Seeking Car Travel Advice

Great question, S.--- I'm sure you'll find a good balance between doing ALL the driving at night ( which means you'd be in really poor shape to let him run and wiggle during HIS up time- as you'd be ready to crash) - and making all the drive-time during time that he is usually able to run and wiggle. The greatest problem you'll have is that it is NOT natural for a child so young to be still so long- my strong recommendation is build into your plans that you will stop every 2 or 3 hours and let him play in a park, an open area - or even a McDonalds' play-place --- somewhere where he can run, and climb, and use his muscles and stretch and be a natural little boy( arent they the coolest thing ever?????????) Be sure and pack some toys that will help you to help HIM to really take advantage of his play opportunities- balls, other toys to throw and run with ---

Blessings,
Old Mom

aka-- J.

I had asked this same question a while ago and went with the "start out early in the morning" advice and it went great. I would say to avoid driving during the night - it is just too exhausting and you want to be awake for your visits as well! Also if he didn't sleep well in the car and you are driving overnight you just end up with on very tired baby on your hands. Just enjoy it and you all will do fine! Oh also if your son likes music I would suggest getting kids CDs from the library so he has some new fun things to listen to!

We have taken many roads trips. When my kids were little, driving through the night made sense only if it was one long drive to a destination where we planned to stay awhile. It takes at least a day for the drivers to recover from driving all night. Plus, when you arrive,the parents are exhausted, but the kids are well-rested and ready for action! It's better if everyone is on the same schedule.

We enjoy a trip more if we can find a place to stop mid-way for lunch and an activity. It could be a park, museum, shopping mall, a stream, or nature trail. It turns a driving day into a fun day. Sometimes, our fun stop turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of the trip.

If your child wakes up around 3 am then maybe instead of driving all night, you get to bed early and rise early to begin your 10 hr. stint. Have the car packed, and then when he is done feeding or whatever he does at 3 am, shoot to be out the door and on the road by 4:00 or 5:00 am. At 10 am you are halfway done. Stop someplace for breakfast, hit a park or something for an hour or 2 and then hit the road again and your journey is over for the day before supper. Then you have the night to relax. The next trip is only 6 hrs. So I'd just start that one mid day around nap time. You got some good ideas from people about entertaining him. He may surprise you looking out the window and sleeping, etc. I'd take my cues from the child. If he's doing good, keep on truckin........if he's being crabby then stop at a rest stop and take an hour to play.

Hi,
We do the same thing with the kids at night, unfortunately when they wake up it can be a real nightmare because they want to do things. We found a product that helped us heaps at for these occasions. It clips to your car interior light. It lets the kids read books and play with toys or play games in the back when it is still dark outside. It doesn't distract the driver either. (you can look at it online at www.lightshield.com.au). Hope this helps as it saved us big time.

Hi S.,

Don't bother driving at night. There's no reason for you to have an awful "driving hangover" because you're trying to avoid a potentially cranky baby. You might have a cranky baby anyway just from being away from home and routine, and you'll have to deal with him while sleep-deprived! Yuk! There are a lot of things you can do in the car, even with a 14 month old.

I would recommend a routine such as this: Be ready to go as soon as he wakes up. Start with one of you sitting by him in the back and go through a rotation - read, play with stuffed animals, peek-a-boo, coloring, snack, pat-a-cake, name the body parts, etc. Then stop for a stretch/gas when it's naptime. Do your nursing/bottle/routine and put him back in his seat with his blanket, but no toys or books in sight. Get in front and put on some quiet music and just drive. Best case scenario is that he falls asleep without too much problem and you can enjoy some time with your hubby. DON'T STOP UNTIL HE WAKES UP!!! Then pull over for lunch and toddling time, repeating the whole routine in the second half of the trip.

Anyway, that's my advice after 7 years of 8-12 hour road trips with kids! (It's nice once they have siblings next to them to help you and to keep them more entertained!)

P.S. - I find that my girls sleep MORE in the car than usual, not less.

Here's what my sister and I did when my son was that age:

- Stayed in the hotel until 11am (playing, goofing off, getting wiggles out)
- Got brunch
- Got in the car and drove
- Lunch @ 3
- Dinner @ 8
- Check into the hotel around Midnight/1am
- Repeat

Were we driving for 14 hours? Ha!! Nope. If my son was awake we stopped about every hour for 15-20 minutes at a rest stop. If he fell asleep we drove like bats outta hail until he woke up.

His nap schedule went TOTALLY out the window during the weeks we were driving. And it was back on *mostly normal* 24 hours after "arriving". And completely normal within a week.

