Two Under 2: Road Trip Edition
My sister got married on Christmas Eve.
She and the rest of my family live about 1,000 miles north of us.
We have an almost 2-year-old and an almost 3-month-old.
And the rest is history…
On the way up, we drove through the night. It took us 13 hours. We stopped three times for a total of 30 minutes. Eliza slept most of the time, although she would wake up, fuss, and go back to sleep constantly. Christian slept for about 4 hours, cried for about 2, and played quietly the rest of the time (!).
On the way back, we split the trip up into three parts. The first day we drove 3 hours and stopped at our friends’ house overnight. The second day was 7 hours with an overnight hotel stop, and the third day was 6 hours. Eliza was an angel. She napped, cooed, and looked out the window. She only got upset when it was dark outside and she couldn’t see, but that was for a short amount of time.
Christian was most vehemently not a fan of the daytime drive. Toddlers are just not meant to be strapped into a carseat for hours on end when they’re used to running around in freedom.
So from a now veteran two-under-2-road-tripper, here are a few tips if you find yourself in a similar situation:
1. Bring electronic toys. As annoying as they may be to listen to, they’re less stressful than a screaming toddler. (Of course, a portable DVD player would be even better.)
2. Make room to sit in the back with the kids. This made a big difference for Eliza; she loved being able to see me.
3. Pack lots of snacks. The hungrier Christian was, the crankier he was.
4. Pack an individual diaper bag for each child. This really helped so we could double-team at stops without having to pass the bag back and forth.
5. Sing and do lots of finger-plays.
6. Pray for patience… and bring earplugs.
Any road trip experience with very young children? What got you through?
We have a DVD player in our Suburban and it rocks. That is all.
Okay, not really. I totally agree with you about making space to sit in the back. 98% of the time I’m back there with the kids, and honestly? I’m not one of those people who thinks it’s illegal to let the kids out in the backseat to play while going 70mph down the highway. I know people who totally freak out at that, but to each their own, ya know? I let one at a time out for 10-15 minute increments. Even if it’s just to sit and eat goldfish crackers, it does wonders for tiny little attention spans. Granted we do have an SUV with dark tinted windows so no one can see in. The lack of that would probably alter my decision. 
Snacks are a must. I think one of those magnadoodlers would be a fun thing, too. No mess from crayons and such…
Our boys do well when traveling, of course it’s a trip in itself just to go to town for groceries, or church on Sunday. So, they are used to it.
I pack snacks, and toys when we go far. I’m not one for electronics, so no going there.
We let them out in the vehicle at times, for very short periods. It stinks to be cramped up in the car, and buckled in. :/ So, I feel for them.
I hit the dollar store and fill up two party bags with new little toys, stickers and paper. I borrow books on tape from the library, the kids seem to like that even better than the dvd player. We did buy a dvd player for our last trip (10.5hours) and we loved it. Although we limit it and save it for when we were trying to push for that one last hour before we stop. And I always pack a cooler of healthy snacks, that way the kids can snack and not get crabby. Its exhausting traveling with little ones! Glad it went okay for you!
Oh dear. we are making a very long trip this summer…possibly two. Not looking forward to it!
[...] the author compared it to driving through fog. That phrase brought to mind vivid reminiscences of our trip to Ohio, which included a scary, middle-of-the-night trek over foggy, curving mountain highways, barely [...]
Ah! Brave people you are. This is a subject that’s near and dear to my heart, as we travel A LOT. And, I REFUSE to get any electronics, haha.
The more you do it, the better it gets. My kids are used to spending hours in the car at a time… all your tips are definitely good ones. Parents having good attitudes, and expecting, encouraging good attitudes from the kids is the bottom line. You’re at the beginning stages of that attitude development right now, but keep it up, and it will continue.
There’s more variety of things you can do the older they get too. Your next trip will be completely different.