Parenting Positive Kids
When is the last time you went on a roadtrip?..
What tips can you give me to make traveling with young children easier?
Replies
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In less than a month (On Feb 16th) We will be traveling from Kentucky to Montana with our kids both under the age of 5..It's our first road trip with the kids...
I'm just hoping it goes as smoothly as possible..
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pack a bag of travel friendly toys and such....snacks as well
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When we moved to Montana from Washington State a few yrs ago our boys were 2 and 4. We went to the $ store a day or 2 before we left and got them some cheap, but quiet and entertaining toys, snacks, and juiceboxes. We put these in their backpacks and they didn't get to play with them till we left. They also each got a box of crayons, and a new colorbook and some blank paper and 2 little board books in their backpacks. Aside from that I let them pick one toy to keep out for the trip, a blanky and their bears (that they sleep with. We still had to stop every couple hundredmiles and let them get out of the car. We tried to eat at places like McDonalds that had a play area since it was winter when we were moving, they could eat in the car so I didn't make them finish meals before playing. It went ok.
I would seriously limit sugary snacks/drinks though and, honestly, there came a point when I dreaded stops because they didn't want to get back in the car no matter HOW long they got to play. My brother bought a dvd player for his 3 yo when they moved this summer from Montana to Kentucky. He got her 3-4 new movies and a pair of headphones so that he didn't have to hear them. He said that worked really well. Where in MT are you coming to? Be sure to check local weather and ask at truck stops etc for road closures etc. If you aren't used to the winters here, depending on where you are going, they can be pretty bad! Good luck!
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Quoting paris2lmp:
When we moved to Montana from Washington State a few yrs ago our boys were 2 and 4. We went to the $ store a day or 2 before we left and got them some cheap, but quiet and entertaining toys, snacks, and juiceboxes. We put these in their backpacks and they didn't get to play with them till we left. They also each got a box of crayons, and a new colorbook and some blank paper and 2 little board books in their backpacks. Aside from that I let them pick one toy to keep out for the trip, a blanky and their bears (that they sleep with. We still had to stop every couple hundredmiles and let them get out of the car. We tried to eat at places like McDonalds that had a play area since it was winter when we were moving, they could eat in the car so I didn't make them finish meals before playing. It went ok.
I would seriously limit sugary snacks/drinks though and, honestly, there came a point when I dreaded stops because they didn't want to get back in the car no matter HOW long they got to play. My brother bought a dvd player for his 3 yo when they moved this summer from Montana to Kentucky. He got her 3-4 new movies and a pair of headphones so that he didn't have to hear them. He said that worked really well. Where in MT are you coming to? Be sure to check local weather and ask at truck stops etc for road closures etc. If you aren't used to the winters here, depending on where you are going, they can be pretty bad! Good luck!
Thanks for the tips :) We have a DVD player with two screens in our car, I'm hoping that will occupy them for a long while...I was afraid of stopping alot too because it will be so cold out, and the kids aren't used to that...Plus I'll have my cat with me...The more I think about the trip the more nervous I become..LOL. =/
I'm going to Lame Deer Montana(On the Northern Cheyenne Reservation) I've lived there before, a few years back..So I'm used to the weather...But honestly I never thought of checking for road closures how silly of me!...Thanks :)
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Last year. We took our 1 yo a the tiime on a 8hr car ride. Take a lot of breaks. They need to be able to run around. We stopped every two hours and let our son get out of his carseat -
Rest areas are your best friend on a long road trip. Give the kids plenty of time to run off their energy.
Ive done cross country twice with my two (now grown) boys.
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We travel all over the country with dd a normal road trip is 12+ hours solid
Pack a bag of just the kid stuff.... Like
Movies
Snacks healthy and cookies
Drinks
Handheld games
Colored pencils
Coloring book
Buy a comic book
Nail polish ( if old enough)
iPad or iPhone for surfing
Blanket
Pillows
Stuffed animal
Glue stick - for small crafts like snowman on paper plate w cotton balls ect
Hope this helps some
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We did a 2 1/2 week road trip last summer. Our kids were 15 and 16 so it wasn't that bad.
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We go on long road trips a good bit.
Last one we took was only 2 hours to Dollywood
We take the Nintendo DS
And connect the iPad to the headrest and let the kids watch movies. It helps a lot!!!!
We stop and let them stretch their legs, maybe find a park/ playground or at least a McDonald's playground.
Our families live over 12 hours away and plane tickets are expensive so we usually drive.
Our boys are 3 and 5.
Also driving at night helps cause the kids sleep through most of it -
when my son wasnt one yet we went from alabama to cali but I would say lots of breaks for them to run around and for changing or potty breaks. juice and snacks are great to have. and taking a portable dvd player and toys. and they will be fine or you can always take the train to that is fun to do with them also we did that with a not a year old and a 2 year old but I would say get a room on the train.