Thoes that drive with little ones...

[becca011906]

How do you decide what the best seating arrangment is?? My normal car is a dodge intrepid with the three kids across the back they have to sit the way they are b/c of school drop off/ pick up has to unload from the passanger side so of course dd3 has to be on the driver side. BUT we aren't taking the intrepid on vacation like we did last year we are using my grandparents town and country so we will have some more room to take all our stuff, ect. We took thier van back in our tip in '05 when the kids were 5,3,1 and we put the older two in the back, the youngest in the middle and stowed (stow n' go van) the other middle seat ... it didn't work so well. I'm not sure who to put where... and looking for what to consider??? Thanks!

 

[hogue123]

We have a Volvo XC90 SUV. We drove last May with our 3 boys to Orlando from Cincinnati (15 hours!!!). We had the 2 year old behind the driver's seat, the 5 year old behind the passenger seat and the 8 year old in the 3rd row. At some time or another we hear lots of fussing and fighting so we split them up so they couldn't touch each other. We just packed in the luggage around them and it worked fine. They did fight over what DVD they were going to watch but at least we weren't hearing "He's touching me!"

 

[tzolkin]

we don't have stow n go, but i was thinking of doing the same thing you mentioned from your last trip and putting a cooler/ activities where the other middle seat should be. what were your issues with that arrangement?

my DH thinks that we should move the bench seat up to the middle and put the two younger ones there and put our oldest in the back with a bucket seat and then have more storage next to her. our two little ones also get horribly carsick, so it would be more convenient to have them closer to me so i can "catch" it easier. we also got a dual dvd player that distracts them from getting sick... somewhat. those will be on the back of the driver and passenger seats, so they will be able to watch them better from the middle.

does the rear seat stow in more than one section? in my parent's van you can stow 2/3 of the back bench, so it's like you have one bucket seat in the back and two in the middle.

 

[Harlie]

We have a 2003 Ford Windstar and we can remove the two middle bucket seats and bring the thrid row bench up a row to the middle row. We put our youngest in the middle and the older two on iether side of him. This gives us a lot of room for luggage, stroller ect. It works well for us, but I can see some people wanting to use both rows to separate the kids.

 

[becca011906]

we don't have stow n go, but i was thinking of doing the same thing you mentioned from your last trip and putting a cooler/ activities where the other middle seat should be. what were your issues with that arrangement?

My issue with this wasn't an issue it is now.... in '05 i was a parent ... not i'm a Car Seat Tech who's to many advantages and a few disadvatages (only that i think more about stuff now), is that i know what can be a HUGE projectile in a carsh and i'd much rather stuff be secured as much as possible so that God forbid we do get into a crash stuff isn't slamming into my child in the back... although I guess i could find a way to secure stuff in that second seat spot with tie downs, ect...
Also with this issue is that my 7 and 5 (then 3 and 5) don't get along with as well as they did and fight the most of out any combination ... i'll add more in a while.. it's lunch time now! LOL

 

[MommyBoo!]

We have a Grand Caravan with Stow and Go. We put the youngest one in the back and the older two (and me) switch off sitting next to her. That way, she has someone to help her with stuff and it cuts way down on fighting by switching around now and then. Plus, they each get to take one tote bag with stuff in it to keep them amused (and I bring a few surprises). Between switching people and switching stuff and rest stops for running around, it works well.

It's a little eaiser for us though. My older two do not need car seats and my oldest is big enough (taller than me!) to sit in the front seat next to DH. We secure the cooler on the floor behind the front passenger seat.

Edited to add that my kids are 13, 10 and 3 (soon to be 4).

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

The easiest way...

Is to drive at night. So the kids will be asleep.

 

[tzolkin]

The easiest way...

Is to drive at night. So the kids will be asleep.

that's what we're going to do, too.

unfortunately our trip will be 20hrs + stops, so they won't sleep the whole time. but it will certainly be better than driving for two whole days or more.

 

[Harlie]

that's what we're going to do, too.

unfortunately our trip will be 20hrs + stops, so they won't sleep the whole time. but it will certainly be better than driving for two whole days or more.

We too are driving a long way 24 hous +. We have driven long distances with the kids before. We are leaving early in the morning 5am. We thought of leaving at night but we know our kids will not fall asleep in the vehicle (too excited lol)

 

[becca011906]

yeah we tried the nigh time driving thing, i wasn't fun we missed our whole first day of vacation b/c me and dh were to sleepy to do anything so we may as well leave a day earlier (since our sheduals are ok with that) and get the most of our days while there!!! LOL
We plan to leave around 12-2 PM (can't decided if we should wait till schools over at 2 or take them out at noon) then drive till we 10-11PM to get us south of Atlanta. then that will leave us about 6 hours to drive in day 2 not to bad.

