How far have you driven with small children?

[shredbetty]

I have two kids - now 5 & 7 and we have travelled extensively (starting as newborns), all by car. My kids have been to (or through) 26 & 28 states respectively. We currently live in WI and have been to the west coast, east coast, down to the south, etc... The best way to travel if you have two adults is to take turns and drive through the night. If you don't have two adults (or if one of them is unable to drive at night), just end late and begin early.

Then during day travel hours, stop frequently at playgrounds - easy to find, just locate schools along your route. Bring along plenty of fast, non messy snacks and toys. We have never used videos because we want the kids to look around outside and see places that they may only see once in a lifetime.
I SPY is a great game even for the toddler set. Now that our kids are getting older, they love hitting the road for a trip. My friends who waited to take long trips with their kids are having more diffuculty. Just my personal experience, I hope it helps.

 

[shellynn24]

I have two kids - now 5 & 7 and we have travelled extensively (starting as newborns), all by car. My kids have been to (or through) 26 & 28 states respectively. We currently live in WI and have been to the west coast, east coast, down to the south, etc... The best way to travel if you have two adults is to take turns and drive through the night. If you don't have two adults (or if one of them is unable to drive at night), just end late and begin early.

Did the kids sleep in the car, were they grumpy the next day from having to sleep in the car? We would like to drive as far as we can the frist day and maybe stop half way. I have made the drive from El Paso to Tampa solo before many years ago and I couldn't even make it halfway, but I was by myself! I really am not looking forward to the drive home, it's just so depressing! I hope we survive to post a trip report!

 

[shredbetty]

They usually sleep from about 10 PM until 2 or 3 in the morning and then will wake up when we stop for gas and a soda (for mom & dad), let them out of the car if they want for a couple of minutes, get a juice, whatever they need. Then usually 5-10 minutes down the road they fall back asleep until sunrise or a little after. We use a cooler or bags to prop their feet so they don't hang (forgot this one time and our little man's leg fell asleep). We use mini pillows and they are allowed to bring their fleece blankets (we usually buy a new one for each long trip) and their favorite cuddly item. We tuck them in tight and put some good tunes on. The only time one woke up grumpy was when DS's leg was asleep. My husband and I do love road tripping though, so that could help. When our daughter was one we lived in CO. DH drove to WI and then OK to see family while I took DD to Las Vegas (I was playing in a billiards tourn.). DH then drove to NV, we left to CA (where we dropped DD with family), and then drove down the Baja all the way to Cabo san Lucas for a week, back to Cali, back to Colorado. In less than a month we drove a combined 10K miles... it was our favorite vacation yet. If you need any other suggestions, please let me know. If not, good luck and have fun and please let us know how it went!

 

[MamaLema]

We drove from Toronto (about 24 hours) with 3 kids ages : 8, 6, and 12 months. We drove STRAIGHT. It was not nearly as bad as I thought.

With a lot of planning, it went O.K.

 

[aquinoje]

I just drove 16 hours in the car with two kids (3 & 4) and I would advise you to spend the extra money on a plane ticket. It really isn't that much more when you figure in the cost of gas, oil changes, hotel costs, snacks and above all sanity. Unless you have the chance to stay at a place for a couple of days, I would not drive that far with two young children. My 16 hour drive was suppose to only take 13 hours, but ended up being 16 hours after all of the breaks. Remember you don't have to purchase airline tickets for infants under two unless you want them to have a designated seat- lap child and if a seat is available the child can use it.

I don't know how many days your vacation is, but I know that I didn't want to get back in the car for a week. I think you will have a better vacation if you fly! TRUST ME.

 

[Kimkimba]

We do 1000 miles without much trouble. My oldest daughter has been doing this since she was an infant, and now at age 16 LOVES riding in the car.

My ds who is 7 gets a little fidgety, but not too bad. My youngest dd just turned 2, and we went to Florida in December and again in March (about 1000 miles) and she was fine. I like to leave super early in the morning (before 4:00 am) so that by the time they are ready for breakfast we have logged a good many miles. Our trip is all highway, and when the speed limit hits 70 everyone is going at least 80. We do the trip including stops in 14 hours.

