Driving with 3yo.....10-12 hours. any Tips?

[djbleach]

Was thinking about driving to Florida from Virginia at the end of Oct.
We usually fly so it's only an hour and half flight.
Cheapest flights we can get would be $340.
We could drive it for around $100 in gas.
So saving $240 seems like I might just try and drive it.
My plan is something like this.
I work shift work , so I'd work nights on thursday......send her to dayschool for friday while I sleep. Pick her up around 4, eat and get home for a bath.
Then start heading for floriday.
Her bed time is 9pm and usually is asleep close to it.
I would try and drive "non stop" except for gas and rest area bathroom(outside) if she's still asleep. I thinks it's a good 10-11 driving time.
When we get to florida we'd be at her nana's house, so they could watch her while i catch up on sleep.
The drive back could go similar, or I might brave it and do a daytime drive with a portable dvd in the car and try and stop every two hours? This day time drive with only the two of us could be very stressful? Just wondering what most people do when they drive with a small child 3 years old?

 

[jenjen3574]

I haven't done this in many years since my DS11 was that age. I was much braver in my youth! :lol

If she is sleeping the majority of the time, you'll be okay. Does she sleep well in the car? When my DS was that age we did it during the day and it was okay - but we did make a "potty break" every 2 hours and made sure he got out to stretch his legs and run around a bit. It took longer to get where we were going - but it kept him from going stir crazy in the car.

Good luck!

 

[CheshireVal]

I don't remember all the way back to when I was 3, but when I was a young child and we drove to WDW (an 8-9 hour drive), I remember my mom would draw a map of our route for me. She had certain cities (about an hour and a half or two hours apart) starred, and whenever we hit one of those cities, I'd get to draw a gift out of a "surprise bag."

It was always a toy that would keep me occupied for a while. I remember looking forward to the drives just as much as the vacations sometimes!

 

[Donald - my hero]

you both need big and invite to join the

Now you are both either brave or nuts I would never dream of driving that far with a young child! Are they familiar roads to you? Have you made this trek during daylight hours? That helps cause at least you know which exits have decent place for coffee or snack if by chance the little one wakes up.

Whatever you choose -- have a blast! The holiday will be great fun

 

["thegirls"]

I've done this with a 5 and 6 year old driving from NJ. The best tip I received was 'boarder presents'. Everytime you cross a the boarder into a new state you pull out the gift bag filled with wrapped presents form the dollar store. For me it was $8.00 per child per direction. It was the best $32.00 I ever spent. My kids loved it so much that this past year(they are now 13 and 14) they 'begged' to drive again just for the presents.
If you do this I recommend finding things like car bingo and books(picture for your daughter) that relate to the state your in or about your destination.
As a teacher myself for 17 years, I loved the added 'educational' bonus I got out of this fun new tradition we started.
As far as the DVD goes I highly recommend it also. Even though I was driving while they were veiwing the DVD in the back seat I found myself occupied and involved in the movie(I even once reached for the volume tuner on the radio to turn up the volume...because it sounded so much like a book on tape!!). It allowed us all to interact eventhough I was occupied.
Have fun and enjoy your trip,
Debbie

 

[NotUrsula]

Just wondering what most people do when they drive with a small child 3 years old?

Listen to endless repetitions of kiddie music, LOL. At that age we were intimately acquainted with all of the volumes in the Disney Classics boxed set.
Singing along helps you stay awake.

Our strategy was always a road hotel with an indoor pool. Swimming after a drive gets the fidgets out of kids and tires them out, and it helps adults get the stiffness out after a long drive, so that they can rest better.

 

[MotherOf2Princesses]

I drove down from central NC back in May. My daughter almost 3 at the time and potty training and my oldest 5. We too left Friday evening but did not do an all nighter. That doesn't sound safe. We got a hotel room in Pooler GA and drove the rest of the way down the next morning. The following Friday we drove all the way back. It took us 12 hours because we had to stop almost every hour for the 3 yr old to go potty.
Before the trip I bought a back pack with Nemo on it and filled it with Disney themed coloring books, crayons, and stickers. We also asked for a portable DVD player with dual monitors for Christmas. It was great. A must have for long trips.
This is just my advice but I would not try to drive it all the way down the night you leave, get a hotel room. Drive it straight thru coming back.

 

[Abbracio]

I agree with everything that has been mentioned:

DVD - a must - we always buy a NEW (never been seen) movie for these occasions. We drove from KC to Alabama this summer with a 1 and 2 1/2 year old. We are flying to Orlando for our Disney trip. I just bought The LIttle Mermaid and Curious George. My son has never seen either, though he has seen the Mermaid series on Disney and likes it.

New Toys - this is a great idea, have it wrapped up so your child can open it.

Books -

Stop at Rest Areas that have a place to run around. I know some have playgrounds, which is great. I know it's easier just to stop for gas/food, but when we see a Rest Area that has lots of green space to run around, we stop.
It's good for my very active son.


Favorite CD's of Music that you both can "sing" to.

Then we always hope that they will sleep some and they always do.

Take care and have a safe drive.

kathryn

 

[cranbiz]

I did the trip from MA to FL with a 2 and a 4 year old in March.

What we did was leave about 7pm. Within the first 20 minutes they both fell asleep. We were set for most of the night with the exception of waking them for potty stops. We stopped for breakfast and then went the rest of the was with toys, small handheld games (that were presents for being good) and baggies of fishy crackers, cereal, pretzels, animal cookies, etc. When they started to get a little cranky, we would stop for potty and some running around. We made a big deal about things like South of the Boarder billboards and South of the Boarder itself and the first Florida welcome center.

We did bring a portable DVD player, but did not use it. Our trip was 21 hours each way, yours should be a breeze.