Long car journey with kids advice

[Treezan82]

Hello, please can I ask for all of your tips and wisdom. Will be driving 250 miles each way next month with my husband and our 2 children: oldest will be about to turn 5 and youngest about to turn 3. I will be doing all the driving if relevant. Thanks!

Is there and back in a day?!

Snacks, iPad, books, activity books, pens, stickers, literally anything that will keep them occupied.

Make them a basket each with all their stuff in so you or DP won’t have to constantly pass things as their all at hand.

Disney CD
Car - friendly snacks that don't need lots of drinks afterwards!
Practice now with youngest playing I Spy!!
Sticker book - depending if get car sick or not. Looking down at books isn't great for sicky dc!
Those anti sickness bands work for my dd.
Counting red /green cars etc..
Spot the truck /bus /tractor.. Older dc can keep score!
We name sheep for a laugh. Baaaabara.
Cows are Moooriel!!
Choose a range of names!
Toilet stop where everyone needs to at least try for a wee!!

Seat back tv’s were a god send for me. I was against getting them initially and then after an 11 hour trip from cornwall I bought some for our frequent car journeys to Scotland. Both kids had head phones for them it was bloody great.

They also had their own rucksack with books, teddies, games and snacks and water bottles.

@Moonshine11

Is there and back in a day?!

Snacks, iPad, books, activity books, pens, stickers, literally anything that will keep them occupied.

Make them a basket each with all their stuff in so you or DP won’t have to constantly pass things as their all at hand.

No sorry - just to be clear, we will be there a week!

@MrsBungle

Seat back tv’s were a god send for me. I was against getting them initially and then after an 11 hour trip from cornwall I bought some for our frequent car journeys to Scotland. Both kids had head phones for them it was bloody great.

They also had their own rucksack with books, teddies, games and snacks and water bottles.

Like an iPad strapped to the front headrest?

No CD player in the car or SIM card in the ipad so will need to figure out how to download stuff onto the iPad - it only seems to allow me to download an hour of TV then says its full. We can stream music from our phones...

This is the same distance we do to my parents and my children are the same age. We do it at bedtime. Get them in pyjamas and off. They sleep nearly all of it and transfer at the far end. Only stop for 10 minutes to take turns having a wee and swapping drivers and hope they stay asleep.

In August I'll be doing it without DH so I'll leave around 5. We lift them straight from their beds into the car with blankets and they should fall asleep again. Get about 2/3rds of the way then we stop for breakfast and a proper break. Then the last bit is manageable with some story podcast and we arrive mid-morning.

We have Kindles in kids' cases (with headphones) - they really come into their own on long car journeys! Mine are a bit older so perhaps a bit more easily amused but I agree with stickers, comics and small toys that don't have component parts e.g. Transformers, Paw Patrol pup pads, farm animals, mini binoculars etc.

My kids also like making a tally chart or.playong the game where you fold.pver a piece of paper and each person draws a new bit of the monster. We have several audiobooks loaded onto the SD card in the card and we also sometimes take their Yoto player, which works quite well for that.

I'd plan a proper stop in advance somewhere that has toilets, a cafe and ideally some sort of play area so they can let off steam a bit. Make time to stop there for at least half an hour.

We do a 275 mile journey to the grandparents a few times a year (not so often since Covid obviously!).

I’ve found by far the best way to do it is to go in the evening - get kids ready for bed and then set off. We call it ‘car bedtime’. DD loves the adventure!

Traffic is much better at this time of day/night and you can just get the journey done.

Same journey during the day would require 1 or 2 substantial stops and needing lunch or whatever and if DC aren’t used to travelling could be tedious.

On the occasions that we have done the long journey during the day, we stop off at a National Trust place at the half way point, have lunch at the cafe and then DD has the chance for a run around outside in the grounds to break up the journey.

Just to add, we've tried leaving at nestle before and it very much depends what kind of kids you have 😁 mine stay awake in excitement, as of their eyelids have been glued open, and invariably fall asleep ten mins before arrival, only to then wake up when we try to move them....so you might get lucky, but don't count on it!

It's also worth researching drop-offs in advance - some services are so much better for kids/nicer. Depending on where you're heading, Gloucester is great! Tebay also nice. This book is also quite useful - www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1527212807/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_YPVAK9J07B3KJV4XCZGR?tag=mumsnetforu03-21.

Leaving at nestle = leaving at bedtime (obvs!)

we always use to set off about 4am taking the kids straight from their beds and into the car in pyjamas with blankets.

They soon fall back to sleep. you can get a lot of miles under your belt at that time too. we'd stop at services around 7am to 8am depending on how awake they they were.

at services they have breakfast and brush their teeth and change into day clothes.

lots of books, and playing count the colour cars, so pick a colour car and count them as they see them, bizarrely it keeps them quite occupied for a while

Portable dvd players with a screen. Guaranteed silence for many an hour!