 

[ryan840]

I haven't read all the posts yet, but my recomendation- drive through the night! We did that with my son when he was two months old and he slept the whole time (he didn't do that at home until he was almost 7 months old!) You can take shifts and plan part of the next morning to recover at the hotel and the kids can stretch and play all day before getting back in the car and falling asleep again.

 

[FamilyGuy]

I think there is a big difference when the kids are a little older; our kids are 10, 9, and 5 yrs of age. We just completed our frist driving trip from Suburban Chicago to WDW. We started driving at 3:45am central time, and amazingly checked in at Port Orleans at midnight eastern time. Total time stopped was about 2.5 hours. We had originlly planned to stop somwhere between Altanta and Valdosta GA, but felt comfortable enough to finish the trip. I drove the entire ride except the final 90 minute leg. I actually had to call the resort and make arragements to check in one night early!

I think that a comfortable and roomy vehicle is very important. Also, as is so common nowadays, we have a DVD system with headsets which allows us to listen to different audio than what the kids are listening to. And the playstation2 was also very handy on both the way there and the way back

The drive back was split into 2 parts. I think it only makes sense that on the way there you are excited and it is easier to drive for a longer period of time. It is very important not to overexert yourself.

Good Luck, and most importantly, Drive Safely!

 

[TNKBELL]

Last year, Dh,my Mom,Me,Ds7,Ds5,Dd3,Ds11months, drove to WDW from Kansas. I can't complain at all about the DKs, they were great!! We split it up into 3 days. This year we are driving again but will only stop one night instead of two. It's much easier to think on your way out "We'll be at WDW tomorrow, instead of 2 days from now. I think of it as an adventure. We have fond memories of goofy signs and different animals that we see along the way. Not to mention trying to figure out what animals the roadkill were! We rented a van with a Dvd player and I packed lots of activities and snacks for everyone. It was nice to have Grandma to navigate and I sat in the back with the kids. The number one concern should be safety. If you or your friend are not comfortable driving that far with kids, I would recommend flying. I don't think it matters the age of the kids, we have driven many places with the kids at all ages. I think a good point was made by another poster that said starting them young, they get adjusted to traveling by car. We always drove on vacations when I was young, and those are some of the best memories I have!! Good Luck and Be careful..

 

[montblanc]

I've done a 13 1/2 hour drive with stops only for gas. Did it when my daughter was 1 1/2, 8 and 9 years old, never a problem. We play lots of games in the car and she is so excited the time passes quickly.

 

[wfloyd]

We have gone 1300 miles one way before. We found that with young ones if you can travel at night when they are asleep, it goes much quicker. Then during the day, take frequent stops and let the run as much as possible to aid in more sleeping. It was bearable in the end but there are times when it can be frazzeling.

 

[shellynn24]

I love hearing everyone elses opinions. I'm feeling much more prepared to make this decision. We are going in a minivan, so there is plenty of room. I hope we can get to use someone's DVD player, I don't have one in the van. My friend loves to drive and will probably do most of the driving while I do the "entertaining". We are lucky because we will be in Florida for about 3 weeks; we are combining a visit to my parents house, my HS reunion, and a trip to WDW all in one! This is going to be me after it is all done ! I can't wait for October

 

[mommystieg]

Another Texan here We drove from the DFW area with DD12, DD5 and DD7mos. We drove straight through and it took us close to 24 hours but we had a couple of delays--the I10 bridge was only one lane eastbound at Pensacola and we sat in traffic for nearly an hour and then you lose an hour crossing time zones around Tallahassee.
We thought that driving all night worked really well with the baby. She generally goes to bed around 9:00 or 9:30 and sleeps through the night. We were able to get to Mississippi before we had to stop and feed her (she is bfed). She eats about every 3-4 hours which was just about the right amount of time between stops for the other two kids.
DH and I just switched off every a few hours and then once the sun came up I didn't feel tired at all. We do have a DVD player for the car and that really helps with the older girls. I also bought them small storage totes and they could only bring with them what would fit in the tote. We bring lots of paper, coloring pencils, stickers, etc. Another thing my girls have enjoyed playing with in the past is pipe cleaners.
Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[Disneyonmymind]

