Is 5 hour car drive too long for a toddler?

[hm167]

i was planning a little holiday to Cornwall. I have a two year old, would a five hour car ride from london to cornwall be too much for her? Has anyone ever done a car journey this long with a toddler? what was your experience?

@sashh

As a child we did this from Yorkshire.

This was the days before even seatbelts in the back so we used to have a 'bed' made up of the back seat and luggage.

Anyway we would go to bed at the normal time and then be taken out to the car in PJs in the early hours.

We would stop somewhere for breakfast and a run around and then back in the car.

Have you considered the train? I've done that from London a few times, and I've done the overnight train. I believe toddlers are free if they share your bunk.

Ah. The 80s. We drove all over the place as well. Dad would put the back seats down and make a bed for us in the boot then drive all night.

@VanCleefArpels

Set off at bedtime so they can sleep for most of the way - means a long day for you but totally worth the peaceful journey

My daughter slept midnight till noon. We did travel in the evening and stop somewhere to put her in PJs to sleep, as couldn’t be arriving with relatives/at hotels at 4/5am!

I used to set off after dinner.

Hilarious how one poster thinks this is cruel. Not everyone lives in the same town as family. Should we not see them until our kids are 4, 5. 6, 7?

All children are different. We tried leaving at 4/5am and it was a disaster, mine go to sleep by 8pm and transfer to bed easily so that currently works much better for us.

We did 5 hours to Cornwall when our son was just 2. It was fine. We left at 4am and he was awake but silent for the first hour then asleep for the next 2. Stopped off for breakfast and a run around, brushed teeth and got dressed and then back in the car for another hour where he was happy listening to music. Stopped off for a toilet break then did last hour with some toys and a magazine. He got antsy in the last 20 mins or so. Best tip is save screens as a last resort. When they are bored of the ipad they are bored to a point of no return.

My nearest relatives are a five hour drive away, so my DDs made the car journey from about 4 months of age right through their childhoods.
I made one stop for lunch and toilet, halfway.
They slept a lot of the way, or looked out the window, chatted, or listened to music.
I did catch DD stealing chips off a burly lorry driver’s plate at a truck stop once - she ran off while I was paying for lunch! And there was an occasional argument/fight in the back seat. But I think if you get your DC used to travelling from the start, they accept it as normal.

If thinking about tablets etc consider the safety for rear facing: never give them anything heavy enough to cause serious injury if it hits them in the face/neck at 70mph. Likewise check a holder is designed for rear facing: most are designed for seat backs so will not hold a device in a collision.

We used to do early morning or evening (or sometimes set off after work, dinner and child pjs on after about an hour, drive until adults tired, hotel, carry on at 6am). Always worth it.

@Skysblue

Depends on the child but I think it’s mean, at that age their bodies need so much movemenr, strapping them in for hours is curel no matter how many ipads you hypnotise them with. Maybe have an overnight so it’s two days of travelling instead of one.

But personally my desire for my toddler to be happy and have a nice holiday would come before a wish to go to Cornwall. Plenty of other beaches much nearer, wherever you are based.

I kind of agree - I would do it for family but, just for a holiday, I would choose somewhere closer

I also find massively unappealing the idea of starting my holiday at 4am, presumably earlier to get ready and into the car! I would do it if that was what it took for my kids to see their grandparents but, if I have a free choice of destinations, would prefer within 3 hours drive/train or a short flight

@MyDcAreMarvel

Having taken 16 hours drives for vacations to Florida I find these threads bizarre. No five hours is not too far for a toddler.

Comments like this really get up my nose.. it might be more normal in US if that's where you live or have lived but it's not here. The OP question is entirely reasonable and not bizarre. You answer is sneery at best.

@MattyGroves

I also find massively unappealing the idea of starting my holiday at 4am, presumably earlier to get ready and into the car! I would do it if that was what it took for my kids to see their grandparents but, if I have a free choice of destinations, would prefer within 3 hours drive/train or a short flight

But even the shortest flight is going to mean just as long as this from leaving your home to getting to your destination. Personally I'd a million times rather drive and have the option of stopping whenever we need to than wrangle a toddler in an airport and then on a flight and also try to deal with taking everything they need within airline luggage allowances. I agree that train is the all-round best option but where we live getting almost anywhere by train means crossing London in the middle and doing that with a baby, toddler and a holiday's worth of luggage is again deeply unappealing. And if they do have a tantrum I'd really rather we were the only ones subjected to it!

