Ugh...LONG car trips!

[SweetErika]

My almost-17-month-old and I have a couple of 7+ hour car trips coming up. So far, the longest we've done around this age is closer to 3 hours, which hasn't been a huge deal because I just leave around his naptime and he sleeps much of the way.

However, when he's been up on those trips, it's hard for me to keep him occupied and out of trouble. Music, food, water and toys work for a while, but the latter three things usually quickly end up being thrown out of reach. I've learned to keep many full sippy cups and snacks up front with me so I can hand them back if he drops/throws something he really needs, but that's about it.

I don't have a DVD player in the car, and something handheld is out of the question, considering he loves to press buttons, eat and make a mess of everything. Plus, I'd have to get DVDs in addition to the player.

His seat is rear-facing and in the middle of the back seat for safety. Technically, I could turn it around, but I'm not sure if tha't help muh.

On our upcoming trips, there aren't a lot of safe places to pull over or stop to stretch once he wakes up from his nap, and said nap could very well be cut short by multiple stops before we get to that section. Last year, we stopped to stay the night halfway through due to frequent feedings and pumping, but I'm thinking that could be more trouble than it's worth this year.

Any suggestions on keeping the little guy as happy as possible and maintaining my sanity on these long trips?

 

[Eilan]

What's your schedule/timetable like? Is it possible for you to do most of your traveling at night? My husband and I drove from OH to FL when my oldest girls were 4 and about 17 months, and we left close to bedtime so the girls could sleep through as much of the first leg of the trip as possible.

 

[NippleMuncher]

I was thinking the same thing as Eilan. If you can postpone the usual nap and extend the usual bedtime so that he's extra tired, he may just sleep the whole trip. Night travel will certainly help.

I have to say, though, 7 hours only gets you half way here ...

 

[SweetErika]

What's your schedule/timetable like? Is it possible for you to do most of your traveling at night? My husband and I drove from OH to FL when my oldest girls were 4 and about 17 months, and we left close to bedtime so the girls could sleep through as much of the first leg of the trip as possible.

Maybe, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that, given this particular route and the fact that we'll be going alone. We're going to a part of Canada that will put us in wildlife territory on a not-the-best road for like 3 hours. I'm still traumatized by that deer suicide incident years ago, and if we hit something at the speed on that highway, we'd be dead meat. Plus, even though I've driven the route several times, the signage is confusing at best during the day.

Then there's the 3-4 hours of traffic we'd be looking at if we left at a reasonable hour for me to not have to drive tired, and I know the munchkin would treat it as a long, late nap, then be up until the wee hours of the morning. I don't think there's any chance I could get him into the hotel room and in bed while he's asleep, and once he sees that Daddy's there, baby partying will ensue!

It's a good idea that I can consider some more, but I'm not sure how well it'd work out for this particular trip. It might work when we're headed back home, if we caravan with Hubby again this year. But that trip isn't quite so bad because I have someone to help share the load, even if he is in another vehicle!

 

[IrisAlthea]

Maybe, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that, given this particular route and the fact that we'll be going alone. We're going to a part of Canada that will put us in wildlife territory on a not-the-best road for like 3 hours. I'm still traumatized by that deer suicide incident years ago, and if we hit something at the speed on that highway, we'd be dead meat. Plus, even though I've driven the route several times, the signage is confusing at best during the day.

Then there's the 3-4 hours of traffic we'd be looking at if we left at a reasonable hour for me to not have to drive tired, and I know the munchkin would treat it as a long, late nap, then be up until the wee hours of the morning. I don't think there's any chance I could get him into the hotel room and in bed while he's asleep, and once he sees that Daddy's there, baby partying will ensue!

It's a good idea that I can consider some more, but I'm not sure how well it'd work out for this particular trip. It might work when we're headed back home, if we caravan with Hubby again this year. But that trip isn't quite so bad because I have someone to help share the load, even if he is in another vehicle!

Does he like it when you read stories? If so, cd books with stories for kids might work in combination with music, toys, treats and naptime.

Our girls have one of those magic pen drawing boards where you can draw things and erase without being able to draw on anything else. They still like to bring it on roadtrips.

 

[bone251]

Favorite kids music CD's to play and sing along. Turn off when the interest gets lost so you can turn it on later.

 

[StilettosNSpurs]

His seat is rear-facing and in the middle of the back seat for safety. Technically, I could turn it around, but I'm not sure if tha't help muh.

Turning his seat around so he can see you and you can see him in your rearview mirror can help immensely. Think about his "view" with his seat facing rear. He can't see you but he can hear your voice. Try this on short trips to the grocery store etc. and see how he reacts.

