13 hour road trip

Our car is going to be jam packed. My husband is going to sit in the back while I drive 13 hrs on Saturday. (I love to drive) They are 1 yr 5 mos and are normally good car riders. I read on another thread about little magnadoodles and that sounds good. I also plan on bringing a blow up beach ball to bat around. I don't have a dvd player and they really have no interest in tv anyhow. Other than snacks, sippies, singing, talking, and reading books I need specific ideas of even a small thing to do with them in the car. Any ideas even small ones would be great...Thanks ahead of time!

 

We just bought the dual monitor DVD player so we're of no help. Of course, my two hate car rides and *are* interested in television.

 

Do they like to color? Maybe crayons and coloring books would be fun?

I strongly support the magna doodle idea, too. Mine loved those on the most recent trip. Also, stickers!!!!

Have fun and good luck!!

 

Can you leave at an ideal time for sleeping (long stretch, like bedtime)? Stickers keep them entertained for a while, bubbles, shape sorter, play cell phone, crayon and piece of paper (as long as your DH is watchng so they don't eat the crayon), kids cds and lastly (I know this is totally crazy), but my DD LOVES chewing on her toothbrush and that keeps her quiet for 15-20 minutes! :lol: Hey, whatever works, right?


(My little one spent 20 minutes screwing and unscrewing the cap of an empty bubbles container on and off the other day :lol: ).


Oh, and check your local dollar store. You can ofthen find little trinkets that might keep them busy that you can just toss out at the end of your trip and not spend a fortune.

HAVE FUN!

 

We have taken our 17 month old twins and our three year old on two 12 hour trips from Western New York down to Greenville, SC. Both trips were extremely successful! We just took the last one about a month ago. The trip takes us 12 hours, but we left at bedtime and drove through the night. My DH and I took shifts and only had to stop twice.
We reclined the carseats, put them in their PJs, and they basically slept a good portion of the way. I highly recommend driving through the night. No need to be entertained at all.

Good luck! I hope you travel safely.

 

I would also recommend driving at night or during a good portion of the time when they are sleeping. We drove out to Michigan 3 weeks ago and planned to drive overnight (notice the word planned) and got a flat tire and wound up having to find a hotel at 4am until we get to a Pep Boys the following day...the twins did great sleeping up until that point. We had to drive 6 hours the next day, they slept about 3 hours of it and the rest of the time DH & I entertained them in the back with singing, their books and some of their toys. Good luck on your trip!!!

 

Benedryl? :lol:

Totally kidding!!

I think if you can drive at night like PP mentioned, that might be ideal. My boys love to have an assortment of toys and books to play with while we drive 3 hours to my parents' house. Things like play phones, magnadoodles, Little People, board books, musical and talking toys are always a hit, etc. Maybe try to plan your trip, if not at night, around times and restaurants that it would be convenient to get them out and let them move around in the grassy areas, stretch their legs, and do their silly toddler things before being strapped back in.

Best of luck for a safe and sane trip!!

 

Grrr they did not have the little magna doodles at the store today.. UGGG!! I'll try another store tomorrow what a pain in the butt!!

I wish they could stretch their legs at rest stops but they don't walk yet and would be filthy on the ground!! I guess we could set up the pack n play at rest areas..lol.

Ok I will definitely pack the little people, the bubble container is a good idea or something like it, and kids cds.

We have never done stickers but it sounds like a great time to start.... can someone give me a clue on what to give them other than stickers though?? I have tons of rolls of stickers from the dollar store because we're teachers. How do you do it?

Has anyone done Aquadoodle with their kids yet?? They had a portable one of those at the store and it looked interesting.. would it hold their interest more than 2 seconds?

 

Here are a few more toys/ideas:

Someone suggested on here an empty water bottle filled with all kinds of small things the kids can't play with on their own (penciles, erasers, paper clips,etc) and then you glue the lid on.
perhaps rolls of toilet paper, it seems mine could play with these for a long time - altho could be a little messy to clean up...so maybe not the best idea.
Mine like stuffed animals, hats, bracelets, kids sunglasses and lego while in the car.
The other thing that I bought recently that has been great is car trays! They fit around their carseat and make for a flat surface to keep their toys on while in the car - a very worthwhile purchase in IMHO!!!

