How to make kids comfortable on long car ride

[lakoda]

We used glow sticks from the dollar store when DD (2 1/2) got restless at night. She loved them! And we had already packed some for the night parade anyway. DD also loves stickers, so anytime I find some small sticker books I pick those up for road trips and restaurants. The dollar spot at Target has them frequently, I have also found other trinkets there that work well.

Plutoplanet - We took DD on a long road trip at 9 months. I made her a "distraction bag" that contained several small toys for times when she got restless. I bought two new "bigger" toys that she hadn't played with yet, one was a vtch camera that lights up and plays music. Then just smaller toys that I thought would hold her interest, such as a mini light spinner and a mini sound book with buttons. Watch their cues and try to avoid letting them get really tired of being in the carseat.

Good luck and have a safe trip!

 

[2shortpeopleruleme]

We used this tray

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Kids-Sna...ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1308237721&sr=8-1

I wanted a soft tray that would collapse and bend in an accident.

We also have these and my girls LOVE them!

When we made the drive my DD's were 4 & 3. I made little goody bags of wrapped presents. It was just a bunch of little trinkets. I think the biggest hit was a little $0.50 car to run over the trays. They also brought their 'loveys' and each have a new princess blanket waiting in their boosters for them. We also did use the DVD player a big help along the way. We left for central MD @ 2 am and arrived in Jacksonville, FL around 245 pm. I was amazed how well they did!

 

[ascwilson]

Ours is a 19 hour trip if we drive too. We get up and on the road by 4am and usually the kids will go back to sleep for a bit (our DS4 is still in his PJs). We always have movies, Leapsters & DSs with plenty of games. Pipe cleaners are fun too. I'll make them a goodie bag with new things in there to amuse them like card games, gold fish crackers, books, etc. Sometimes plain old games like I Spy & looking for alphabet letters on billboards are fun. We do stop at rest areas and let our youngest run around a lot to burn energy. Once we stop for the night, we like a hotel with a pool to wind down in too.

 

[mommy2_3]

these are all good ideas! i need some good ideas also! we will be stopping over night though. we are driving from kansas so it a 22hr drive. our first drive will be about 14 hours, with us leaving around 4am.

 

[Nanu57v]

these are all good ideas! i need some good ideas also! we will be stopping over night though. we are driving from kansas so it a 22hr drive. our first drive will be about 14 hours, with us leaving around 4am.

Can you leave earlier? We left at 3 and weren't too tired! Just to allow for more stops during the day before you hit your hotel.

 

[mommy2_3]

Can you leave earlier? We left at 3 and weren't too tired! Just to allow for more stops during the day before you hit your hotel.

ummmmm, maybe. thats all up to hubby lol! he is driving first.

 

[squirrel]

You could make I Spy Bottles:

empty water bottle, rice, and little things to hunt for (penny, dice, paper clip, button, pom pom, birthday candle, confetti, bead, small toy, etc.

I add some rice and then a few items, and keep alternating so they aren't all clumped together. Leave some room at the top so the rice moves around and the kids can find the items. Hot glue the lid onto the bottle.

 

[disneykidsx3]

How does this work? We took a long car ride this spring and our 2 year old had problems with her feet falling asleep- I am having trouble visualizing how this works. Any help would be great! Thanks!

 

[Diegosmom]

We drive alot to visit family (11 hours) and Myrtle Beach (4 hours) and other family (4 hours) so DS4 is used to car rides...

Besides all the great ideas here (I do most of them) also wanted to point out just cause your kids go to bed at 8pm (or whatever time) doesnt mean they will in the car. DS usually falls asleep at 10:30 at home but in the car it has been 1am or later (he usually wont fall asleep with a movie going). Also a trick we found was we usually hit a fast foad place for dinner (like McDonalds) 1 adult hits bathroom with DS and then straight to the play area. Other adult orders food (bathroom at some point lol) and the adults eat while DS plays. We do not make him eat unless he wants to (which he is usually more interested in playing). If possible when 1 adult is finished eating, take the car to fill the tank and come back to get DS and other adult. Then DS will eat his dinner in the car. Gives him a chance to run around and also keeps him busy in the car for a bit once we are on the road again.

Also have done a late night ice cream cone in the car (DS is pretty clean and actually I dont care if my car gets messy we have plenty of papertowls and wipes) keeps him busy for a while...

Also we have had a few meltdowns in the car (usually on the way home after a long trip and just over tired) and I have finally realized that there s nothing I can do. No amount of talking calms this kid down (when he wants out of his carseat or whatnot) so as long as he isnt hurt or anything we just ignore. Once DS learns he is not getting his way he usually calms down...

