I plan to drive 12 hours with my 2 1/2 & 17 month old children. Any tips to make our trip easier?

Answer 1

Take plenty of tapes/cd's with children's nursery rhymes. Try playing various versions of "I Spy" with the older child - see who can spot the first yellow car (if he/she knows their colors) or the first truck or ute or whatever they would be able to recognise. If you have any portable interactive toys for either child, or favorite books where they can enjoy the pictures without being read to, then take those. Put these into a box on the seat between them, taped to a telephone book or whatever underneath to make it reachable if necessary. Don't put it in the front with you or you will have an accident trying to find the right toy and pass it back whilst driving!

No-one, however, should drive for 12 hours straight. To avoid fatigue you should stop every 3 or 4 hours for a 10 - 15 minute walk and a drink / snack and a toilet stop / nappy change. Remember it's your children's lives you are risking if you get too tired to react quickly when necessary, not just yours.

Answer 2

I think everyone else summed it up when mentioning the portable DVD player, special toys, lots of snacks... I always bring a cooler that we plug into the cigarette lighter plug, so we can have cold drinks/snacks for the drive. As far as when to drive... If your kids fall asleep easily in the car, drive during the day. Trust me, I've learned from experience that it is very difficult and can even be dangerous to drive at night, b/c the darkness and same old scenery of a seemingly never-ending dark road can make you very sleepy. Not to mention all the OTHER sleepy drivers that may even cause you to get into an accident! It all depends on you and your kids. If you can handle driving at night w/o getting too tired, and you think your kids will sleep better, then it might just be the best thing. Like I said, it depends on what you/your kids can handle. Make sure to stop and let the kids burn off some energy now and then. They need to stretch their legs just as much as we do! If your 2 year old is already potty trained, make sure you put him/her in a pull up to avoid accidents. Keep an extra pair of clothes for each child handy (not in their suitcases where you can't get to it!)- just in case. Hope that helps!

Answer 3

leave early enough b/c you are going to be stopping for daiper changes and bottle warming if you are not breastfeeding. its hell my two youngest are only 14 months apart and we take a 13 hour trip every year.now another thing you can do is invest in portable t.v. that help alot as well. the wiggles, barney, etc..... bright colors for the baby and singing for the 2 1/2 year old. you may be half loney with the cartoons by the time you get there but it does help with those long trips. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Answer 4

If you can, plan to leave in the evening and drive through the night. The kids will usually sleep right through a 12 hour car ride that way. Just make sure you are able to sleep at your destination while someone is taking care of the kids.

Answer 5

Take regular breaks... i recommend at least 3 of 20 minutes, and at least one of an hour. It'll make the journey longer but at least your kids won't get so impatient. Stop off places where there's a nice park and go for a walk... especially where there is the calming sound of water. And whatever else... if you feel tired, pull over and stop for a proper rest... don't drive tired and risk your childrens safety.

Answer 6

lots of snacks for them to munch on. rent a dvd player. make stops every couple of hours for 20 minutes or so. bring some of their favorite toys and some new ones as well. books and music are great. try to drive at least some of the time when at least one of them is likely to be sleeping!! Sing songs with them in the car. perhaps let them do some special things that you normally don't let them ahve or do just becasue you're having a special day. be sure to say it that wya so they know you haven't changed the rules.

Answer 7

stress! in case you fly, (one million) it incredibly isn't any longer incredibly that lots swifter; (2) you will no longer have the potential to do issues like replace diapers whilst they unquestionably need it; (3) the stress ameliorations will complication his/her ears. in case you stress, you have administration of the %. and prevents. and you certainly prefer to hold each and every of the candies. in the journey that your toddler is a sturdy sleeper, you additionally could make 4-6 hours with a provide up or 2. After that, it gets tougher. you need to renounce for an hour or so, consistent with possibility a pair of situations, interior the final one million/2 of the trip. once you're a sturdy "nighttime driving force", stress in one day, whilst s/he's possibly to be dozing. we've 3 young little ones, and we continually stress from our living house in Michigan to my mom and dad' close to DC. And the 1st 300 and sixty 5 days is the least perplexing time to do it, we've stumbled on. as quickly as, my spouse, flying on my own with our 1st toddler, very almost neglected her connecting flight simply by an emergency cleanup interior the ladies human beings's room. you basically can no longer administration those issues, and you apart from mght can no longer administration the airlines. What in case you get caught in a terminal for 12 extra hours? What in case you wait in line for 20 minutes for risk-free practices and the toddler starts off to scream, basically as you have "in basic terms" 10 extra minutes to pass? You get the belief...

Answer 8

Lots of breaks, even make it two days and stay in a motel with a pool or something fun to do.

Someone else suggested driving at night, that sounds like an excellent idea.

Answer 9

Take a lot of toys, books, Color Wonder crayons and paper, a photo album for them to look at...Something they don't get to play with everyday to make it interesting for them. I would pack a lot of snacks, like Cheerios,crackers, fruit snacks, juice, water....Leave early so that will sleep a lot of the time. For yourself, take some Tylenol, after spending that much time in a car with 2, I'm sure you'll need it! lol Good luck!

Answer 10

I'd leave later in the evening. Then they can sleep for most of the trip.
Stop for a nice breakfast and let them play.
We let ours snack in the car and take plenty of games and childrens cd's for them to listen to.