Traveling with a toddler - help please!

[athena1277]

Hi all. We will be moving next week and it will be a 2 day drive from AL to VA. Dd(6) should be able to handle the trip, I've got a stash of books and things for her to do. Ds, however, I'm worried about. He's about 6 weeks from turning 2, so he can't really color or play video games like dd. I want to go get some inexpensive toys/books to give him along the way, but i want things that will entertain him for more than 2 minutes. What suggestions do you have? What has worked for your toddlers? Thanks!!!

[Starr]

You will probably need to take turns sitting by him and helping to entertain when he gets cranky. :) I would pack his favorite little things in different bags so you can get them out as needed. My ds liked little cars and trucks and they would make him happy for a long while but once it was enough the driver better have ducked! lol. I think it will work out. Drive like crazy when you can and stop and run around when you need to. We also listened to favorite music tapes until we were all crazy but him.

[Oakblossoms]

His very own set of crayons (like beeswax or chunky ones) and a blank sketchbook. Brand new matchbox cars all wrapped up like presents. Some little clear containers or snack baggies to collect bugs at rest stops. Those magnetic spice containers or the clear pill boxes work well for this. Books on CD if he likes headphones.

 

Map out all the rest stops and McDonald play areas. I find they do better if they get some time to play hard.

 

If he uses a potty at all, you might want to get a little Bjorn potty. Mine slept a lot, but I was usually driving alone with them. So, you might not get much sleep at night unless you keep him up.

[lighthouseacademy]

I just drove 1000 miles with my 3 kids with no other adult to help... my older 2 were kept busy with books on CD, color books, workbooks, games like Tipover from Barnes and Noble, etc.

My 2 1/2 yr old was a little more difficult. She enjoyed a couple of books for quite a while- especially books she could put in and out of another case. She also enjoyed these magnetic paper dolls that I got from an educational toy store. She doesn't put things in her mouth though, so I wasn't worried about her playing with the little pieces. I also got her one of those magic color books where the pen colors on the paper and makes the color appear... unfortunately, the color stained her pants :( and it only kept her occupied a short while. The educational toy store also had tubes of animals. One lady at the store said she had flown to England with the tube of animals and her 2 yr old put them in and out and loved them for hours. My daughter did do a LITTLE bit of coloring, but not much.

Good luck.

[lighthouseacademy]

 

If he uses a potty at all, you might want to get a little Bjorn potty..

 

AMEN even for the older child and the adults!!!! I use the Bjorn potty and I line it with plastic bags I get in a roll in the diaper bag section of Target... wipes are the TP and anyone who needs a potty has access even on rural roads... Make sure the bum is in the bag in potty and the front is pulled up over the front lip of the potty and there is no mess to clean up!

[mom4him]

One thing I would do is engage your 6 yr old in being mommies helper during this time. If she will play with him at times it will give both you and your dh a break. My ds loved matchbox cars, Thomas the train engines, I can't remember the name but the colors that color only on the special color books(they used to stink pretty bad though), board books, stories on tape or cd, the match the shape in the hole toys, just to name a few.

Hope you have a great trip.

I forgot to say, we never ate at a restaurant as long as the weather was nice. We always took our meals to a park and let the kids run for an extra 15-20 min. We did this in the middle of the afternoon also. It does take a bit of time but is well worth the time in not having the unhappy kids while driving.

Edited May 8, 2009 by mom4him

[athena1277]

You will probably need to take turns sitting by him and helping to entertain when he gets cranky. :) I would pack his favorite little things in different bags so you can get them out as needed. My ds liked little cars and trucks and they would make him happy for a long while but once it was enough the driver better have ducked! lol. I think it will work out. Drive like crazy when you can and stop and run around when you need to. We also listened to favorite music tapes until we were all crazy but him.

 

Unfortunatly, we are taking both cars, so dh and I both have to drive. :thumbdown:Thankfully, dh has offered to take a turn or 2 driving with the kids to give me a break.

[KrissiK]

We took a long trip a couple summers ago when our kids were 4,3 and 1. I had a lot of bags with little toys, etc. in them that I rotated on an hourly basis, practically. We also made a lot of stops - like every 2 hours. It was hard. Sometimes my kids just fussed. We sang, played "I spy", everything we could think of. Had lots of snacks. We made sure the hotels we stopped in had swimming pools, so we went swimming nearly every night.

