How can I keep my toddler calm during during long car trips ?

Question

We'll take our 2 year old on his first long car trip. We expect to be in the car for over 5 hours. Experience teaches us that he starts to get upset and annoyed within the hour. How can we keep him calm ?

Answer 1

we have an almost 4 year old now and we have gone on many car trips since my family lives all over the eastern u.s.

we have tried reading to him while we are in the car, a new toy to keep him occupied, stickers, magnets, coloring, music, and endless other things. we have not used a portable dvd player because we just do not like the idea of him being zoned out til we get to our destination.

the best choice for us has been for him to sleep the majority of the way, keeps mom and dad more sane. so we usually don't let him take a nap before we leave and then leave when it is dark so he will sleep. since you are only traveling 5 hours your best bet would prolly be to leave in the early, early morning. just take him as gently as possible from bed and put him in the car with his favorite blanket and let him sleep.

Answer 2

We have been taking long trips with my son since he was an infant. We start out by giving him little toys that don't make any noise and then maybe some that maybe make a little bit of noise that he doesn't usually get to play with at home. We also use kids songs on CD, snacks work good too. It has only been the last year that we have used the portable DVD player. (he is almost 4 now) With that I try to buy a movie or two that he hasn't seen before the car trip so the movie will hold his interest longer. When we stop we make sure that he gets out of the car and gets to walk or run around at rest areas. Most of our trips have been 18 to 14 hours. My son also sleeps quite a bit on car trips.

Answer 3

He's a toddler, you can't keep him calm throughout that long trip! He will need to be entertained - so do the dvd, which might only work for about a half hour; play games with him, play music for him, bring along a few of his favourite toys and most importantly stop along your journey at least every hour or soto get him out of his sitting position and let him run about for a few minutes. Although this will add time to ur total trip it will definitely lessen his crabby behaviour. Just don't forget that he's only a baby so don't expect him to behave like a grown child and you won't get frustrated :)

Answer 4

The best thing to start out is to leave for your trip right around your sons nap time...that way you get 1 or 2 hours (depending on how long his naps are) out of the way in peace and quiet....Then, after he is awake have an assortment of activities for him to do. Bring a coloring book and crayons, bring books, I would even suggest buying a new toy and giving it to him when he is not interested in any of his everyday toys. You should also bring some of his favorite snacks and some juice or water. The other thing, depending on how you feel about it, is buying a portable DVD player to hook onto the back of the front seat headrest. I know none of us parents like our kids to watch too much TV, but on long car rides, portable DVD players work GREAT.....we bought one for our 2 1/2 year old!! Bring along some of his favorite movies.....

You might also try stopping every hour or every few hours so that he can get out and run around and stretch his little body....Good Luck!! =)

Answer 5

When we go on long trips with our 3 kids, we always take:

A cooler with drinks and snacks.
Paper and crayons to draw on, with tv trays to go across the car seats for table tops.
We let them take their favorite toys.
We let them take their pillows and their favorite blankets to sleep at night while we are driving.
When they are awake, we play games such as "I spy", or "Who can find the first cow?" or " Who can find the first blue car?"
We also sing kids songs.
We also stop every hour and half when the kids are awake to get out stretch our leggs.
Lunch and dinner stops are always by a park so the kids can get out all that pent up energy from riding.
I also give each child a disposable camera to take pictures on our trip. They're cheap and it doesn't matter if the kid can really take pics or not. But once they are developed, the kids love to have "their" picture albums and sometimes they get some good ones.

I know several of the new cars now have built in tv and vcr's, but we don't have that, so we make do with watching the world go by us as we drive.

Answer 6

I've never gone that long with my two yr old, but I travel two hours once a week to go back home. To keep him calm, if he is not sleeping, I give him a book. If that fades, I give him a pen so that he can either write on the book or his arm. I have a portable dvd player, that works. If he gets to out of control, I hate this, I put in a disney cd. Also, I give him a bottle of bug juice. Just keep talking to him, too. Hope this is helpful.

Answer 7

I fly alone with my toddler all the time, and I have done all of this, but I make a few changes. No sugar, not even juice. No reason to get him hopped up on the stuff. Milk and water are fine, Cheerios, sandwiches, but no candy/gummies. I go to the dollar store and the clearance aisles at Wal-mart and such and hide a bag of new toys under my seat, one for every two hours of travel. I stagger snacks, new toys, favorite toys, books, and breaks. Leave either early in the morning or right at naptime, see how long you can get him to sleep.

Answer 8

Keep him awake at his normal nap time, so that he'll sleep most of the way. Then, for the rest of the time, pack snacks and a drink, and be sure to have an emergency bag of toys and books to keep up front with you. When he gets bored with one thing, exchange it.

You can also try something that he's never done before, so it's a completely new experience. Have you ever let him use crayons? If not, give him a little tablet and fat crayon to use. That will amuse him for quite a while, if it's something he hasn't done before. Other than that, you may just have to stop halfway through and give him a little walking break.

Do you have older children? I find that sometimes my 2-yr-old will be quiet for a while, if my older daughter let's her listen to her headphones. She loves that, and then she goes from crying and screaming to singing and dancing!

Answer 9

I agree... toys and books, lots of breaks, snacks and play with him. One thing that makes our 15 hour trip to my parents easier is having books on tape or CD ready... having someone else read to her is a novelty, and it gives me a break too! Older children might enjoy a Leap Pad... it's a bit more interactive than just watching DVD's. I also take a map so they can 'navigate' for Dad and over time she's come to recognize some of the places along the way, and understand how much farther we've got to go.

Answer 10

Last year on an 8 hour trip to the beach we kept our 2 year old calm by first leaving early enough that she would sleep for a while . Next we purchased crayola finger paints that only work on the crayola paper and I sat in the back with her and helped her paint. I also got the crayola markers that only work on the crayola paper. We also read books , colored and had an endless supply of snacks (gummies , fruit , pretzles , waters , juice) to keep her occupied. It wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be.