I have taken the van before with the kids and put ds and dd(3) in the back row where ds could help dd get stuff and entertain her well. and put dd5 in the middle alone, it worked ok but then i worry if dd3 needs me i'm to far away to get to her unless we stop. If she's in the second row then i can reach her safely... maybe i could put ds and dd3 in the middle and dd5 in the back ... the bench does split 1/3 and 2/3 so i could stow the 2/3 and have more packing room i think. we have 3 portable DVD players so they can swap them around between all 3 of them.
Moving/switching around could not work b/c my 2 youngest DD are both in 5pt car seats and the'd be hard to move around, but ds's booster would be easy enough but he still can't swap out for the front seat like yours can! Thanks though that's something to remember for future ideas!!!

 

[bmderd2]

we are having the same issue. We will be driving with four boys (11, 9, 7, and 1 and 1/2). The best advice I have is to try and drive at night so the kids can sleep as much as possible.

 

[thepeach80]

We have a van w/ 2 bench seats. The 2 youngest (3 and 1) are rear facing in the middle bench and AJ sits in the middle back.

 

[becca011906]

We have a van w/ 2 bench seats. The 2 youngest (3 and 1) are rear facing in the middle bench and AJ sits in the middle back.

thepeach80 you know me from car-seat. org boards!!!! i was going to ask the question over there as well and see if anyone has suggestions... i'm pretty sure i'm going to put DS 7 in the back row and DD 5 in the middle row, but i'm not sure if DD 3 would be happier in the back with ds or the middle with dd ....


anymore ideas from anyone OTHER then driving at night??? We would rather stop i'm thinking if we leave at noon the girls will both nap for 2-3 hours about 1 or 2 then get up about 4-5 and we'll stop and eat. then back in the car give them somthing to do for 2-3 hours then stop at a rest area change into jamies, and them put in movies and the'll be sleeping by 8-9 we'll get another 3-4 hours of sleeping kids. Now day 2 who knows but it will feel like a short tip since it will be 1/2 as long as the first day!

 

[thepeach80]

I think having the kids eat in the car helps them stay occupied for a while as opposed to stopping for a long lunch etc. When the kids get restless, we usually pull off as soon as we can to someplace like Wal-Mart. It doesn't have to be a long stop, but just getting out and running around and going potty etc helps us all. Maybe pick up a new movie then. We brought coloring books and I Spy bags for our last flight and the kids really liked those too. Maybe you could change up the seating arrangement during the trip too, you could sit in the back sometimes or you could move some people back and to the front so everyone sees everyone else. That's assuming everyone can sit in all the spots. RFing seats don't fit well in the back row so the kids are kind of stuck where they are in my van.

 

[becca011906]

Sadly yes they are all now forward facing... DD3 is at 34# and to tall for our scenera she was in. I guess in all reality i could put dd3 in the back with austin and if she's missing me i could move ds to the middle and i could go to the back with her... but that would also mean leaving all the seats up and not stowing any of them... oh the choices.

 

[DMG378]

We too are driving down. We leave in 12 days! We are playing by ear as to what time we are leaving. DS is going to school, but for 1/2 of the day. We are thinking of leaving around 12ish. YDD is only 22months, so she'll be in her car seat, and DS will be next to her. ODD is flying down the next day with her dance team (UDA competition). We have a Grand Caravan, so the third backseat will be down for the luggage, pack n play, stroller, and other stuff, while the cooler will be next to the passager sliding door. We check in to the Pop the next day, so we driving thru the night! I like the idea of stopping to change YDD in her jammies. Thanks! Since this is YDD's first longgggggggg car trip (so far her longest is just 3 hours and Disney is about 18 hours!) We might stop at each torist info for each state that we enter. They have signs that say "WELCOME TO....." and its a great photo op! Then she'll be able to run a bit too. As for food, we pack a bunch of snacks & drinks and stop for dinner or breakfast at Cracker Barrel! YUMMY!! We'll have the DVD with Disney movies (whatelse? LOL) and Disney music playing. At times, I'll swich seats with DS and sit in the back. DH & I will take turns driving too. We are going to take our time and make plenty of stops!