Traveling from afar with 6 year old...

[Nana2Callie]

What are you best tips for traveling with a 6 year old? We will be driving over 1100 miles and will be in the car almost 2 days.

All tips appreciated including what type of things to bring for entertainment for her without packing the whole house .

She is a good traveler and so that is a plus - but it will be a long drive for all of us.

 

[Bell30012]

Do you have a laptop, iPad or such? I take my DD8 and her 2 year old sister to WDW, it is a 7.5 hour drive. I plug in a $20 DC to AC converter, run extension cords all over and each child is watching a laptop with her favorite movies on it. When we get to the highways, sometimes I let my DD8 kick up Netflix on the iPad.

But the best suggestion? Travel at night!

 

[dzorn]

I think my DD were about that age when we got them DS for keep them entertained. We also bring a portable DVD player and some new movies. Now that they are a little older they also have ipods. Last trip we did audio books (Harry Potter 18hours)

Denise in MI

 

[Deesknee]

I suggest bringing a few wrapped surprises. Just don't let her know you have a surprise because, if she is like my dd that is all she will talk about is what the surprise is. We picked up a few coloring/activity books with brand new crayons, a my little pony (travel side), a journal to write/draw about her journey/vacations. Our local family dollar or Ocean State Job Lot or Big Lots is usually good for having reasonable priced trinkets. Also a dvd player has been a blessing. We also play ride games like.... we begin with the letter A and sing the old "A my name is Alice, my husbands name is Alvin, we live in Alabama and we eat apples" game. We however found this to be too easy so we changed it to you have to use disney names. Even our adult children have fun playing this. We also play what disney character am I. We start with no clues, then begin to give clues until someone guesses it. You would be surprised how much time this can take. We also play license plate games. When traveling as a kid it used to be license plate cribbage, however most license plates don't have enough #'s to use just one plate anymore, and 6 maybe a little young for this. So, what about find a license plate that the numbers add up to say 11 for instance.
Pack snacks, but remember beverage + food = more rest stops. We also play seek and find. ex: Who can find a wishing well, or a cow, or a black truck. Be creative, my son once used who can find a ram. We thought he was just using this to stop the game when he was actually waiting for us to notice Dodge Truck's hood ornament the Ram.
Have fun. I'm sure you will get plenty wonderful ideas on this thread.

Also, does she have certain music or movie that soothes her? We used to show our kids Disneyland Fun sing a long before bed. The last song is when you wish upon a star. To this day (about 17 years later) they will begin to yawn at the end of that video. Honestly, it doesn't work as well for my dd7, but we keep trying.

Oh, just remembered.... not sure if your dd is used to long rides, but just in case bring a bag in case she gets motion sick. One of my ds used to get sick if he drank orange juice while riding in a car. (took us awhile to figure out it was the OJ. Never had a problem when we stopped letting him drink that while riding) Just a thought.

 

[StephMK]

We drive 20 hrs each summer so my kids have gotten pretty good at long car rides. I don't recommend driving at night - at least for my kids - they don't sleep much in the car and I would be a wreck if I drove through the night.

I take their DS systems, CDs, and the DVD player. They don't watch DVDs often anymore though. Those bendy wax craft sticks are good for playing with in the car if she likes crafts. Cookie sheets or windows are good backdrops for them. Travel games, cards, magnets or LPS, mad libs, etc.

I try to plan mini sightseeing stops along the way, every 3-4 hours. Even if it's just to go see a plaque of some event or an ice cream, it gives us a sense of shorter trips that make up the whole long journey.

I also find places w/kid playgrounds and they play while I eat. Then they eat in the car. Burns energy & gives them something to do in the car while I keep driving.

Once a day with no notice, I take them to a gas station snack shop & let them pick whatever they want to eat. We don't normally do that so it's a treat & they can pick whatever junk they want. DS learned that he loves Suzy Qs last summer. lol

I also pack a small bag w/one change of clothes for each of us so we don't have to unpack the whole car during the one night road hotel stop.

Oh & I do not give DS any milk when traveling. We learned the hard way more than once that it contributes to his carsickness! Dramamine is good & pack a few old towels & plastic bags if that might be a issue. And keep a spare change of clothes nearby so it's easy to grab if needed.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

As someone who drives great distances with kids ... there are some great suggestions in the posts above!

 

[ljcrochet]

My 6 year old DDs loved a sketch book in the car. I just wish I had brought more crayons.