Can you also get someone to watch him during the day and keep him up so you can nap and then when you get on the road you'll be rested and he'll be tired and sleep?

 

[SweetErika]

Does he like it when you read stories? If so, cd books with stories for kids might work in combination with music, toys, treats and naptime.

Our girls have one of those magic pen drawing boards where you can draw things and erase without being able to draw on anything else. They still like to bring it on roadtrips.

He does like stories, though his attention span for them is pretty short and he really likes interacting with us and the stories. Like we have a couple of books that give him instructions (reach up, touch your nose, etc.), and he enjoys following those. I'll check into which toddler stories and music our library system has on CD and give it a trial run.

We have one of those little magnetic pen drawing boards, but he's mostly interested in eating the pen part, and I don't really want him having anything that pointy in the car at this point for safety reasons. We've tried various forms of coloring/drawing and painting at playgroups, and it's really not something he can do on his own yet.

Favorite kids music CD's to play and sing along. Turn off when the interest gets lost so you can turn it on later.

That might keep him entertained for a bit. He's actually very into adult music as well, and is prone to dancing in his seat to anything with a good beat and/or melody. On our last trip, I put one of my CDs in while he was sleeping, and he started dancing while he was asleep!

Turning his seat around so he can see you and you can see him in your rearview mirror can help immensely. Think about his "view" with his seat facing rear. He can't see you but he can hear your voice. Try this on short trips to the grocery store etc. and see how he reacts.

Can you also get someone to watch him during the day and keep him up so you can nap and then when you get on the road you'll be rested and he'll be tired and sleep?

I actually have a backseat mirror so I can see him, and he can see some of me in the rearview mirror. And even with net window shades on, he can easily see out the back windows, so that's not an issue.

The new safety guidelines say to keep the child rear-facing as long as possible, and I have a compact car, so that's important to me. I would consider turning him around if I really needed to, but I don't know how much it would help either of us. Maybe I'll try it on a run around town and see if it really does make it easier to retrieve stuff he drops/throws. That'd only be easier if he handed them to me or put them on the floor of the backseat - his carseat is big enough that I won't be able to reach back to the surface of the backseat at all if he puts anything there.

He does have a toy that allows him to "drive" and I just got him a light plastic lap tray that fits over his seat in hopes of making snacking and playing a little easier. However, he drops the toy frequently and will kick the tray away when he doesn't want it over his legs anymore.

 

[SweetErika]

Perhaps you could make frequent stops, just to keep him stimulated. Sometimes buy him a cheap comic, sometimes a cheap toy.
Or just do something energetic to tire him out.

That's the tough part. After 3.5 or 4 hours (excluding any major stops or delays at the border), there are very few places to stop along the way. After a certain point, it's just mountains, fields and nothingness, with just a few areas here and that will allow me to pull over and get back on the highway safely.

If we go on Wednesday, we can go to his playgroup party at the park first to get him tired out, then he'll probably nap until we get close to the border (I'll stop for gas and a meal before we cross). One more hour, and it'll be a challenge to keep him happy if he's not sleeping, especially since he gets severe ear pain going over mountain passes. And that's the leg I'm concerned about.

Or, we could leave in the morning on another day, as long as it's not a Friday or Saturday. Then he'd likely be up for the "easy" part of the trip, I can stop somewhere to let him run around and hopefully get tired out, and ideally he'd sleep through most of the challenging part of the route. This is probably the better plan of the two, if I really think about it.

We have smaller toys and such to bring, but there's no easy way to keep them within his reach. We don't have room to bring a ton of toys for variety/rotation, and books are out of the question (he tends to chew on them when we're not reading them ).

Maybe I can see if someone can lend us a portable DVD player w/ a headrest mount to keep him entertained part of the time. He's only seen cartoons a couple of times, so kids' shows are a novelty that would likely keep his attention pretty well.

I just ordered a bunch of kiddy music CDs from the library, so hopefully they'll get here in time and he'll enjoy listening to those.

 

[unregistered]

 

[SweetErika]

On our first few road trips with our girls we would leave around 7:00 pm and drive long after they finally fell asleep. We thought it was wonderful. That is until we left a family vacation early after some drama; it was a pretty quick decision to leave Iowa and head back to Ohio and we didn't want to leave while we were completely tired. So, we packed up, got some sleep, and left around 4:30am. The difference was unbelievable! Our girls were 3 and 5 and they went right back to sleep and snoozed the first 5 hours of our trip. We stopped for breakfast and some play time and they easily handled the rest of the trip. We made such good time for the first 5 hours and it was a pleasant trip. I don't know how well your family compares to mine, but when our girls were little (and even now) this was our favorite game plan for road trips. Leave early!