[elw_miller]

We moved in September from Arizona to Pennsylvania and drove. I was able to get my mom to come with us so I'd have some help in the car since my husband drove the other car.

 

Things for my almost 1 1/2-year-old son:

--a 6" bolt with several washers, several kinds of nuts, and a locknut on the end to keep everything on (my son had fun spinning and moving the washers and nuts)

--1 small wooden train engine

--board books

--bead maze thingy

 

Things for my 3 almost 4-year-old daughter:

--magnetic dry erase board with magnetic dry erase markers and 3 magnetic puzzles

--magnetic "paper" dolls and magnetic dinosaurs

--ViewMaster with lots of slides

--"Treasure Pop": a clear 2-liter bottle filled with sand that had about 20 small items in it that she had to find (dimes, paper clips, an earring, small toys, etc.)

 

What they both liked:

--bubbles (my mom blew them back toward the kids)

--tons of kid CDs (Wee Sing mostly)

--singing tons of songs ourselves

--magna-doodles

--my ds sometimes used the dry erase board and markers but he kept dropping them and I got tired of replacing dried out markers

 

 

I also found a soft, collapsible tray that straps around the kids. We used that a lot for snacks (and we ate LOTS of snacks) and eating in the car and playing with toys--an indispensable find!

[Rosie_0801]

I'm afraid the best thing we've found for extra long car trips is to combine the toddler love for food and small things. A bag of small snacks can keep our tot occupied for ages.

 

Rosie

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Interestingly, my dc never required any special toys or treats. We used to live in CA, away from family in NM. It's a 12 hour drive. I've made that trip dozens of times. At first, I'd buy little toys, and special treats, and have lots of surprises. My kids would pick something, hold it in their hands, and literally stare out the window for hours on end, daydreaming. They never used any of what I brought for more than a couple minutes. I finally quit bringing stuff, and they didn't miss it at all. I just had them each pick out one or two favorite things, and packed a snack bag with healthy snacks (our regular stuff), and hit the road. Candy would have caused major emotional meltdowns in my hypoglycemic ds, and my dd could take it or leave it. She was just as happy with celery. :o)

 

My dh was always opposed to DVDs in the car. His perspective was, "When we were kids, we stared out the window." :o) I chuckled at him but he was right. Our kids still are quite entertained by the other cars, the scenery, the wide open sky, and their own thoughts. I'd rather have them lost in thought than lost in the belief that I need to entertain them every minute of every day. :o)

 

Maybe we're weird, but "Less is More" works for us.

[JudoMom]

We live live 18 hours from both sets of Grandparents, and 10 hours from my Grandma. We make each trip usually once a year.

 

I found early on that the more I gave the boys the crankier they were. Things get dropped or lost and they get upset.

 

The best thing I found for toddlers was a notebook, a couple of crayons, and lots and lots and lots of stickers. My boys once put stickers on paper for about 10 hours of driving. The remaining 2 hours they decorated their sleeping brother with stickers.

[Gretchen in NJ]

Hi all. We will be moving next week and it will be a 2 day drive from AL to VA. Dd(6) should be able to handle the trip, I've got a stash of books and things for her to do. Ds, however, I'm worried about. He's about 6 weeks from turning 2, so he can't really color or play video games like dd. I want to go get some inexpensive toys/books to give him along the way, but i want things that will entertain him for more than 2 minutes. What suggestions do you have? What has worked for your toddlers? Thanks!!!

 

I have been taking road trips since forever.;) My parents traveled cross country with a 7 year old (that's me,) a 3 year old, and a 6 month old for several months. As a child, my parents would leave about a hour or two before dinner. We never stopped to eat. We ate while driving. We would eat very small meals or snacks. We never ate fast food except for when we were on the road. My parents drove far into the night when we were sleeping.

 

When we woke up, we would stretch and hit the road eating breakfast in the car while driving.

