I read an article in American Baby while I was at the doctors office for one of my many UTI afflictions. And it got me thinking. Am I really packing and doing all I can to make the trips I’m taking with my son more comfortable and stress free for him?
Some of the things I already do for him are packing snacks so we don’t have to stop a million times to get him drinks or chips or whatever he may want at the time. We used to have a DVD player in the car, but it’s since been broken because my son doesn’t know how to use things without throwing them around the house first. :-?
But other ideas people had were taking along some toys for the kids to play with. We sometimes bring along some Matchbox cars because that’s really all he’ll play with but most of the time we forget them, unless he grabs one or two before we leave. I should get a pack of them to leave in the car so they’ll always be there. Taking breaks at rest stops too. Meaning, getting out, running around, stretching out your legs. I know running around shouldn’t be done at a rest stop, but you know what I mean. We’ve never done that with him. I do it when I go with my mom on trips though. Maybe he’d be a lot less cranky if we did that with him more often.
There were lots of other ideas, but that would make for a long post. And some of them are things we already do for him. So, lemme ask you, the readers, what do you do for your car time with your kids?
My kid won’t be here for another three weeks, but I’m taking these tips into consideration for the future! Thanks.
Good ideas! I remember I used to love sing-a-long tapes when I was younger but I guess it could get annoying after a while to parents. I was lucky to have a little sister to keep me occupied most of the time playing with barbies or whatever else.
Well I’m not a parent (lol I’m 13)
But what I keep myself busy with is my nintendo ds
Now I dont know how old your son is but these things do work for long trips. Ofcourse if he’s 2 then this wont work…
I don’t know if you have this where you are (you probably do)
You’ve got these playfish ‘gameboys’ with easy kid games like winnie the pooh games and stuff like that. It might work I don’t know
Hope I was SOME help
x Grace
I’m, thankfully, not a parent (I’m 17, that would be a mess!) but if I ever have children, these are some helpful tips. The idea of getting out of the car for a few minutes helped when I was growing up and for some of my friends as young kids. I was pretty impatient and busy as a child. Although, I sometimes got motion sickness and was given gravol, which just made me sleep the entire time.
A variety of toys, a drawing book and pencils or crayons worked well for us in their early stages. They’re older now and the portable DVD player is brilliant although we put it off for as long as we can during long trips otherwise they don’t look out the window at all!
Like a few of the other commentors, I’m not a parent either. I think you’re leaving comments on the wrong kind of blogs
Like someone else said, I used to sing along to tapes in the car when I was a kid. Sometimes we’d play games like I Spy…
Humm.. my son is only one an a half. So right now he is just saying mama and dada a lot and looking out the window.
I think when he gets older may be we can do sing along!?
I guess I have to find out when I get there.
Thanks,
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than No Action
It’s all about preperation, plastic bags, bandaides and juice boxes…isn’t it?
Just stopping by via MBC to say hello.
I agree with Harriet, I make it a lot better with my daughter if I think ahead and plan. She is eight but that can be hard to travel with too if you are not prepared. If it is a long trip I have a portable DVD player and Nintendo DS with rented movies and games we have seen or played.
Stopping by from MBC
I don’t have kids, so I don’t know what to do as far as keeping them occupied, but I know when I was a kid my gameboy was about all I needed. I know that sometimes they can get a little pricey, but man I don’t know what I would have done without it. Now here’s a question for you. What do you do with a dog who constantly throws up in the car. Talk about no fun.
A few things I am always packing when out with the man’s kids are toys (plush toys, dolls, etc. No balls, though. Balls are a bad idea!) small drinks like juice boxes, Capri Suns, small Sunny Delights are also a hit, and best of all, Gogurt! Gogurt has been the saving grace between having a 3 and a 4 year old in the backseat screaming at the top of their lungs and then laughing like it’s so great that they can produce so much noise and them being quiet. I like the quiet much, much more.
Ive come to the conclusion that it’s a lost cause, I remember going on trips with my family equipped with many games and my brother and I still managed to drive my parents crazy, fighting about anything and everything or just nagging people because we were bored. Of course you only have one so maybe it wont be that big of an issue
I am extremely organized when it comes to packing for long car rides. But it took a few years of practice (and alot of really crappy road trips).
The one thing that has helped us most is to use those car organizers and have them over the back of the seat in front of each child. That way they can reach their own toys and books and I’m not spending the entire trip fishing around behind the seats for something.
It helps save my sanity just a little
Jennifer
We have taken many long car trips 12 plus hours each with our 7 kids over the last 17 (almost 18) years. We do at least one long trip a year. Our kids are thoroughly entertained by audio books. We also love sing alongs and of course a picnic lunch along the way.
I also pick up second hand toys at thrift toys, so that when the ones in the car get boring, I have some new ones to introduce. I also recycle the car toys in from toys that they have not seen for a while….
Portable DVD is the ONLY thing that works for our longer trips. For shorter trips near bedtime we tend to desperately resort to singing anything so as not to let them sleep till we get home.
My in-laws live about 4 1/2 hours away, so we make car trips up there several times a year. When my daughter was little, she used to love stickers. Peeling them off the sheet kept her hands busy and she loved to decorate herself. (Just be prepared for stickers EVERYWHERE…on him, on his car seat, on the window, on anything he can reach). She also liked magnetic toys (like letters) that could stick to a small cookie sheet.
Well, I don’t have any special activities during travels. I don’t remember my mom doing any either when I was younger. I just usually sleep especially if it’s a long, boring car ride. Still the best activity I can think of, haha!
We just went on a long car trip with the kids, and I did lots of things to help them with traveling. We packed lots of books to read. I also trolled the dollar aisles of several stores for months ahead of time to get lots of little coloring books and stickers to entertain them with (driving Wisconsin to Texas and back is a long trip).
Also a great place to stop is Welcome Centers at State lines, they have fun maps and brochures for the kids to look at. Also, if you ask they might give you a special kid’s packet or a postcard your kid can have.
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I just usually sleep especially if it’s a long, boring car ride. Still the best activity I can think of, haha!