Over the years we've taken many road trips as a family and do not travel with DVD players or games. We talk to each other, play travel games, and listen to audio books. We were contemplating buying our daughters a Nintendo DS to share for road trips and our youngest responded with "Why? That's what books are for." Yeah, my kids rock.

Hmm...that's a really good idea if I can get myself to bed and us on the road early enough. I always have trouble getting to bed at a reasonable hour the night before we leave, but I could plan for that. I hadn't thought of that, but the little man would likely sleep until 9:30 or so if I got him up at 3:30 or 4 to nurse, do a diaper change, and hit the road by 4:30. Even with playtime stops, we should get to the hotel by his afternoon nap time, which is also when he does most of his nursing.

I'm not a fan of DVDs or video games, but at this particular age, it's really hard to come up with stuff he can do, since he can't yet color, read (he doesn't even really look at pictures in books), or keep a hold of toys. We talk, sing, listen to music, have snacks, and he'll use a toy for a bit, but that's about the extent of his skills and attention span in the car. Even next year, he'll have a lot more options for entertainment, but this year he's pretty much stuck with watching, listening and a little bit of playing, so I wouldn't mind letting him watch an educational DVD or two, if that keeps him happy.

 

[warrior queen]

Plastic chain.
Get a long length of that (with the smaller links so he can't get his fingers caught) and run it from one side of the car to the other.
Then with the remainder, cut it into lengths, attach them to the length across the car, and attach heaps of toys to those bits.
Voila! No more unreachable dropped toys!
And you can change the toys when you stop to keep him interested.

 

[cfuhrer]

Up and in the car by 4:30 is by far your best option. My parents used to long haul back and forth from SE WA to central CA (about a 24 hour trip) and my sister and I went with them often.
In the truck between 3:30 and 4:00.
Stop for breakfast and some playing.
Back in the truck to nap.
Repeat.
Arrive.

Sounds like quite the journey your making.

 

[SweetErika]

Up and in the car by 4:30 is by far your best option. My parents used to long haul back and forth from SE WA to central CA (about a 24 hour trip) and my sister and I went with them often.
In the truck between 3:30 and 4:00.
Stop for breakfast and some playing.
Back in the truck to nap.
Repeat.
Arrive.

Sounds like quite the journey your making.

OK, we'll give that a try if it's possible.

Yeah, it's a big trip to Kelowna, BC every year to spend time with my husband. Monkey and I pretty much follow him around the Northwest starting in mid-June. This year it's even more important because our son is old enough to desperately miss his dad, so at least there's a really big cache of goodness when we get to wherever my husband is at the time. It's a pretty good trade for all of the packing, driving and crappy hotel bed misery.

We drove to Salt Lake City in March without the kidlet, but that wasn't so bad with two drivers and a stay overnight in Boise on the way there.

 

[bailadora]

Maybe I can see if someone can lend us a portable DVD player w/ a headrest mount to keep him entertained part of the time. He's only seen cartoons a couple of times, so kids' shows are a novelty that would likely keep his attention pretty well.

We drive 1800 miles every other summer to go visit my husband's family and I have to tell you that having a portable video device has been a godsend. We only use it on long road trips, so it's something my kids view as a special treat.

My kids are older than your munchkin and are pretty good about entertaining themselves but on the long trips, they eventually want some visual stimulation. You might be able to borrow DVDs from your local library. If that's not an option, you might see what you can get from Netflix or from Redbox or Blockbuster. I've also found great deals at used bookstores.

Up and in the car by 4:30 is by far your best option

Emphatic nod! We've found this to be very helpful as well.

Good luck on your trip and best wishes for safe travels! Separations suck, but the reunions are really sweet!

 

[sweettreat601]

When my kids were smaller, I found traveling in the wee hours of the morning was my best bet. I'd pack the car the evening before so there was minimal activity and excitement about 4am when we'd pull out. I slept better too not worrying about having to get up and pack the car in the dark. The kids would usually sleep till around 8 then we'd stop for breakfast. Leaving in the wee hours also worked because we were driving into the daylight hours rather than into darkness as you would if you left in the evening. Also, we managed to avoid the worst heat of the day, something important in our part of the country. A variety of goodies packaged in snack size ziplock bags worked best. Also, one of those "reach extender or "grabber" things" from the old people section in the Walmart pharmacy area were a Godsend to help pick things up off of the back floorboard that had been dropped. Last but not least, my kids were NOT entertained at all by standard kiddie music. They hated all of it. We rocked down the road to the music of Jimmy Buffett and a fabulous duo called "Trout Fishing in America." Trout Fishing has great songs for kids and adult music too.
Even today, at 21 and 26 that's their choice of music for a road trip.. that and the 70's rock I raised them on. Best of luck to you and Godspeed!

 

[wicked woman]

At your son's age, I'd strongly recommend a personal DVD player. I don't know with his car seat rear-facing, but I know if they're front-facing that you can attach the DVD player to the back of the front seat so it doesn't need to be hand held. I'm sure you could work something out with the back seat. My sons swear by this with my grandchildren...especially when they're young and throw everything away.

 

[bobinks2]

His seat is rear-facing and in the middle of the back seat for safety. Technically, I could turn it around, but I'm not sure if tha't help muh.

When my son was about that age, we went on a long car ride with him in a rear facing seat. He screamed and cried the whole way. Not long after that, we went on another long trip with his seat turned around. With the seat forward facing, he didn't scream or cry at all. He was content to sit and watch the world go by looking out the windows.

The view from a rear facing seat is generally pretty dreadful.

YMMV

 

[Eilan]

When my son was about that age, we went on a long car ride with him in a rear facing seat. He screamed and cried the whole way. Not long after that, we went on another long trip with his seat turned around. With the seat forward facing, he didn't scream or cry at all. He was content to sit and watch the world go by looking out the windows.

The view from a rear facing seat is generally pretty dreadful.

YMMV

Yeah, car trips with my now-11-year-old went much more smoothly once she was in a forward-facing car seat. My other girls didn't care either way, but my oldest briefly waged (and lost) the car seat battle when she was about 18 months old.

BTW, when did the guidelines for rear-facing car seats change? It wasn't all that long ago that I had little ones in car seats. Of course, in OH, we're now supposed to keep kids in booster seats until they're old enough to drive. . .

 

[SweetErika]

Yeah, car trips with my now-11-year-old went much more smoothly once she was in a forward-facing car seat. My other girls didn't care either way, but my oldest briefly waged (and lost) the car seat battle when she was about 18 months old.

BTW, when did the guidelines for rear-facing car seats change? It wasn't all that long ago that I had little ones in car seats. Of course, in OH, we're now supposed to keep kids in booster seats until they're old enough to drive. . .

I don't think Monkey minds being rear-facing. He can see himself and part of me in the mirror in front of him (that won't be the case once he turns forward), frequently points out the dogs and babies he sees out the windows, and doesn't seem to have any motion sickness. Apparently, his seat is only rated to 35 lbs for rear-facing, and he's already 30.5 lbs, so I'm just hoping he'll stay within the height and weight limits until March.

According to this, the AAP guidelines for carseats just changed in March/April of this year.

The last change was in 2002, but in 2007, there was a study that found a 75% reduction in grave injuries and deaths by keeping children under 2 rear-facing. That's plenty of evidence for me to hold off on turning our guy around as long as possible! He's big and strong enough that I'd reverse his seat and/or move it from the middle spot for a short trip if I absolutely had to (like if we really needed to transport one of his friends and the two seats wouldn't fit any other way), but I'm not going to do it for convenience on a road trip, especially when said trip involves higher speeds, challenging terrain and lots of wildlife.

I just wonder why it took the AAP about four years to adopt these new guidelines; how many kids were seriously hurt or killed in accidents during those four years because they were turned around too early?

Another interesting tidbit I read was it's the norm for kids in some countries (IIRC, Sweden and/or Norway were mentioned) to remain rear-facing until they're closer to four years old. In those places, serious injuries and deaths for kids under four in auto accidents are exceedingly rare.

This is our law:

Effective June 1, 2007, children less than eight years old must be restrained in child restraint systems, unless the child is four feet nine inches or taller. A child who is eight years old or older, or four feet nine inches or taller, must be properly restrained either with the motor vehicle's safety belt or an appropriately fitting child restraint system. Children under thirteen years old must be transported in rear seats where it is practical to do so.

The fine for improperly restrained children in motor vehicles is at least $112 per child. ​

Hopefully our son will continue to be extremely tall for his age so we don't have to mess with booster seats after he's 7 or 8. And, yeah, I find that 'backseat until they're 13' requirement pretty silly, even though I know it's the safest way to go. I figure when a kid is at least 5 feet tall (I think that's still the minimum for front airbag safety), a properly fitting seatbelt in the front should be fine.

 

[Boundlife]

If his little ears are plugged screaming can pop them, so if he sounds like the boogie man is trying to rip off his leg, it probably is making his ears feel better. Know yours...