Good Luck

 

[DEA]

We've done a couple of overnight car trips to WDW (about 17 hours from our driveway to the Cracker Barrel in Orlando over near AK). Our younger daughter was 3 and 4, respectively, on those trips, and our older daughter 5 and 6. Here are a few things that seemed to help:

1. Dinner stop followed by one (1) more DVD, then it was bedtime. We set this expectation early and stuck to it.

2. Snacks are good, but they ended up wanting to try all of the snacks within ten minutes of getting in the car.

3. We used a stepstool from the bathroom at home to prop up their feet. They also served as stepstool again in the hotel room.

4. The other foot-prop was the cooler bag for snacks.

5. Neck pillows had a novelty value and also got use as actual pillows, which was nice.

6. Smaller blankets from home came along in the car, even though it was warm on the trip down. It still provided some security and a nice sense(scents?)-memory for them.

7. Everybody tries on the potty at every stop at which they are awake. Last year, we had to stop twice in the greater Richmond, VA area for potty breaks, and that just was not an efficient use of time. It was also worrisome because the younger one had just been potty-trained for a couple of months, and if you have to worry about miles to the next exit, it can really stress folks out. When you're stopped, you know you have bathroom access.

8. DVDs make the time pass for them much faster. We usually unveil one new movie on each trip so they have a special treat.

Good luck, and enjoy your trip!

 

[mrseace711]

It doesnt matter how many sites I have read thru for tips on our drive I keep finding more great tips! This thread is great. I 2nd the ISPY bottle!! I plan on making 8 of them!! The 1st 4 will all have exactly the same items so that my kids can race to find all the items in a game, the second set will all be different with whatever I find around the house. Oh dont forget to take a picture of the items rounded up before you put them in so the kids can check the items off =)

 

[Nanu57v]

ummmmm, maybe. thats all up to hubby lol! he is driving first.

Actually, its probably not that necessary. Our reason for leaving earlier was we wanted to get through Washington, DC before the traffic got bad (we live in Central PA). Have fun!

 

[Tinkerbell83]

When we drove down last year (14 hours on the first day, 6 hours the next) with a 1 year old and a 3 year old we brought DVD's, new toys, and little coloring thing. The new toys only held their attention for so long as did the DVD's. It seems to me that the two things my kids (especially the older one) like on long car rides the best are the snacks and interacting with me and my husband. We play games like I Spy and 20 Questions. As well as Hide and Go Seek. Which my son thought was a great idea to do in the car and I thought he was crazy but somehow we manged to play for like 20-30 minutes on one road trip. One person counts while the others hide their faces with their hands then the counter pretends like they don't see them until they pop out and say surprise or boo or something. I'm sure this game is only appealing to the younger crowd. It's pretty much glorified Peek-a-boo. Anyway, my point is have lots of fun food and drinks and be prepared to spend time entertaining them and you'll be good to go.

 

[squirrel]

Most places will let you order an ice cream in a cup rather than the cone. That would be easier in the car to eat.

 

[StitchBuddy]

I didn't read all the posts, so this may have been mentioned already. When my DD was little we would stop at McDonald's she would go run and climb in the play area. Then, just before it was time to get back in the car we ordered her meal and let her eat in the car. This way we didn't spend too much time eating, she got out some energy and she ate in the car which gave her something to do.

 

[monorailsilver]

Love the rice bottle idea. We are going to Ocean City, MD in August & although it is only a 5-6 hour drive for us, my kids would love that. I mean how long can they play their ds, watch movies or play on an ipod/laptop. Or read a book.

I did buy my daughter a Travel book (she is 10). It has a few things to do, stuff to look for. Of course she already did quite a few things & I have to remind her not to use the book.

I will probably make up some Bingo boards for them and an ispy check list (like McD's sign, certain gas station sigh).

 

[cindydare]

One thing that I found that DD7 really enjoys is a license plate game board by Melissa and Doug. It is a map of the US with little blocks attached by elastic strings that have the name of the state on one side and blue and red sides, so that 2 people can play and flip over their color when they spot the plate. Melissa and Doug also make a travel bingo set with multiple cards (road signs, highway, country) with the same type of markers attached by elastic bands.

If you're crafty, you could easily make something similar.....I'm just not crafty

She also loves the color wonder markers, though beware of the glittery paper ones. We took a glittery princess set on our trip last year, and we had glitter everywhere!