 

We did stop for potty breaks and to stretch our legs and to exercise. My mom always made sure we had a jump rope and a ball in the car for break time. When we got older, my father only stopped for gas.:glare: He had a double tank!:001_huh:

 

My dh and I used my parents technique when my girls were very young ( 3 years and 18 months old.) We travelled from New Jersey to Disney World. We left by 4:00. We ate at 6:00. Dc fell asleep an hour late at 8:00. Dh and I took turns driving until 3:00 am. We awoke at 8:00 am and hit the road. I only had stuffies for both of them and coloring books for my 3 year old. We ate in the car and stopped for potty and playtime only. We had our Bear in the Big Blue House CD. I sang the whole way. I can still hear that CD playing.;):D

[Irene Lynn]

Hi all. We will be moving next week and it will be a 2 day drive from AL to VA. Dd(6) should be able to handle the trip, I've got a stash of books and things for her to do. Ds, however, I'm worried about. He's about 6 weeks from turning 2, so he can't really color or play video games like dd. I want to go get some inexpensive toys/books to give him along the way, but i want things that will entertain him for more than 2 minutes. What suggestions do you have? What has worked for your toddlers? Thanks!!!

 

Our son has enjoyed cars, trucks, trains, tractors, and dinosaurs as little things to play with. He also likes books. Small board books like the I Spy books are nice to look at or books with trucks or dinosaurs. Can you guess what our little guy likes? We also do use a movie or two, like the Leap Frog DVDs or Mighty Machines. He loves the Mighty Machines videos and they are only about $6. I got the latest one for a trip coming up. I save those for the times when he has gone through everything and is starting to unravel.

[Brigitte]

Since you are driving alone, don't load up on little things that will get dropped and cause frustration. Snacks, his "lovies," sticker books (if he won't eat the stickers), and audio books. I traveled a lot with my twins when they were toddlers and found that "less is more" really does apply.

[kah]

DD always liked the Mommie & Me CDs.

 

DS tended to sleep a lot of the drive, which was great for driving, but not so great if you need to get everyone to sleep in a hotel as soon as you get there, so that you can get up and do it again the next day.

 

If it's going to be hot, crayons wouldn't be a great idea if they're likely to get dropped, thrown, or lost in the car. They'll be fine while you're riding, but if you don't find them all when you unpack, you may be unpleasantly surprised to find melted-crayon lump/stain later on. (Guess how I learned that one. :( )

[Kathy in MD]

Interestingly, my dc never required any special toys or treats. We used to live in CA, away from family in NM. It's a 12 hour drive. I've made that trip dozens of times. At first, I'd buy little toys, and special treats, and have lots of surprises. My kids would pick something, hold it in their hands, and literally stare out the window for hours on end, daydreaming. They never used any of what I brought for more than a couple minutes. I finally quit bringing stuff, and they didn't miss it at all. I just had them each pick out one or two favorite things, and packed a snack bag with healthy snacks (our regular stuff), and hit the road. Candy would have caused major emotional meltdowns in my hypoglycemic ds, and my dd could take it or leave it. She was just as happy with celery. :o)

 

My dh was always opposed to DVDs in the car. His perspective was, "When we were kids, we stared out the window." :o) I chuckled at him but he was right. Our kids still are quite entertained by the other cars, the scenery, the wide open sky, and their own thoughts. I'd rather have them lost in thought than lost in the belief that I need to entertain them every minute of every day. :o)

 

Maybe we're weird, but "Less is More" works for us.

 

Mine too!

 

Every time I got out of the car, my ds got out, even if it was only for a couple of minutes for gas. Lunches were generally at places where ds could run and play while I ate, (although I often hit the drive through and skipped playtime.) He then ate while I was driving. He generally slept for a couple of hours during the days drive.

 

Other than that he generally looked out the windows. As he became older, I did add books on tapes.

 

But dh is a whole different traveler. And he always tried to use ds as an excuse for l-o-n-g lunches, driving breaks at least every 2 hours and preferably every hour. He can add 4 hours to a 9 hour drive (and it's all for ds :lol:)

 

:auto: Have wheels, will travel :auto: :auto:

 

But dh is a whole different case.

[athena1277]

DD always liked the Mommie & Me CDs.

 

DS tended to sleep a lot of the drive, which was great for driving, but not so great if you need to get everyone to sleep in a hotel as soon as you get there, so that you can get up and do it again the next day.

 

If it's going to be hot, crayons wouldn't be a great idea if they're likely to get dropped, thrown, or lost in the car. They'll be fine while you're riding, but if you don't find them all when you unpack, you may be unpleasantly surprised to find melted-crayon lump/stain later on. (Guess how I learned that one. :( )

 

Yeah.....I learned that lesson a ways back too. That's why he's not getting crayons. I think I'm going to have to try some stickers, though. He's just starting to like those.