5 hour car journey with 3.5 year old

[Mamabear04]

I have to make a long car journey with my 3.5 year old. It will take around 5-6 hours to get to our destination and I'm planning on stopping at a park half way to let her run around. She has headphones and listens to stories/music and I'm planning on taking a bag of toys for the car but we don't have a tablet or anything like that. If I'm honest I would prefer she didn't watch TV in the car. Any other suggestions to keep her occupied? Any other tips?

Won’t she sleep for a lot of it?

Tv in the car works for some kids and makes others vomit. So definitely fair enough not to want to test that one out.
She may well sleep for some of the trip. Make the stop a decent length. There will need to be some proper food at some point. This is why motorway service stations have McDonalds with children’s soft plays inside.

I used to do a 6 hour journey regularly with 2 children. I seem to remember books, couple of toys, teddies and lost of snacks.

Mine are a bit older now but we listened to audiobooks as a family (rather than with headphones) which I think is better.

Also singing is good for you both.

Then games like I Spy and we still do a car "scavenger hunt" so we need to spot a list of things which might include a horse, a car transporter, a yellow car, a windmill, a bridge etc.

If she doesn't get car sick then she can do some colouring.

It's likely she'll probably nod off for a while too.

Leave early early early and she’ll sleep for most of it. Then when you get there go and have brunch and a run around.

Pack snacks, drinks, something to play with.

We took our 3-year old the length of the Rhône valley from Cheshire with I Spy and a tape of the Best of Cream. It worked, but wore out the cassette and I never wanted to hear it again.

We do long journeys with ours a lot and it’s only the iPads that makes it bearable, sorry! They also have colouring and toys but they don’t hold their attention for long. Will she sleep? Mine won’t ever go back to sleep following an early start but will sleep if it’s past bedtime. So if I had to do it without the screens then I would plan to leave at 3/4pm, stop for dinner and a run around at 6 then they would sleep and I’d transfer them to bed or arrival which be around 10/11 so late but not horribly so for you.

Yeah, just leave early hours.

Does she get sick at all? I spend 90% of my car journeys with my 3.5 year old making him stare out the window to try and minimise the vomit. We spend a lot of time counting different colour cars / spotting post boxes / trying to see if we can see any dinosaurs. I wouldn't recommend iPad/books if they have a tendency to travel sickness at all.

I regularly do long journeys with my LOs

1. A new book - provided they dont get sick
2. Sandwiches that takes a while to eat
3. I spy
4. The frozen soundtrack/songs of their choice
5. The promise of burger king at the services then the post burger nap!

Nope not if she was one of my children she wouldn't. OP honestly Id probably give her a tablet and do whatever you can do to make the drive less stressful for you. Also have a picnic packed for the halfway point stop and she will be looking forward to that

I did regular long journeys with my last LO, no iPad just bluetooth headphones hooked up to an old phone so they could listen to nursery rhymes/music of choice, a few toys and lots of chatter.