Victoria. He was asleep, so we took a picture of it and showed him later. DD2 was much more of a challenge, but since yours are well beyond that age your challenges will at least be different.

 

[2manydaves]

If you have a daughter within the 8-12 range, American Girl makes a travel journal that my DDs love. They play games out of it, look for license plates, etc.

 

[princessbrulee]

To entertain my kids on the 18 hour drive last year, I bought some little goodies from the dollar store and oriental trading. Oriental Trading has some cute color your own items like bracelets and mini beach balls that were fun and simple when paired with a new package of Sharpies. I then packed them into several small gifts bags and gave my girls "border gifts." (I can't remember exactly but I think I may have read about that idea on here. If so, thank you to whoever posted it!) Mixed in with a few bigger gifts like a new DS game and a DVD each, they were a big hit. Basically, every time we crossed a state border, they received a gift. Really broke up the monotony for them. Mostly they just watched videos, listened to music, slept, and played video games.

And don't forget lots of snacks! I even snuck in some fun things they don't normally get. I'm pretty strict about candy/cookies at home so they were excited to get junk food in the car. Plenty of good food too, though, to keep blood sugar levels even.

They were amazing on the way to Florida. Coming home was a little tougher but still, I was very impressed with how well they did! So much so that we're making the drive again in 41 days! We do break the drive up into two days, btw.

I love the idea of renting Redbox videos, I will probably do that this time instead of buying!

 

[saylorbunch]

On our last trip I planned activities for them and then at the last minute my mom handed me two grocery bags of stuff to do. Based on that experience I just want to say DO NOT OVERPACK the activities! My other two were 1 and 3 but my then 9 year old basically just emptied the bags immediately and we arrived in Florida with so much crap on the floor of the van it fell out of the door into POP's parking lot. She gave them craft kits, beads, random things I would never dream of giving a kid in a car.

If you have a puzzle doer or a lego kid, bring them a cookie tray or cake pan to work in. I took a disposable cake pan that came with a lid and packed it with two puzzles inside. Now there is a working space for each puzzle and an obvious "away" to put them. (clearly it needs to be small puzzles or a large cake pan)

The items they cared about were the DVD player (with headphones), one book each, a gameboy with some games, one puzzle and a notebook/coloring book with writing object each. This year I happen to have a kindle fire and a galaxy nexus 7 which will be on the drive with us. I got a power adapter so we could plug things in.

If your kids will play video games, look on craigslist or at those game stores in malls that may sell you cheap used gameboy games, then try to get one or two cheap gameboys if you don't have anything like that. The SP and original DS will play the old cartridges which you can get really cheap... I just did a search on ebay for gameboy sp- it looks like you can get a system with about 20 games for maybe $50, there is a bundle right now for 4 systems with 18 games for $120. Old games can keep you into them for a long time. But don't waste your money if your kids will care that it's not a new system.

With your kids ages a lot of it will depend on their individual interests but I would try to keep it light at maybe give each of them a bag to pack. Then I would be sure they each at least feel like they have space- be certain to bring an extra set or two of headphones so they can ignore each other. Make sure you replace air fresheners before the drive. DD's feet bother my DS, so I actually put an odor neutralizing disk under her chair... never said anything to anybody and nobody noticed when her shoes came off.

Wow!! Lots of good ideas!! Air freshener - GREAT idea!!!!!

 

[saylorbunch]

If you have a daughter within the 8-12 range, American Girl makes a travel journal that my DDs love. They play games out of it, look for license plates, etc.

Cool!!!

 

[CabesLove]

Whenever we drive from CO to FL, our biggest strategy is to sleep/rest during the day and then head out sometime late at night. That way, we get to knock out a big chunk of driving while our son sleeps! Then again, he's two...not too sure if this works with older kids. Haha!