I didn't read the other posts. We just completed a trip with from PA to WDW with three kids (two are 8 and one is 2). The DVD player kept them mesmerized mostly the whole way. They were NO TROUBLE back there. We only heard a few "Are we there yets?" and they were jesting with us. There was NO crying and NO fighting. I told my DH - Hey, let's drive out West next summer since those kids are such great road-trippers. DH and I love a good road trip. . .

We bought the DVD player for the trip and it was easily worth the money. We got it from QVC for less than $300. It came with a bag that you can hang between the seats so everyone can see it. I actually wouldn't consider another road trip without it.

Also, one other thing that worked well. On the first day, we packed a picnic lunch rather than sitting at a restaurant. We found a nice roadside rest in SC where we ate and the kids played catch and ran around to get the wiggles out. We thought that trying to get them to sit still in a restaurant might prove difficult.

Jackie

 

[mickilovesmickey]

We drive everywhere for vacation. We went to Disney with a 4 week old, 1.5 year old and a 4 year old. The drive normally takes us 18 hours but took us a little longer. It is all in your expectations. We normally leave at around 3 am. And we drive straight through. By the end of the trip, one of us is usually in the back with the kids. We eat in the car to use up some of the time. We stop and let the kids run off steam. My kids are very good riders because we have done it with them.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We've driven 7 hours in 1 day with my son when he was 10 months old. He was fine, and could have gone more without a problem. That was with his car seat facing backward so he couldn't watch the DVD player in our minivan. Facing forward I would think I could push 10 hours in a day. Not with every kid. My son is very easy going. In Oct. we're driving down in an RV. We've set aside 3 days. If we make it in two thats fine, but I won't push him too much. If he gets really cranky we'll stop for a while. If it gets out of control, we'll stop for the day. He will totally set the pace of this whole trip. Every kid is different, though.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We've driven as much as 20 hours with our children. The average drive home to see my family is 17, and we try to drive straight through just because it's easier. Our 2 older children will generally sleep the entire time they are in the car. As babies, they had to be awakened to eat on trips. It was a dream. Now, our 2.5 yo dd thinks car time = play time. Traveling with her is not always fun. Fortunately, she likes to watch movies. We occasionally fly with our children but prefer to drive. We've just been bumped so many times. It's no fun to spend 17+ hours in the air and in airports going to the beach when we could have driven it in less. The last time we flew with the kids, I got caught without enough formula, food, or diapers -- and could find no place to purchase any of them -- and I thought I had brought more than enough! Of course, I was planning on an hour long direct flight. Instead, I got to visit several different airports around the country. Ugh! Personally, I'd like to send dh ahead with the children and just meet up with everyone at our destination. Wouldn't that be nice?

 

[shellynn24]

I really like the idea of packing a picnic lunch and letting the kids play at a rest stop for awhile. I told my friend that's what we are going to have to do. Now I just have to figure out the specifics of the trip. I don't think we will make it stright through. Do you know how big Texas is!? We live almost in New Mexico! I think we will make it into Louisiana before we have to stop, hopefully.

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

The first time she was 8 months, and we did the aprox. 16 hr (including stops) trip in 2 days. She was great. We would stop every couple of hrs to change her diaper.

Last time she was 2.6 yrs and we did the way up in 2 days and the way back in one day. She did great, but you should have seen her face every time she had to get back in the carseat after any kind of break. I don´t know how we would manage a longer drive with her.

Julie

 

[Jaxs27]

We are making the drive from Texas in 2 weeks. I don't think I would do it with a 6 month old though. We plan to start in the afternoon and drive to Louisiana to our favorite restaurant there and eat. Then leave and drive over night to Florida. I figure the kids and I will sleep over night, dh is a night owl and used to work nights, so he can do it.