The last time we made the trip to my sister in laws house it
was a COMPLETE nightmare with Daniel (13 months old at the time). He was miserable
for pretty much the entire trip. Everyone in the car wanted to shove sharp
objects in their ears just to stop hearing the screeching that he did. So this
time when we were planning to repeat the ride for Thanksgiving, I came prepared
to battle anything and it was a big success. We rocked that four hour car ride
like pros. Here are my top five tips for long car ride success:
(1)
Drug the child who is prone to car sickness.
This is VERY important and will create disastrous results if forgotten.
(2)
Make sure your “go to” bags with favorite toys
and distractions are within arm’s reach. There is nothing worse than driving on
the highway only to realize that what you need is in the way back. It might as
well be dead to you.
(3)
Create a new CD/playlist for the kids. I popped
one on after the first hour had passed and the kids were psyched. After an hour
of silence, they were more than happy to sing along for the next hour and Tim
and I were excited to be able to have an actual conversation. Note to self,
these songs will be stuck in your head for the entire trip.
(4)
Invest in a portable DVD player. We purchased a
dual monitor set a couple of years ago when we were driving thirteen hours for
a family vacation. We hadn’t used them since but busted them out for this trip.
They are godsends and will keep your children occupied for hours. These get
turned on after two hours have passed. Timing is everything.
(5)
After approximately three hours (or two if you
have a kid like Daniel), you need to provide the kids with non-stop snacks.
Bring every variety of snacks you have in small, easy to maneuver containers
and feed, feed, feed them. It is amazing how long this keeps them occupied for.
Do not bring drinks or you will need to stop for potty breaks which only elongates
the trip.
There you have it folks, those are my travel trip gems. Have
any of your own?
