Taking 1 year old on a ferry!

[3milygrac3]

Hi everybody.. Just need a bit of advice and a tiny bit of reassurance. We're planning on driving to France in 2 months time with our 1 year old however I am absolutley dreading it. Just lately he really hates being in the car so we purchased a in car dvd player for him with his favourite programmes on however this only keeps him entertained for an hour before the screaming starts again. We plan to stay over night near the port the night before so it isn't so much in one day for him as its a 3 hour drive to pool a 6 hour ferry journey then another 3 hours drive and I don't think it's fair to do it all in one day for him. Any tips for travelling with a 1 year old? Xxx

TIA Xxx

I've travelled multiple times on a very long (12+ hrs) ferry with DS - it's always been fine. The ferry will be the easy part of your journey if your DS hates the car - you'll be out and about on the boat.

A DVD player likely won't work for longer journeys because their attention span is so short. I suggest either you or your partner sit in the back with him and play/read/snack. Alternatively turn up the music and drown out the wailing

Good luck!

I'd save the DVD player for when he's done with everything else. Little bags of toys he's not seen before could work, one of you in the back to help & play, if possible time the drive to coincide with naps, lots of food as every ferry I've ever been on has been delayed!