Other than that, portable dvd players are a lifesaver! We take movies from home and also rent some on the road so that there is something new for him to watch and hold interest. We also always have a cooler w/ drinks and a bag of snacks. The Color Wonder pads and markers are also my best friend with him. I know your kids are older but maybe activity/puzzle books? Good luck!

 

[1000HappyWishes]

A notepad and a pen go a long way. I found myself playing a lot of Hangman on my previous drive down there.

 

[3Leafs]

We drive from MI at least 2-3 times a year. Always leave about 3pm stop in Ky for dinner and when they get up in the morning we are pretty close to our destination. 20 questions is our new game we play. Pads of paper was a great suggestion we do that as well. DVD, iPods, tablets... Its really not that bad if a drive.

Good Luck!

 

[melissabryant]

Check out http://www.wdwprepschool.com she has some good ideas for what to do to keep kids occupied.

 

[tlpbupu]

We are in Northern IN and also have about a 20 hour drive. The pp have all give you great ideas so I won't bother repeating them. I did want to add that you could make a game out of counting various things you see on the road. Someone mentioned colors of cars. Once we get to Southern IN we count Waffle Houses all the way to FL. It started as a joke the first time my DH and I drove down. Everyone in the car could be asleep except the driver (I HOPE!!) and that person would still whisper Waffle House as we pass.
It is now tradition to stop at a Waffle House for dinner on our way home.

 

[dpswift]

We have a van dvd player so we try(kids and myself) to find an acceptable television series that we can all enjoy. Somehow it seems easier for the kids to agree to a show than movies.

Going there we leave midday and drive straight through, when we return it is from Ft Myers which is a little farther so we stop.

I have learned that you need to learn what works best for you. On our first trip the kids job was to pack games books and videos and we had WAY TOO MANY. I like the idea of them each having a small backpack. They will not need as much stuff as you think. Videos, a ds my kids only like these for travel so they are "new" to them, and a book (only if you kids are not prone to motion sickness). The time goes quicker than you think it will I promise.

We bring sandwitches with us and eat them in the car for our first meal. I also pack a cooler of soda, a few chips and cookies. The first year I packed a bunch of snacks that they never ate.

Lastly if you are planning on driving strait through have your over night person eat something before to help them stay awake.

 

[momof2n2]

At those ages you'll be fine! Easy-peasy.

I pack workbooks and for every five pages completed they can have a snack (Good ones). Audio books. Movies. MP3s. I create a schedule and stick to it.

5:00-6:00PM ~ quiet reading
6-7:30 audio book
7:30-9 movies (one per row)
9P-6A - lights out. Can use MP3s
6A - people tend to start waking, etc.
7A - stop for breakfast
8-9:30 - audio drama
9:30-10:30 - quiet reading
10:30-noon - movie

Etc

It's 21-23 hours for us. We love it.

 

[ryansstitch]

At those ages you'll be fine! Easy-peasy.

I pack workbooks and for every five pages completed they can have a snack (Good ones). Audio books. Movies. MP3s. I create a schedule and stick to it.

5:00-6:00PM ~ quiet reading
6-7:30 audio book
7:30-9 movies (one per row)
9P-6A - lights out. Can use MP3s
6A - people tend to start waking, etc.
7A - stop for breakfast
8-9:30 - audio drama
9:30-10:30 - quiet reading
10:30-noon - movie

Etc

It's 21-23 hours for us. We love it.

Those are excellent ideas!

 

[paintnolish]

I agree with those who said not to overpack activities. Ds and dd mostly watched movies during our 18 hr drive. Once dd colored.
We packed sandwich fixings and picnicked for lunch. I brought a frisbee and they had fun tossing that. Make your stops count: let them exert some energy.
Oh, and beware of Atlanta traffic. It's horrible.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

If you're driving down I-75, you may want to invest in the book "Along I-75" ... I believe it's updated every few years, and it has pretty detailed maps as well as lists of what food/hotels/gas is at every exit/rest stop.

(And being from MI, I'm sure you know this already, but watch your speed in Ohio)