Share your top tips for surviving long car journeys with SEAT for a chance to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!NOW CLOSED

[ZaneKhan]

Painfully long car journeys, we all have them! SEAT have asked us to find out Mumsnetters’ tips for surviving long car journeys.

Here’s what they say, “The new Alhambra can’t settle family arguments like where to stop for lunch, but everyone is bound to agree that long journeys feel shorter in the new Alhambra. Maybe that’s because it’s as big on technology as it is on space. It’s packed with features to keep you comfortable, entertained and in control, from the SEAT Media System to Park Assist. All you have to do is find a song the whole family likes.”

So how do you cope with those insufferably long journeys? Do you have an iPod playlist at the ready to keep you all entertained? Maybe you give in and hand your DCs your iPad to keep them happy and quiet? Or perhaps you just break the journey up by making some stops along the way? Whatever your tips are, we’d love to hear them!

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a draw for the chance to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!

Thanks and best of luck.
MNHQ

Having suffered constant screaming on every previous trip, I prepared a goody bag for my 21 month old with individual items wrapped up such as:

• new crayons
• sticker book/comic
• sandwich bag of craft things such as feathers and pom-poms
• shaped post-its
• notebook
• muffin tray for sorting/distributing
• cut up straws and string for threading
• old keyboard for 'typing'
• coloured lolly sticks

We took a tray she could rest on the arms of her carseat so the playthings were contained and it provided a flat surface for drawing. She was allowed to pick one thing at a time and when she showed signs of becoming bored I could offer her a new pick. As a result, this was the first trip ever where she was happy to be in the car and didn't even need any of the snacks I'd packed as further distraction.

iPad with a movie plus lots of games like I spy, who am I? etc for our reception aged child. The toddler is more difficult to keen entertained so try to time journeys to nap time where possible. Otherwise, books and magnetic doodler. Oh and lots of Disney tunes.

The longest journey we have is about 90mins when I go to visit my family. My 2 year old DD falls asleep within 15/20 mins and DS who is 7 loves just watching the scenery.

We live in London and they live in Essex so, although it's not a really big distance, there are plenty of opportunities to spot cows, horses, ducks etc which DS loves.

Neither me nor DH drive so my sister or dad picks us up and because it is a novelty for the children, I think this also helps them keep themselves amused.

DVDs

My parents live in south west France and we drive there and back every summer (2 days each way with a stopover) with our three kids, so are now pros at long car journeys. They each choose stuff to keep them occupied - sticker books, comics and iPads and handheld PSVitas. They also bring their favourite teddies and can play games with them for hours! We make our own sandwiches and bring snacks so we don't have to stop off too early on, but soon the car resembles a rubbish tip and we need a stop just to clear it out. We like the French service stations as you can buy freshly baked baguettes and camembert and have a very civilised picnic.

We have a DC who gets travel sick so DVDs and playing games on tablets/phones aren't an option. So far, his music on a playlist on my phone has worked, but mainly, I start long journeys after 6:30pm if I can, makes it easier as they'll sleep (journey from Kent to Manchester recently was loonnnggg and I was shattered when I got there!)

I remember when I was a kid, my dad would let me and my sister/friend/cousin sit in the hatchback boot of his car! These are the days before seatbelts and...well general safety! For some reason we got a real kick out of it and we'd make faces or wave at the drivers behind my dad's car. Sometimes we'd dare each other to blow a kiss or mouth a rude word at them! When in the back seat, my dad would also let us stick our heads out of the window along the motorway.

Fast forward to 2015...erm, I just give DS the tablet if i'm honest!

Sounds simple, but we've done this on car journeys and planes! A ball of Blue-Tac on a tray/hard surface is less messy than playdough and can keep a child occupied for ages - making little people and animals etc.. Also travel bingo - make bingo cards with things they're likely to see on the journey - telephone box, yellow car, church etc.. First person to tick off everything on their card is the winner!

Long journeys for me and my ds (5) are made easier by packing lots of snacks (mix of savory and sweets), his tablet loaded with lots of new apps, games and films and a pee-pot!

Top tip would be to go by train instead but if you have to go by car, travel overnight so the DCs are asleep for most of the journey .

