Hi ladies! We are taking a 12 hour (timed without kids) car trip up north. We will take our mini-van because it is too expensive to fly and rent a car. We have two children, 27 months (takes one 3 hour afternoon nap)and 9 months (takes one 1.5 hr am nap and one 1.5 -2 hr afternoon nap). We don't want to stop every hour to get the wiggles out (it will take FOREVER!) so here is our plan... We are thinking of leaving after lunch and drive with them awake for a short bit, then they will fall asleep for afternoon naps and we will continue to drive for a couple hours. They will awaken and we will stop to get the wiggles out, eat dinner and change into PJ's. We will drive some more while they hopefully sleep as if it is their bedtime... until we get tired and stop to get a hotel for the night. Then wake up and play a bit outside and try to get going before the youngest one's morning nap for at least a few hours. Stop and play, eat lunch and start again.
Does this plan sound feasible??? Are we crazy? Does anyone have any other suggestions? Has anyone found any car toys that they like? The oldest loves to draw but I haven't found a tray that works with her Britax carseat. Also the no-mark 'ColorWonder' markers aren't a big hit with her because they seem to have pre-set pictures to color and a delay in seeing the marker color change the page from white to a color. She likes to draw faces and letters and see the color immediately as with regular markers.
So I am looking for advice, fun car toys and hopefully a lap tray and some type of drawing set-up that won't ruin our van!!! Thanks soooo much!!!
Hi
I just got one of these writing pads:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3195266
Good luck
Purchase Kiddie Kangaroos...for babies on the go! This soft pocket travel system installs on both infant carriers and car seats providing pockets next to baby and toddler for their easy access to store toys, sippy cups, snacks, color markers, books etc. Mom or Dad can keep their eyes on the road as the little one can stow and retrieve items at will and no one has to reach into back seat to pick up dropped stuff! Visit Amazon.com or kiddiekangaroo.com. I am a grandmother with two very active grandbabies...4 and 1.5 yrs old and I love the Kiddie Kangaroos for even short car rides!
Oh yah. Sounds totally feasible. We started driving from san diego to seattle, and from seattle to chicago when my son was 9mo. Pretty much you schedule is what we found works best (with 2 exceptions).
1) Stop for meals at odd hours...like 4pm or 8pm for dinner. We always do one meal at Applebee's/TGIFriday's type (and ask for a booth in an unused section so the little ones can bounce up and down, and we can eat real, healthy food....and one meal at a mcdonalds/burgerking type with a playground. We also found that ordering one extra meal or just bringing the leftovers was great snack food.
2) We always leave the hotel late....by asking for late checkout at noon. That way we have mornings to play (either in the room, or pool, or bath/cartoons/reading whatever. Then it's lunch in the car. Stop an hour later. Then naptime. Then stop for a meal as soon as naptime ends. Then pretty much drive until 1-2am. (We book the hotel while we're having dinner) We usually make seattle-chicago in 3 days, and San Diego to Seattle in 2.
Have fun! Roadtrips are a blast :)
L.:
We drove from CA to Missouri when our kids were 14, 4, and 2. It was an awesome trip and my parents traveled across the US with 5 kids my whole childhood so I learned some important tips from my mom and dad. First, go to the dollar store and buy a bunch of little toys or books that your child could play with in the car. One toy or book for each day of the trip. Then my mom never showed them to us but wrapped them up in lunch bags to be opened each day. Then go to AAA and get a trip planner and a book with points of interest. Plot out a few places to stop or just surprise yourself. We stopped at a fast food place and a park or museum each day. I would also leave super early in the morning before the kids even are awake. Just throw them in the car at 4am and go. We just slept until like 8am and my mom would have a cooler with breakfast in it. My husband and I would stop at Starbucks when everyone was up for a potty and chocolate milk and have a cooler with breakfast type foods in it. Good luck and I will tell you, it was the best trip ever. By the way, maps from triple A are really fun to look at so get one for the kids with markers to mark up where you are going. They are free and are great entertainment.