We did it. If it’s an occasional thing it’s fine they will sleep a good chunk of the way. Just plan to stop much more than you would otherwise and he prepared to break your journey plan if you need to eg if they are asleep just keep driving for as long as possible. I know people who do driving overnight to make it more likely kids will sleep? Not for me but worth considering

@Hardbackwriter tbh I think just going on holiday with two under 5s is unappealing

I think my preference is a drive or train journey of under 3 hours but I actually prefer a flight to a super long drive - a lot of that is that we don't have a car so our kids aren't used to it

Personally this would be fine but ours are used to long car journeys 8hrs +, or long trips to Europe. I take the view that they eventually learn just to get on with it, and do minimal stops. Just power through.

Even our school run was 2hrs ish at one point.

However only you know your child, it might not work for them.

If it's just a bit of boredom I'd do it, won't hurt them to have some sticker books and look out of the window. If it's car sickness etc, perhaps reassess.

@CottonSock its mumsnet , where even taking your child away is cruel and against toddlers rights
Each child is different and many will happily sit in a car with regular stops etc
As kids we drive to cornwall from London at least twice a year as we had family so it was only holiday we could afford
It was also a longer journey then as improvements to the a30 have shorted time
My mum always used to leave about 3/4 am we would sleep in the car waking for breakfast at my aunts
Personally a 5 am start for me i wouldn't like so would rather go later , but it can be done with planning and knowing your child
If you have a child like my friends who screams in the car past 10 mins then it would be a no go

“ If you have a child like my friends who screams in the car past 10 mins then it would be a no go”

Going by some posters, it’s your friend’s fault for not starting them young with the training for all day spent in a car

@SMBH

“ If you have a child like my friends who screams in the car past 10 mins then it would be a no go”

Going by some posters, it’s your friend’s fault for not starting them young with the training for all day spent in a car

What I find funny is that I have friends who are super into attachment parenting, cosleeping, very anti any sleep training but, when it comes to long car journeys, are just "eh, yes my kids sometimes cry but whatever"

its mumsnet , where even taking your child away is cruel and against toddlers rights

Ha, exactly. But once they get to aged 13 they have zero rights and should do what they’re told

It's fine. We drove to the Loire Valley from the N.E when ds3 was 2 in one hit. Not the best day of my life but no great hardship.

What I find funny is that I have friends who are super into attachment parenting, cosleeping, very anti any sleep training but, when it comes to long car journeys, are just "eh, yes my kids sometimes cry but whatever"

Yes, I find this weird too! I know so many people who think sleep training destroys a child's brain but crying alone in the back of the car until they go to sleep is totally fine and different. My friend was so insistent that I should have kept rear-facing my child even though it made him cry until he was sick, but she also thinks that children can get PTSD (I'm not joking, she said that) if their parents use a naughty step because they'll feel alone and uncomforted and abandoned 🤷🏻‍♀️

From here, we are a 9 hour drive to Newquay and that is without any stops.

We do it over two days - 5-6 hours one day and slightly less the next.

I still don’t leave at 4 or 5am! We get up, have breakfast, pack the car and leave around 9.30/10

With stops our journey is far far longer than 9 hours but the stops are essential

I think it’s fine.
We just did 5 drive with 17 month old. It wasn’t too bad tbh. Stopped halfway for lunch/ run around in park an hour. He slept most first half, second half he was mainly awake and I ended up sitting in back with him after a while as he was a bit moany.

We had already done flight, several 2hr trips that week as well so it was good as it could be. Essential travel to see family after 2 years.

They'll be fine. Were in the north west and go to Cornwall regularly. Takes a good 7 hours with some decent stops for a leg stretch, let the dog have a walk (it's his holiday too) and to eat. Done it since DD1 was 18 months