My family with 3 kids all under 3 years old love to travel whether on an airplane or by car. Taking kids on a long drive can be super fun but at times very stressful. Since my family likes to take flights and long drives, we had to figure out some ways to make our travel easier.
In this post, I will talk about car travel. This is not a fail proof advice because every family is unique but I am positive that most of these tips will work for you.
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#1- SAFETY! SAFETY! SAFETY!
Car crashes are leading cause of death for children ages 1-13 according to nhtsa.gov. Make sure the car seats are installed securely. Never leave the house without checking the proper installation of your children’s car seats.
Please remember to take a good amount of rest and sleep. I know, as busy parents, sometimes it’ s impossible to have the luxury of adequate rest but safety is first. If there’s more than one driver, it’ s good to take turns for a long drive.
What you need:
- A good amount of sleep and rest
- Car seat (of course)
- First Aid Kit
- Extra supply of food and water
- Flash light
- Extra Battery for phones
- Charge your cellphones (yes, people forget)
- Car safety kit
2# Tablets, movies, toys, books. Bring them all!
Oops! Sorry. I got carried away. I am exaggerating. Maybe not all but it is a must to bring something to entertain your toddlers. Before I had kids, I would always tell my husband that we would NEVER depend on electronics like tablets or cellphones to keep our sanity especially on long trips, but I was wrong. Toddlers love to be entertained. I am not saying that we don’t limit their screen time though.
I usually let them watch Your Baby Can Read( Now: Your Baby Can Learn) on the built in screen on our van and thankfully, my 2-½ years old boy can now read a lot of words and sentences and his twin can read a lot of words.
You can judge me but like I said, every family is different. If you think I am wrong about electronics, maybe:
-
you are lucky because your kids are the best
-
you are a better parent than me
-
you never had more than 2 toddlers at the same time.
Make sure the toys and books are within your child’s/ children’s reach. I usually place them on the back pocket of the driver and passenger’s seat.
You may also want to invest on a Toddler car seat travel tray if electronics is out of the picture.
What you need:
- toys
- their tablet/ipad
- books
- car organizer
- Toddler car seat travel tray
- crayons and dollar tree coloring books
#3 Travel Bag
Because we have 3 toddlers, we invested on rolling insulated cooler and used it as our diaper/travel bag. This is ideal for rest stops so make sure to place this bag inside the car cabin and not on the trunk.
This rolling bag also makes it easier to carry a bunch of kid’ s stuff especially when going to county fairs and festivals this summer.
What you need:
- Rolling bag
- 3-5 diapers for each kid
- toddler food and fluids in a travel food storage
- baby wipes
- Barf bags. Yes! It happens.
- Big zip locks or small plastic bags to contain the dirty diapers if in case there’s no rest stop nearby.
- Extra clothes for each kids
- Small towels
- other option: Portable Travel Diaper Caddy. This will be your go- to bag when it comes to changing your kids. Place everything you need in 1 organizer.
Optional: Small beverage cooler to keep milk and juice fresh. I recommend dried fruits for snacks.
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#4 Pit stops
I think it’s unrealistic and uncomfortable for kids to be on their car seats for more than 2 hours. Getting out of the car for a stretch and fresh is a must. You should include doing fun stuff while on the road in your itinerary like stopping by the “Vista Point” sign you see at the roadside or taking photos with the view of the lake.
Planning ahead and knowing where and when to stop would be really helpful. Making a list of stops before your trip will be awesome as well.
What you need:
- Camera
- Travel App like Roadtrippers, Googletrips and TripIt
- A ball for the kids to play with
- Sun block
#5 Pack your food
Traveling with kids can be expensive especially with gas and food. If you want to save money, plan things ahead of time and pack your food. Research which rest stops or areas are ideal for quick picnics. The toddlers will surely love running around for a few minutes.
What you need:
- Food storage/cooler
- Disposable eating utensils
- Hand sanitizer
- A picnic blanket
- Dollar tree table-cloth/cover
- Your food and water of course.
#6 Sleep time
it’s always nice to time your trip with your kids’ nap time. Plan to leave before their nap time so you can drive some miles without anyone crying or whining on your back seat.
what you need:
- their comfy clothes
- favorite blankets and pillows
- favorite teddy bear
- pacifier (if they still use it)
My final take: Plan ahead of time and make your trip as fun as possible.
Do you have comments and suggestions on how to make traveling with toddlers easier? Let’ s hear it. Thanks a lot for dropping by. x-o-x-o