The reason we did odd mealtimes is my absolute favorite roadtrip trick ever. Applebee's & Burger King. Burger Kings through the midwest have GREAT play areas, and parents are *required* to be in with their kids. AKA Allowed. Being there at an off time meant we had the place to ourselves. With Applebee's (Sharies, Shoneys, TGIFridays, whathaveyou) being there at an off time meant we could ask for a BOOTH in a CLOSED SECTION. My sister and I could lounge about,, and eat healthy food, and my son could bounce bounce bounce on the seat to his hearts delight, and be bothering absolutely no one. :) Hurray!!! Usually, after eating and playing, my son would pass out for 2-3 hours... so we got most of our serious drive time done then, and at night.

Now, this is from driving to and from Illinois, and to and from Connecticut, and to and from San Diego, CA. AKA LONG trips. We averaged 300-500 miles per day, and were far more concerned about making time than sightseeing. While I suppose we could have theoretically driven purely at night, it made more sense for us to check out on time and check in late. And then it just all depended on the baby and when we felt like a stretch.

As you say, it would be easier on you to drive during the day, and that's a safety concern. You could start the day early in the morning around 4 am and drive for 5 hours, take a breakfast break and health break and then drive some more. Packing finger foods, having bottles/juice boxes/waters available as well as a small dvd player, toys to play with will make any road trip much easier. The health breaks, getting out and stretching your legs and that of your toddler is very important. Everyone will be happier. Have a great trip!!!

My husband and I have taken many long trips with our young kids. I make up an activity pack. In the pack I have a cookie sheet with magnets, coloring books with crayons/pencils and books. My kids like sticker books as well. We also go over their colors by bring a book that has a lot of colors. Then I have the kids point out something outside that is that color.

The biggest thing is that we stop every two to three hours so that everyone can get some fresh air and strecth their legs. We try to stop at a place where their is at least a little grass so that the kids can run around.

Have a fun and safe trip!

To travel with a young child can be trying at times. However, here are some tips to make your trip successful. Car rides can comfort the little adventures. I found this to be true for my child when I made a 13 hrs. non-stop drive. Bring your child's favorite toys and books. Do look into purchasing a portable movie player. I played Baby Einstein for my son. Leave for your road trip early in the morning. Possibly 5am. Your child will soon fall fast asleep. Stop for potty breaks. Run with your child to the bathroom and than run back to the car. This stretches everyone's legs. Hope this helps.

We always have traveled with our children during the night. We usually leave around 7 pm to make it easier. Also, bring along a portable dvd player if you have one. This will help. Pack a surprise backpack with coloring books, books, stickers to help keep your son busy.

Last year my family took a 14 hour drive, stayed a week, then 14 hours back home. We agonized over when to drive...We woke up super early, maybe 3 am. she woke up wanting to know what the heck was going on, she fell asleep in about an hour down the road. This disruppted her sleep just enough that she slept for several more hours. By the time she woke it was almost time for lunch!! Weather was terrible, so we had a very LONG stop at McDonalds play place! It was amazing! Back in the car after a nice long play...it was all good. She knew we were headed somewhere fun. Even though she was only on one nap, she fell asleep again...boredom! My point is...don't stress as much as we did. It will all work out! We brought along a laptop for a movie...she only watched one the whole trip! she usually hates the car, but was such a trooper!

Surprisingly, my daughter who is kind of the same way with her sleep schedule, sleeps beautifully in the car, especially when her tummy is full. You might take a rest at a rest stop or something and let him run around and wear himself out at some point and then feed him. That helps too. Hope it goes well! :)Have fun!

We've taken our girls on long trips. When they are just little toddlers, there's not too much you can bring. Get an assortment of toys that he enjoys playing with and pull them out of rotation and pack them away for the car trip. Just bring one out until he gets bored with it and then bring out the next. Perhaps a few new books. Check Half-Priced Books. They have a ton of Little Golden Books for a dollar each. The second-hand stores also have books sometimes.

If he likes toddler shows, perhaps you can borrow some "new to him" ones from the library.

Bring good, non-sugary but yummy snacks. I skip the sugar (like "fruit" snacks) because they just get wired and then crash. There's nowhere for them to burn off the energy. Take a nice long lunch break in the middle somewhere where he can run around. There are often some great rest areas with large-ish buildings if it's raining.

We take a 14-hour trip once or twice a year. It's long, but manageable.

Good luck!

first of all, i've never taken my kids on that long of a road trip. my advice though would be to plan on breaking up your drive time more. Definitely plan on leaving around nap time, but don't count on him napping as well in the car. You're going to want to have some time to let him get out and run around. Long stretches in the car are not easy on anyone. good luck.