Travelling and young children don't always mix. Long journeys with young children can be fraught with problems. Travelling long distance is tiring for anyone but particularly so for younger children who don't have a grasp on time and how long an hour is never mind 5 or 6+ . We've all experienced the 'are we there yet' 10 minutes into your trip to Grandmas so although it's unlikely to be stress free there are a few things you can do to make it easier for everyone.
Preparation is key - as with any task with toddlers, even the day to day routine tasks such as a trip to the supermarket is far easier when you've prepared. It depends on the age of course, older children will no doubt have their tablets, phones, Nintendos and of course books to keep themselves occupied :-) but you may need a bit more preparation for younger children and toddlers.
So with a few years experience of long car and plane journeys with two boys behind me, this is what I'd recommend ....
My top ten handy things to pack are
1, portable/in car DVD player - However much you hate it, a car dvd player on a long drive is a life saver. We have rules for ours, the main one being not for journeys less than 1 hour and no watching it earlier than 1 hour into the journey. Don't forget headphones so you don't have to suffer Frozen again.
2, non sticky snacks - no chocolate as you will end up finding it melted down the seat cracks. Things like raisins in a small box kept our toddlers happy for a surprising amount of time. Fruit bars too.
3, Sticker books - the ones which re stick are good so your two year old doesn't suffer a tantrum because he stuck the sticker in the wrong place. Or activity books for older children.
4, Crayons/pencils
and plain paper for drawing (not felt tips as they end up in the same place as the chocolate having first leaked all over the seat)
5, Baby wipes - forever useful even if your child is out of nappies. (cleaning grubby hands, chocolate faces, emergency bottom wiping in the motorway loo with no loo paper, cleaning sick off the clothes, car seat, car etc) My kids are 13 and 10 now and I still take wipes with me wherever we go.
6, Antibacterial hand washing gel - ideal for those wee stops in the middle of nowhere
7, Plastic bags for being sick , sick covered clothes and for rubbish
8, Tissues - for snotty noses, as an emergency loo roll, for wrapping the half eaten service station sandwich in to save for later
9, Easily accessible kids spare clothes (a top at least, so they can turn up reasonably smart looking at your destination - a full set for kids prone to sickness)
10, A head full of 'old fashioned' games
when everything else has been tried, (adapt for the childrens age) some favourites of ours are
- how long can you be quiet for (we did 1hr30 once and its always our first suggestion ! )
- points for car colours eg 50 points for a purple car, 20 points for a gold car, 10 points for a yellow car; or points for animals in the fields
- I spy with my little eye (a classic)
- Registration plate Letters eg Registrations starting with a C
My kids are 14 and 12 now and I still make sure these things are in my bag on a long journey.
A few other tips are to
- ration the treats and entertainment, try to have breaks in between of quiet time - length depends on the age of the child, any age child should be able to spend 10 minutes quietly.
- take regular breaks. No need to spend an hour running around at a motorway service station, it's far better to have lots of short breaks as it breaks the time up for the child. A couple of petrol stops, a couple of wee stops. 5- 10 minutes is plenty to let them stretch their legs, unless of course you yourself need the break from driving.
- Talk about time in periods they understand ie short - in 10 minutes we are going to stop; have 10 minutes quiet time, you can watch the dvd in 10 minutes and relate the time/distance to other events such as the time it takes us to get to the supermarket (if that is 10 mins)
- If they fall asleep (which toddlers and babies often will) let them and get as many miles under your belt as you can whilst they sleep
- if flying long haul request to take the childs car seat onto the plane and let them sit in that (they will but you do need permission first) The car seat is secured using the plane seat belt. The baby/child will often feel far more comfortable in their own seat that they are used to and are far more likely to sleep)
HAPPY TRAVELLING
content by Wendy Blakeman