1. Buy lots of sweets.
2. Play our music for as long as possible.
3. When they start being annoying turn to their music or an audio book.
4. Try to avoid The Enormous Crocodile as 10 mins just doesn't cut it.
5. By around disc 2 of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory the smallest one will be getting ratty. If he falls asleep fab, carry on. If he doesn't then stop, go for a wee, feed biscuits.
6. Now is the time to relent and put a DVD on. Choose a film with an approx running length of the remainder of your journey.
7. Throughout all of this hand out sweets at regular intervals.

This method can get us from Durham to Dover with just one stop for lunch and a wee.

Snacks and drinks - offered at regular intervals and in small amounts.
Nothing too sticky or potentially vomit-encouraging. No chocolate or anything remotely milky as melted chocolate will always look like a suspicious poop stain even when cleaned off and spilled milky drinks will smell worse than a damp maternity bra forgotten at the bottom of the laundry pile. For the life of your car....
Your partner will also blame you thoroughly and entirely and your children will take every opportunity to mention the odour thus reminding your partner of how cross he/she is on every car journey thereafter.
Stick to water!

I agree with lots of these.

Basically plenty to distract/occupy kids.
Plenty of snacks and drinks but yes avoid too much sugar/salt/clarty foods like chocolate and avoid fizzy.
Blankets and cushions.
Doses of fresh air/leg stretching.
Tubs/plastic bags for unexpected vomit.
First aid kit hasn't been mentioned definitely include this and with it indigestion remedies and paracetamol (for parental headaches caused by repeated calls of 'are we there yet?'!)
Emergency supplies - yes especially if travelling in winter in Scotland! Wind up everything and have phone charged. Also folding shovel and grit salt and can for fetching petrol.
Prep car well if you don't know how get garage to do it.
Let people know when you leave and when you expect to arrive and let them know of any delays. Have a hard copy of the route in case sat nav fails/no signal for sat nav.
Check local radio for traffic news regularly, sat nav not always reliable.

Loving the examples of 'long' journeys. Military brat and have done Germany to Scotland via ferry from France to England now THAT'S a long car journey. Usually me and sis loaded up with luggage and gifts too!

Story CDs, music (interminable bloody nursery rhymes!!) occasional snacks, coinciding with nap time, and our biggest tip is finding somewhere (we usually go to the national trust) off the motorway for a proper lunch and leg stretch.

DVD players, for eg a holiday then we will buy a new DVD.

I spy, alphabet game, and treat snacks eg buttons and ds1 can read without feeling sick so will often do that too. Sticker book for ds2.

We also check the national trust guide and note where the places to stop will be, in particular places with a playground. Nice to know there will also be a clean loo and good cafe, and as we are members it's obviously free.

Stopping where there is nice food at a service station (so pleased Waitrose and m&s now have little shops) and treats for the adults helps our resilience too!

Food.

Heated seats to stop the old back musscles from getting too stiff.

Everything charged up the night before.
Pillows.
Pick n mix.
Drinks.

We travel early morning or after bath time if possible.. Otherwise it's books, playing I spy and singing.
Oh and sweets, crackers and fruit!!

lots of food, gadgets and kids CDs to listen to are the main things.

But if i feel motivated enough, then a brilliantly random made up story where the kids get to chip in with their ideas works really well for engaging them and keeping their attention.

It also proves that you don't need a book for a good story - just a great imagination!

A friend also told us of a game called 'i thought of something and i put it somewhere' - one person thinks of an item without disclosing what it is, then the next person thinks of where to put it (without disclosing) and so on until everyone's imaginary item has been put somewhere, then each person reveals their item and the next person reveals where they put it so you get some interesting and funny combinations eg item: The Cat / put it somewhere: down the loo.

Have an adult sit in the back with the child

No big drinks before you set off

iPad is essential

Time the journey to coincide with nap time / night time

colouring books and pens, plus games of eye spy and spot the thing

My two are 4 and 6, and I bought them a cheap digital camera (each of course, to save arguments).

They take hundreds of photos out of the window, most of them blurry. They can then spend time going in and deleting the rubbish ones until they are left with decent photos of landmarks/each other/their eyebrows.

I can also use it as a game, who can take a photo of an animal with 4 legs first etc.

And when we get home, we have some hilarious photos for the scrapbook, and they can write their own comments in too.

We play the yellow car game. You get one point for spotting s yellow car, 10 for spotting a yellow mini and 50 for a yellow convertible mini. Fun debate over who spotted it first, and whether yellow trucks, motorbikes etc count.