Ok I am so excited we are going on a car trip from AZ to MI 2 weeks from today I have a 10 yr old 8 yr old 7 yr old and a 7 month old...We are driving our Nissan Armada and it has a DVD player in it. I was just wondering if anybody has any suggestions on making the trip a smooth one...we are not driving straight through we will be getting a hotel for the night and we are going to let the kids play and swim so they can burn some energy....Also we are planning on leaving at 3 AM so the kids can sleep for the first few hours
Sounds like you have it perfectly figured out and that it will be smooth! The only other thing I would suggest is being spontaneous. If something fun comes up, like a stream to play in, be prepared with bathing suits within reach. Have plenty of snacks, WATER and a coffee can for pitt stops if one of the younger ones can't hold it and Dad doesn't want to stop just yet.
That is one long trip! I would suggest that you spread over two or three days travel. I am from MI, and we went to AZ every summer, it is sooooo long. Leaving early is OK, but they will be exhasted once you get to the hotel and it still might be very late once you get there to get to the half way point. We did this trip from Texas to AZ and took two full days.
If you also have some of the wonder color pads and pens (no mess!) An Ipod for the 10 and 8 yo might be good when the movie selection is below their age level. Books for them too, and snacks. Car bingo cards are great-I found some at a cracker barrel gift shop once, but you might be able to find them on line before you go, or make some yourself. Looking for cars, signs, landmarks, etc. It is fun. Also, the abc game for the older ones, and a good deck of cards with a spare if they loose a card are good.
M.
well i think you definitely are starting out with a good plan! perhaps you can get a new movie for them that they have not seen yet and surprise them when they begin to get a little antsy on the trip! the 7 month old should be pretty entertained with his siblings but try to get him a new chew toy or rattle......have fun on your trip! god bless you and your babies
We will be doing a long trip also this summer- from Texas to New York and our children are about the same ages. We are doing a long day the first day- getting up early to leave and just driving as much as we can(we are hoping for 11 hrs of driving) so the other days we just have about 6 hrs to do. We have a ds and a dvd player. We have also got some travel games. We try to find parks to stop at when we need to get the kids out to run around(we have found some great parks this way!)- Glow sticks are fun to bring if you are doing any travel in the dark and they are not asleep. We also bring along a couple books that the kids and I take turns reading out loud. We will also have the kids switch up places so one of them doesn't get stuck next to the baby all the time(she will be 6 months when we take our trip). For our baby, since she will be old enough for fruits, I am getting one of those fruit holders. It looks like a large Binky with mesh on the front side- you put in the fruit(strawberry, banana or peach) and they can gnaw on it without getting any big chunks of food out. - we will also be taking a baby back pack and a play mat for her to play on. Hopefully she won't mind it too much!
have fun on your trip!
~C.
Here are some tips to make the roadtrip go smoothly.
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/689
Hi! Leaving at 3am works well. When living in the north east we would drive to Florida with two kids. These are some of the things I would do. Besides the DVD player (after several hours my kids get bored), try bringing travel games, books (if they do not get car sick), if they have DS's that would be good and a disposable camera - taking pics while in a moving car can be fun for them. Another fun thing for the kids is a "surprise" bag. They each get a bag an in it are fun things that they did not even know about, including snacks! You should only pull it out when they start to get restless. Also, maybe look up some fun "car games". You know like who can spot the most yellow cars, etc.
Best of luck and drive safe!
Um...try some of the old fashioned entertainment...sing-along songs together, games (like each kid chooses a color vehicle and then gets points as you come upon that color car). Legos or other toys than involve putting something together. Coloring, reading (for those who can). Assign a quiet time (nap time) in the car as well for everyone's sanity - especially yours. And finally, though it may get you farther (travel-wise) without having to deal with the kids - consider traveling during the day instead of night-time. I know of two little kids living without their parents because of a decision to drive through the night. (Dad fell asleep at the wheel, kids asleep in the back seat and both parents perished.)
