Having a family a couple hours away, my children have gotten used to being in a car for fairly long periods of time since they were babies. We’ve even been so brave as to travel places 20 hours away like Nova Scotia and Florida by car (well, minivan with dvd player!). This is not to say that our trips have always been smooth sailing, ever tried to breastfeed an infant while they’re strapped in a car seat? Not an easy task, we ended up pulling over. But all in all, we’ve had some fun times while in the car and saved ourselves a pretty penny on airfare!
Tips for travelling long distances with children:
§ Bring pillows and blankets and test them out prior to make sure your child is comfortable enough to have a good sleep
§ Try to maintain your child’s routine i.e. mealtimes, play times, nap times, etc.
§ Have a time for sing-a-longs, quiet time, story times, etc. (some of my children’s favourite memories are when I told them scary stories about the corn fields we passed)
§ Use cups with lids to avoid spills
§ Pack snacks that aren’t too messy like rice Krispy squares, apple slices, raisins, tiny sandwiches (without the crust so you don’t have to throw it away), cheese strings, kielbasa, sliced hardboiled egg whites and trail mix (my favourite)
§ A cooler (the ones that plug into your cigarette lighter are great) to pack sandwiches, formula, etc.
§ Try to coordinate drive times with your child’s nap or bedtime
§ Purchase items from the dollar store and wrap them and let your child unwrap one every hour, or every town, etc.
§ My favourite toy items are magnet boards and games, colouring or doodling books, iPods or Nintendo ds, etch a sketch, embroidery thread bracelet making kits, small stuffed animals
§ Give older children a list of the towns that you’ll be driving through so they can cross them off as you go through
§ Allow the kids to get out of the car at every stop to stretch their legs
§ Give children a map so they can follow along the route and mark pit stops on it
§ Take lots of pictures and remember that the trip to where you are going is part of the adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment