Discussions

Hi everyone,  
We are planning a road trip with our 2 1/2 year old daughter at the end of August. It will be around 11 hours of driving one way and we will be splitting that up over two days. The plan is to pack plenty of toys, books, and snacks and to stop at least every 2 hours or so to stretch our legs and hopefully find a park for her to play at for a bit. Any other tips for travelling with little ones? Thanks!

My parents had 7 of us. Travel at night. Usually left at 3 a.m. By the time us kids were up, we were almost at our destination.

We always travel with games, books, toys. Before we'd leave, I always pick up a few new little things from the dollar store that we give them at the start of each morning or afternoon, such as a sticker book, a hot wheels car, a little doll, etc.  
 
One of my sons favourite car things is a board puzzle - we always have a couple in our vehicle. I put velcro strips on the pieces and the back board part so the pieces stay stuck instead of easily sliding off. He will play for hours with it. He loves when I do it wrong and he has to fix it for me.  
 
I never took my kids favourite toys, as I didn't want to lose them.  
 
As a backup, we downloaded their favourite shows on Netflix and let them watch a couple shows when they'd had enough but we still needed to get a bit further.  
 
Have a great trip!

We have taken a few big road trips with our kids (Victoria and Edmonton).  
We pack lots of snacks and also try and do our lunches picnic style so that the kids could get a play in.  
Since your travel is planned for summer, look at where the schools are along the way. Lots of rural schools have great playgrounds and picnic tables which make them a great place to stop.  
We got lap trays for our kids so they could have a hard surface to colour on.  
When we did Victoria our youngest was 2 and newly potty trained. If you are dealing with this, remember not to go too crazy on the liquids or you will have accidents.  
Also - I highly recommend packing spare clothes in a freezer bag for your little one. Then if they have a mess you aren't digging for clothes, just pull a bag, change into the clean and the dirty goes in the bag.

A few things.  
 
Every small town has a school and every school has a playground. Stop often.  
 
Food. Lots and lots of food. Go to the dollar store and grab a bunch of travel coffee cups with lids and pack them with you. Have a tote or cooler in the front seat with you so that you can pass back a full cup every time it is needed. Expect the mess and don't bother worrying about it. The peace of a good trip is well worth the fact that meals will be off and the child has survived on goldfish and pretzels for the day.  
 
Get yourself a seat liner for the car seat. That way when (not if) you have a leaky diaper you don't have to put them back in a wet car seat. Simply remove the liner and wash or rinse at the next stop.  
 
Bring a white FITTED sheet with you and a few clothes pins. With these you can loop it over all the seats to create a sunshade for the little one. Mine always loved it because they had a special tent inside the van. We would hook the sheet over the front seat head rests and the back seat head rests. We were able to open the windows and still get a nice breeze and the tv's were inside the tent. It was great when the sun was shining from the wrong way and when they needed to have a sleep.  
 
Post it notes. New toys are always a hit when travelling but remember to get things that you don't have to help them with AT ALL. For our first trip we had all sorts of things from the dollar store but the hit of the trip was a giant pack of dollar store post it notes. They had those things stuck everywhere but no residue, no help and a simple cleanup.  
 
Save the food and toys and give out when needed. Don't give a whole bunch of things at once. Hand back something when needed but don't make them wait till they NEED it. If you give them all the toys at once they will be bored with them within the hour.  
 
Bribes. When I travel with my kids I am absolutely not above bribing them. Hits for us is ice cream and splash parks. Find them along the route and plant to stop if you can fit it in. A half hour at the splash park is especially good right before you want them to nap.  
 
Good Luck!

Don’t forget the barf pail and cleaning supplies for what misses. Hope you don’t need it but just in case.