Yes you could strap an iPad on but, like you, our iPads didn’t have enough memory really and they could only watch sky go in WiFi so I bought DVD players similar to this: www.argos.co.uk/product/6319623?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=c290d9a9-b5d6-423c-841d-2a559621874c&istItemId=ixilatrrt&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157%7Cacid:416-707-6621%7Ccid:9567730954%7Cagid:98490214936%7Ctid:aud-641224040377:pla-983998306033%7Ccrid:423217901929%7Cnw:g%7Crnd:8025467044365097557%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:9046392&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9567730954&utm_term=6319623&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=98490214936&utm_custom2=416-707-6621&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqe34j4yI8QIVwp7tCh34xwEKEAQYAiABEgIG9vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

We used to drive very long distances for holidays as a kid. Like almost entire day and night each way. Make the travel part of the holiday. Consider stopping at a small attraction or a really amazing park at least once in the day.

If an adult can sit in the back, consider allowing them to pick a magazine at a petrol station along the way. (A dice in a small plastic snack container will help if theres a board game in it)

We had a basic map and we could tick off major towns or cities as we passed so we could see we were getting closer to destination.
Don't give them all the activities at once.
Colour wonder markers are great for car travel and restaurants. I saw them at a good price in home bargains last week.
Audiobooks or music. You should be able to get free audiobooks through the library online, or invest in some audible credits if you want more selection. I've recorded some of our shorter books on an old iPhone and the kids can pick their own.
Small figurines that aren't part of a set are good because if they get lost its no huge deal. We had Lego as kids but haven't tried it with mine yet.
For books we like the You Choose range. It's not really a story, but my (non-reading) 4 year old can spend at least 30-40 mins a time browsing it.

And probably most importantly, very comfortable clothes, a blanket if travelling in evening, and sun shades for the windows. Don't want them to be uncomfortable!

Cbeebies radio, podcasts for kids. We don’t allow headphones - we all listen to the same thing so it’s nice to get something you would enjoy too like the secret garden, Disney stories, Beatrix Potter etc. etc. Guessing games etc as people have already suggested eg who can be first to spot an orange car etc. One thing I would say is that if you have lots of little bits and pieces like pens and toys they may drop things and then someone endlessly has to reach back and get stuff for them which is a pain!

Do you need to be there for a certain time? I'm guessing it's a holiday if you're there for a week so might not be able to check in until late afternoon? If so, I would leave first thing in the morning, get at least half way which should take a couple of hours, then have a few hours out and about doing something - stop at a country park or similar where they can have a good run around, cafe for lunch etc - then crack on with the rest of your journey and hope they have a nap!

Hadn't thought about portable dvd players - thank you

@NewYearNewTwatName

we always use to set off about 4am taking the kids straight from their beds and into the car in pyjamas with blankets.

They soon fall back to sleep. you can get a lot of miles under your belt at that time too. we'd stop at services around 7am to 8am depending on how awake they they were.

at services they have breakfast and brush their teeth and change into day clothes.

lots of books, and playing count the colour cars, so pick a colour car and count them as they see them, bizarrely it keeps them quite occupied for a while

This sounds like a plan that would suit us. I don't want to leave in the evening and drive overnight really as dh can't drive and so I will do all the driving and I would just get too tired, I'm normally in bed by 9pm!

@emmathedilemma

Do you need to be there for a certain time? I'm guessing it's a holiday if you're there for a week so might not be able to check in until late afternoon? If so, I would leave first thing in the morning, get at least half way which should take a couple of hours, then have a few hours out and about doing something - stop at a country park or similar where they can have a good run around, cafe for lunch etc - then crack on with the rest of your journey and hope they have a nap!

It is a holiday yes, staying with friends so can arrive basically any time providing we aren't getting them up in the middle of the night!

if booking into a holiday cottage, we found getting to the area early not problem. we got to Turo for 9am one year and wondered round the shops as they opened then leisurely made our way to to the lizard stopping at little coves along the way and doing a supermarket shop. It was more relaxing knowing the motorway traffic part of the journey was over.

We’d be doing as much as possible in the evening in those circumstances - dinner, drive a while, stop for wee and pjs on, drive more. Mine sleep in the car anyway, I’d prefer it wasn’t all during the daytime! Plus nice and quiet to drive. If they’re awake, audiobooks, otherwise they’re expected to look out the window. They get car sick if they’re looking at a device or a book.

@coco123456789

Cbeebies radio, podcasts for kids. We don’t allow headphones - we all listen to the same thing so it’s nice to get something you would enjoy too like the secret garden, Disney stories, Beatrix Potter etc. etc. Guessing games etc as people have already suggested eg who can be first to spot an orange car etc. One thing I would say is that if you have lots of little bits and pieces like pens and toys they may drop things and then someone endlessly has to reach back and get stuff for them which is a pain!

Really like the of the podcasts/audiobooks. Will see if we can figure out how to download some onto our phones. Might be a good time to introduce them to Roald Dahl!

If you buy portable DVD players make sure they work separately from each other. The first set we had were linked but only one of them had a DVD player so both had to watch the same dvd. It’s just easier all round if they can watch their own.

Big over the ear headphones aren’t very comfortable in a car seat so that might not be feasible. I can still recite one particularly popular episode of Dora the Explorer but that’s still an improvement on whining/crying and calls of “I’m borrrrrrrrred”