I have a 1yr old that has taken a 11-12 hour trip 3 times already. I think it is great you have planned to break it up. We try to do the same. I agree with one of your other responders.... you can plan for days, but things are not always going to go with the plan. Take music they love, our little guy wanted to listen to my Vampire Weekend cd for the WHOLE trip. I used to love it but now It hurts to here these songs I once loved. As long as he was happy, so take a variety of music and find what works for the moment. lots of snacks, not too sugary cause then they hit highs and lows, yikes. the clip board sounded like a good idea too. I have a friend that made a play set with a small cookie sheet and the magnet letters kids play with on the fridge. I would just be careful with leaving the cookie sheet in the car and getting hot. Drive as much as possible with them asleep. for the time when they may be awake in the dark give them toys that light up so they can see each other or things near them. My little guy was screaming for 30 min. cause he could hear us but not see anything. We finally stopped and I realized I had some glow stick bracelets (10 pack for $1 at Michaels) I cracked them all open and hung them from all the hooks in the car. It was not too bright to get pulled over or bring attention. It was just enough light to entertain him with the different colors and them swinging and he could then see around him, perfect. he stopped crying, we put on some Elvis and we were rockin'. The trip to Michaels' and the $1 could be a life saver!
On a unpleasant note, if you are going on any rough roads (ie. really curvy) plan for any car sickness. We had a 2yr old with us on one of the trips and we took a different route and went on a really curvy road and she got so sick. Threw up all over, then my friend (the mom) was pregnant and got sick from the smell. Wow, we wont do that again. Just plan for the best and worst and stop every once and a while and take pictures so you can look back and laugh good or bad, it will be a trip to remember!
Good Luck and happy trails my friend!
Hi L.,
Great ideas so far! Wow what a wealth of knowledge this group is. Everyone is right, you included. Breaking up the trip is important. If you have an AAA membership you can map out your route on line and even find parks or activities along your route. Your GPS will do the same.
A 12 hour trip can be done in a day. Think about it....leave right after breakfast - 8 AM drive for 3 - 4 hours - kids will think it is cool. Then stop for lunch and stretch until nap time. (be prepared that the kids might nap before it's time car rides can do that)then get on the road again at 1 - drive until 5 if possible. That is already about 7 or 8 hours of driving. Have a great dinner break, play run, laugh! Then get in the car about 7 PM - and go. Between mom and dad driving, you can get there just after midnight.
Good luck, have fun and expect the unexpected.
PS when we drove from California to Florida, we we somewhere in Texas and we saw this really cool bridge. It was not on our way but we just HAD to drive over it. On the other side of the bridge, there was this ENORMOUS playground! It was wild. It was the size of a real "fort" but with kids activities. We HAD to stop. We played for almost 3 hours. We were behind schedule but WHO CARES! my girls still talk about "The Fort". Keep it open to have a get experience.
B.
Family Wellness Coach
I think you need to make hotel reservations and plan where to stop. Or pick a couple places and make sure their cancellation policy wont charge you. There is nothing like being exhausted and trying to find a hotel with a vacancy. It can be a nightmare. For entertainment get a cd of fun sing a longs and if you have a zune or ipod or such load in a couple movies or shows that you can attatch to the headreast and they can listen to with speakers.
We just went on an 8-9 hour trip with our 2-yr old that turned into a 12-hr due to many stops and resting. I highly recommend starting in the morning. For us, at least, morning hours are much cheerier and she feels well-rested and less cranky. She read books, we played her favorite cds and sang, and we had a few new toys that she could explore for the first time. Lunchtime break, then on the road and getting her (mentally) ready for her nap. By the time she would wake up, time for another big gas and leg stretching break. Then, back on the road. She really went with the flow, for the most part. It was just the last hour, when we were really pushing to get there, when she started to lose it, but then fell asleep (got very dark). Since you will be stopping for the night, you can do this before they get too overtired, and then just continue on for the short bit the next morning... Good luck
Another option is to drive mostly at night, when the kids are at sleep. We just did a 7 hour drive (became 8 hour with stops), with my 10 month old son, and we started at 4:30 am. It worked pretty well for us, we did have a stop where we sat under a tree and let him play a little/eat, etc (very important). So if you left around bed time, you could make almost the whole trip during the night. It's hard on the parents, but if you take turns driving and sleeping, and plan to relax when you get there, and sleep a lot that night, it isn't so bad.
How about a DVD player?
We have traveled many times for hours with our kids. I have discovered that my kids can do about 4 hours in car seats before they start to lose it. So, our driving is usually scheduled around 4 hour increments. I think what you have planned is excellent.
The way we do it is that we usually will leave around 4 a.m. This allows us to miss traffic (something else you should consider with your drive) and usually gives us more than 4 hours drive time. We relocate our kids (they're great sleepers!) from their beds to the car. They continue to sleep until about 7 am. I feed them breakfast (cereal bars, milk, bananas/bite size pieces of fruit, etc.) in their car seats and can travel until about 10 am. A quick potty break/diaper change might be in order, but running around isn't necessary yet.
During the day when we're driving we have a variety of activities. We have clip boards with lots of paper for coloring. We have pencil boxes next to them with crayons, colored pencils, & markers. My kids don't like the clipboards you have to open to get your stuff from inside as it takes more time and is inconvenient. So, the pencil boxes work great. But, they have to have their own box as they have trouble sharing. My kids also like books and will thumb through books for awhile...looking at pictures, making up stories, etc. I've even been known to read to them from the front seat, but I get a little nauseous. We also have books on CD, but I have to turn the pages for them. Smaller toys my kids like to play with at home is also helpful. My daughter loves her baby dolls and my son loves his hot wheels and figurines. They both have their own plastic shoe box with their treasures/toys in it.
We'll play the traditional family games as well. It helps fill the time for a little while and encourages total family interaction. Your kids are young, but your 27 month old may enjoy seeing how many cars they can find in a certain color. We've also counted the number of gas station signs and fast food restaurants we see from the freeway. You can help her count. We also have a great repertoire of kids CD's to sing with.
The lifesaver during long trips which is worth its weight in gold is the portable DVD player. We don't watch a lot of TV in our family, but I can get so much extra drive time when all the other activities start to fail with the activation of the DVD player. The Baby Einstein videos are fabulous for the youngest of children. My kids also liked the Winnie the Pooh movie. I bought a portable DVD bundle at Costco for around $150 which included the player, earphones, car adapter, battery, & ac adapter. It's been well worth every penny!
Every child is different. I hope my experiences will help you as you plan this exciting trip. Good luck and happy travels!
As far as your driving plan, it sounds great! You can plan as much as you want, you just have to realize that it may not go your way, but I would go ahead with that schedule.
As far as things to bring, we got this awesome clipboard at Target. I tried to look it up on line to show you but couldn't find it so you'll just have to visit a store and see if you can find it where the markers/crayons are. It is a clipboard/storage box for $5. You open it and it contains markers, colored pencils, crayons and a few sheets of blank paper. It kept everything neat and organized and the clipboard allowed my daughter to draw very easily. We brought more blank paper for her and some coloring books.
The travel aquadoodle is another good one to take in the car because it is small and once you fill the pen up with water, you are all set.
If you have a portable dvd player, this can help too. Also, you might want to bring children's songs for the cd player.
Bring a variety of snacks and be sure to stock up on beverages and hopefully your trip will go smoothly.
We've taken several road trips with our 2 kiddos. Some have been smooth and others were a little rough. We did one 12 hour one and did it all in one day - ugh! It's great that you are breaking it up!
Good Luck!
Hi there...
Well I don't have 2 kids but I didn't drive 10 hours when my son was 9mo old and we just got back from a 9hr car trip and he is now 22months, so I definitely know what it's like! On both trips we woke up at 2:30 in the morning put him in his carseat and he fell back asleep until about 8am! We stopped to get him dressed and let him run and let out energy got back in the car and put a DVD in the portable player (HUGE HELP), if you dont' have one and can afford one, you can get one for $120 or so, you should consider it! There were definitely a few times he was a little antsy and wanted out but he would usually just fall asleep! He slept more in the car than he does at home, so hopefully you will be lucky and your kids will do the same!
the way we did it may be too taxing on the parents, but we always drove at night - leaving the house right before the bed-time, usually arriving at the destination right when they were supposed to wake up at home anyway.
your plan is good too.
Good Trip!
V.
We did a 600 mile drive - twice - with 2 kids under 3. We'd get on the road by 4 am, stop somewhere for breakfast about 300 miles later at around 8 when they were just waking up, then drive another 4-6 hours, stopping every couple hours if they didn't nap. Since they were totally out for half of the driving time each day, they didn't get too restless.
Music helped. But one warning - it burns all those kid songs into your brain and you find yourself humming them for the next few weeks.
