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Long car journey with kids advice

47 replies

Treezan82 · 08/06/2021 13:34

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!

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BiddyPop · 08/06/2021 14:28

Lots already covered.

Make sure each DC has their own blanket and a favourite soft toy as well as choosing something to play with en route.

Paper and crayons (less messy than felt tips, no need to pare like pencils) - for car games, Xs and Os, drawing, etc. A large (a4 - not necessarily thick) hardback story book can be used as a table on their knees and then bedtime stories on holidays.

Good snacks include raisins, plain (I.e. not chocolate!) biscuits, apple chunks (I core and cut into wedges, then pop into plastic tubs or ziplock bags), fun sized haribo jellies etc. And each having their own is good.

And a drink bottle each - DH may need a larger bottle in the front to refill if necessary.

Bin bag for rubbish. But we also (as dd was prone to travel sickness) carried a plastic tub to throw things into bit that could double as a sick bowl if needed. (We also have lots of air sick bags from travel, we used to collect them for car journeys).

Also, always had a towel, pocket pack of tissues, change for dd and clean top for me in an easy to access bag (as I was usually the one covered in sick or whatever was flying). I usually kept a few nappy sacks in there too to put anything that needed a wash or otherwise contained until we could stop properly.

Apart from I spy etc, another game I remember from childhood and sometimes dd is to guess how long a mile is as you are driving.

BiddyPop · 08/06/2021 14:29

Oh, and if you no longer tend to have wet wipes, having a dampened facecloth in another clean ziploc bag can be great if someone is unwell or just gets too hot and needs to be cooled and refreshed by a wipe over.

BiddyPop · 08/06/2021 14:30

And when you run out of verses of farm animals for Old McDonald, there is a great variety of zoo animals with other noises that can be added in.

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DancesWithDaffodils · 08/06/2021 14:32

Mine are older now, but evening drives were the worse for DS2. If it was dark when he woke up, he would just scream.

I've got audiobooks on a USB stick that plug into the car - and we all listen to them. Had some Julia Donaldson ones for a while. Then Dahl. Now on Just so stories. We probably listen to them half a dozen times before getting replaced.

I'd go for an early start, big break and snack (like an hour or 2) more than half way, and then late lunch at destination.

2bazookas · 08/06/2021 14:33

Story audio books. Singalong music. I-spy something beginning with letter sound ( "sssss.. sky. ) Counting cars by colour.

Non sticky snack food, wet wipes, drinks, loose comfy clothes like joggers, small cushions/ pillows to lean sleepy heads against

Abouttimemum · 08/06/2021 14:39

Sorry to neb in on this thread but reading with interest. DS is 2 and can’t really reach anything from his car seat, how do you put all their stuff within reach without having to endlessly reach back and pass them things?
Currently I sit in the back with him on long journeys but would like for him to get more independent with in-car entertainment!

HaggisTheGreat · 08/06/2021 14:39

Lots of good tips here. Non-driving adult can also read everyone a book (if they don’t get car sick). Just as a warning, for us, the starting early with sleepy DC never really worked as all the excitement meant they were wide awake straightaway and wouldn’t go back to sleep. It does work for avoiding traffic though.

Treezan82 · 08/06/2021 14:43

@Abouttimemum

Sorry to neb in on this thread but reading with interest. DS is 2 and can’t really reach anything from his car seat, how do you put all their stuff within reach without having to endlessly reach back and pass them things? Currently I sit in the back with him on long journeys but would like for him to get more independent with in-car entertainment!
I think you can get trays that go on their lap with little pockets and things. To be honest, with us DH is just constantly turning round to pass them things 😂 Luckily he doesn't get car sick
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GravityFalls · 08/06/2021 14:43

Check if your library has an app which lets you download audiobooks to your phone for free - we've enjoyed Harry Potter and Roald Dahl.

Treezan82 · 08/06/2021 14:44

@GravityFalls

Check if your library has an app which lets you download audiobooks to your phone for free - we've enjoyed Harry Potter and Roald Dahl.
Nice one - I actually think it does
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Treezan82 · 08/06/2021 14:45

Thanks all for advice and please keep it coming. Getting very excited for our holiday now!

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nicknamehelp · 08/06/2021 14:47

Mine liked an audio book and nursery rhythm music at this age on a car journey.
I spy but using colours I spy something green....
sticker book/picture book
Simple picture I spy sheet of things you will see on journey and they mark off as they see them
snacks but nothing sticky (I kept these in front and passed as needed or would of eaten before off drive)
snap card game they could play between them
sing song
I went shopping and I bought.....

katienana · 08/06/2021 14:56

Kids kindles and headphones. We've driven from Newcastle to London a couple of times once with a 3 year old and newborn and the kindle is the one! We also play the car game where everyone picks a colour then shouts red car! When you see one. It's v easy and you can be listening to the radio while you do it. We also play the animal game which is like 20 questions to guess the persons animal.
Have a supply of snacks and release them slowly.
Work out in advance where the best services are. Be prepared for one to need a poo 5 minutes after you're back on the motorway though!!!

someonesomewhere1 · 08/06/2021 15:00

iPads. That's all.

MadeForThis · 08/06/2021 15:11

You can tether the iPad to your phone if you have enough data. Only works if you have network signal though. If you have an iPhone it's under settings, personal hotspot.

MadeForThis · 08/06/2021 15:12

You can do quizzes too. Name 5 animals, 5 colours, 5 friends, 5 tv shows etc

SmurfetteBlue · 08/06/2021 15:17

We have Netflix on the iPad and download a pile of fave films/programmes before we go so we don't need to use internet

Treezan82 · 09/06/2021 19:38

@SmurfetteBlue

We have Netflix on the iPad and download a pile of fave films/programmes before we go so we don't need to use internet
I always find the memory fills up after about 3 episodes! Might see if it's possible to do it another way x
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Treezan82 · 09/06/2021 19:39

@katienana

Kids kindles and headphones. We've driven from Newcastle to London a couple of times once with a 3 year old and newborn and the kindle is the one! We also play the car game where everyone picks a colour then shouts red car! When you see one. It's v easy and you can be listening to the radio while you do it. We also play the animal game which is like 20 questions to guess the persons animal. Have a supply of snacks and release them slowly. Work out in advance where the best services are. Be prepared for one to need a poo 5 minutes after you're back on the motorway though!!!
My son will 100% do this!! 😂
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ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 09/06/2021 19:44

if possible travel over night for most of the journey.

take 5l bottles of water in case of breakdowns/traffic.
sick bags/antiemetics
snacks, drinks, wipes.
whatever they find entertaining including screens (batteries, charger).
CDs, children's ones too.
plant spray bottle filled with water - perfect for cooling down.
travel pillow for non-driving adult.

JayAlfredPrufrock · 09/06/2021 20:06

Pre interweb it was I spy and I’m thinking of an animal

Treezan82 · 09/06/2021 20:28

@JayAlfredPrufrock

Pre interweb it was I spy and I’m thinking of an animal
I'm not sure we could keep that up for 5 hours 😂 Thank goodness for the Internet
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