I would suggest bringing a big blanket (we just used a big, cheap king size flat sheet) and when you stop at a rest stop, see if you can find a grassy spot to lay the blanket out and let them stretch and crawl a bit.

Good luck!

 

Oh, do they have a lovey? I've found my boys REALLY like having their little loveys to hold when they are in their carseats.

Will you be in the backseat with them? I only ask b/c I would worry about them putting the stickers in their mouths and possibly choking on them. I know that our pediatrican warned us about toddlers choking on bandaids and stickers.

What about musical instruments? Our boys love playing the harmonica - not that it wouldn't make you crazy in the car, but it is better than screaming!

 

My go to trick for long car rides is the DVD player. It's really the only time they watch TV. Otherwise, I'd do what you are doing - lots of different toys/distractions to switch out - stop to eat and let them run around when it gets unbearable. Mine love books in the car.

 

QUOTE(eatcelery @ Jun 24 2009, 11:40 PM) [snapback]1367748[/snapback]
I wish they could stretch their legs at rest stops but they don't walk yet and would be filthy on the ground!! I guess we could set up the pack n play at rest areas..lol.


We found an outdoor blanket at Bed Bath and Beyond that I love. It's washable, water resistant, kind of a nylon material, and it zips up into a laptop sized pouch. Perfect for throwing on the ground when you don't want to just sit on the grass! We also got little collapsable chairs at Dick's - like the camping ones - for $10 each. They love sitting in them.

 

QUOTE(isis @ Jun 25 2009, 03:33 AM) [snapback]1367910[/snapback]
I would suggest bringing a big blanket (we just used a big, cheap king size flat sheet) and when you stop at a rest stop, see if you can find a grassy spot to lay the blanket out and let them stretch and crawl a bit.

Good luck!



I was going to suggest the same thing.

 

Forgot to mention a cookie sheet and alphabet magnets.

 

I got our magna doodles at Target and they have clips on them so I even use them in the stroller now! Snack trap cups are a MUST. Walmart has them in packages of 2. I travel by myself so I pack up a bag of all their favorite toys and pass them back as they get bored with them or drop them. Just something different is enough to distract them. I leave at 3am so the boys sleep till 6 and we eat breakfast. I keep their fav. blanket and lovey in the back with them too. Good luck! If your kids like the car, it won't be bad at all!

 

Thanks many of the suggestions too numerous to list will definitely be done!

QUOTE(isis @ Jun 25 2009, 04:33 AM) [snapback]1367910[/snapback]
The other thing that I bought recently that has been great is car trays! They fit around their carseat and make for a flat surface to keep their toys on while in the car - a very worthwhile purchase in IMHO!!!

I would suggest bringing a big blanket (we just used a big, cheap king size flat sheet) and when you stop at a rest stop, see if you can find a grassy spot to lay the blanket out and let them stretch and crawl a bit.

Good luck!


OK Picnic blanket will be packed
Where do I find these trays I really think they would be good!!! ( I only have 1 day before the trip!)

QUOTE(Mel G @ Jun 25 2009, 07:26 PM) [snapback]1368985[/snapback]
Forgot to mention a cookie sheet and alphabet magnets.


Ooo I love the cookie sheet idea cool.

Today I bought the magna doodles that have clips on them because I thought that was a great idea to link it to their strollers for other days. I also got plastic slinkies for 99cents.

They will be 100% supervised by my husband in the backseat and my kids really don't put stuff in their mouth. How do you do stickers that it works?

 

I just give them the sheet of stickers to peel and stick on a piece of paper. Just show them and they'll catch on quickly. If they have a hard time peeling the sticker off, you can always start it for them and let them peel the rest. Sometimes we get silly and stick them on foreheads and noses. Sometimes the kids don't like having it stuck to them, and sometimes they just crinkle it up. Beware of stickers on the car windows! :lol: