i’m going on a road trip with my mom and my two girls in a couple of days.
it’s my first time going on a roadtrip with the girls and my husband won’t be with me
whch makes me a little nervous. okay, a lot, my heart starts pounding really fast
whenever i think about it. it’ll be for 12+/- hours and i really hope my girls will behave.
my plans are to give them little presents every couple of hrs. for good behavior,
downloaded bunch of new movies on the ipad, and bringing lots of snacks.
and since i have such wonderful and wise readers, i’d thought i would ask,
do you have any other advice/tips to help make this trip go smoothly?
so that we will make it to our destination without me totally losing it? thanks.
Mamas Spare Time says
Wiki sticks- little colorful wax sticks you can bend and make shapes out of. My 3yo daughter is entertained for a long time with those on the plane. How about ipad app that reads books aloud, some really fun music to break the mood during meltdowns, stickers- lots of stickers!
Courtney Low says
I think they will pleasantly surprise you! When we moved to California Andrew had to drive the Budget truck so I drove with a friend of mine and the 2 girls and I was SO nervous and they were PERFECT!! They hardly even made a peep and I had stressed out so much over nothing!
AshTreeCottage says
Just keep thinking positive thoughts and the girls will pick up on your attitude. Have fun!
Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Paulette, Jvona & Rachel says
We did this this Summer with 5 kids ages 11,9,7,4 & 2. We brought books, movies, games, coloring books with colored pencils (not crayons, they melt) and lots of snacks. But, I think what saved us was plotting a stop along the way at a park for a picnic. The kids got to get out of the car and run around and play, and the driver (me) got a short nap on the grass, and was refreshed to get up and drive again.
Paulette
Rebecca Bany says
I downloaded kids books on my cell and plugged headphones in for them.
Have a great trip.
http://www.rebeccabany.com
Sierra says
My mom used to do road trips with all six of us kids, mostly what I remember made them so fun was books on tape and how excited she was to be on the road again! It was completely contagious and made all of us excited too.
stormyyskyy says
Unless you have a DC plug in your vehicle, you will need a converter so you can plug in & charge the iPad. Maybe a headphone spliter (changes the headphone port from one to two ports) & 2 pairs of headphones unless you like to listen to all their movies. With my 4-year-old son, I bring lots of little snacks (crackers, fruit snacks, some cookies, & chewy granola bars), sippy no-leak cups, juice, travel plastic coffee cup (to put in the car seat's cup holder for snacks), and a thin fleece blanket (so he can put it over his head to sleep, but not get too hot). It has worked for 9 one-way trips between Utah & Iowa that are at least 18 hours. He sleeps alot even during the day, but stays calm most of the time.
Jamie Nicole says
This blogger is on a very, very long car trip with her kids and the handful of most recent posts tells about a bunch of really cool different things she is doing with them.
http://www.housingaforest.com/
Sarah says
Thank you SO much everyone, you ladies are so sweet! @jamie, that site is so awesome, I added many things on my list to buy from the site, thanks!
xoxo
Sara says
On our 13 hr road trips from AZ to UT, my husband and I like to drive at night when it is 1) cooler 2) less busy on the roads and 3) the kids are sleeping for most of the drive. We take turns driving the first half or second half and the other sleeps to be sure we each get some rest. I don't think I've ever seen southern UT or northern AZ in the daylight. But arriving somewhere with well rested children is always nice. Best of luck!
Pearl says
The last time we did this drive, we stopped at McDonald's for a couple of hours in St. George I think and let the kids play on the slides and game room. That McDonald's was awesome! So we were only going to grab a quick bite but stayed for a two hours! Good thing we did that cause after that they were too pooped to do anything. Be safe on your way here Sarah! And make sure you get your rest too!
Kate says
i LOVE this website (& I don't even have kiddos yet) she has great ideas. this is one for "activity kits" http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com/2009/09/activity-kits.html enjoy!
Nat says
We did a long trip from Utah to Texas in June. I have slightly older spread of kids, but 3 of them. I did road games, songs, little things every couple hours. Tin foil is fun to play with, so are pipecleaners…and hardly any mess!
Also, prepare yourself for car sickness. All 3 of mine threw up at different stages of the trip. Bring wipes, disinfectant, hand sanitizer, garbage and grocery bags, and mints…
Most importantly, children get crazy and wild or tantrum when they sense that their parent is stressed. Take your time, make the road trip the trip…stop along the way, make it fun. As long as you are relaxed and having fun, it will rub off on the littles. 🙂 enjoy the trip!
steph nelsen says
benadryl? i'm totally kidding! you'll all do great and have so much fun : )
Sarah says
Awesome ideas, thank you so much! (except for the benadryl, of course 😉
steph nelsen says
: )