During any long car trip you want to schedule in as much gross motor activity as possible. Young kids can quickly get frustrated, bored, and cranky being stuck in a carseat for hours on end.
- get kids outside before you even leave for the trip
- plan for as much driving while kids are sleeping as possible
- practice patience
- practice patience
- practice patience
-plan to drive in 2-3 hour chunks of time
-during stops: feed, change diaper, allow for 5 minutes of cuddling/tummy timy
-in the car: provide soft toys and a mirror, play softer music or white noise cd when it's time for sleep. Do Not Over-dress! Newborns have an easier time regulating their body temperature to warm up than to cool down for the first 3 months. When in doubt, dress them lightly and tuck a blanket in around them afterwards that can be removed. Newborns sleep a lot (thankfully) and that is why traveling with them is relatively easy.
Traveling with the 6-12 month crowd is a bit trickier, especially if they have discovered crawling/walking:
-plan to drive as much as possible while they sleep! This can mean 4 hours of daytime driving and 5 hours of nighttime driving after bedtime (7pm-12am). I do not recommend driving all night unless one parent can sleep in the car, otherwise you will be two cranky and tired people the next day.
-keep a routine:
- eat solid foods, clean up
- independent play-fine motor skills, stacking, sorting
- play with parent-reading, pretend play, drawing, singing
- pit stop-diaper change, tummy time/crawling, nurse/bottle
- sleep (1-2 hours, expect a shorter nap than normal)
- toddlers take 1 longer nap, so the day's schedule moves from the cycle of activities and into a normal schedule based around mealtimes.
- there is no need to stop for toddlers to eat, unless they are still nursing. Most foods can be eaten in the car, though I recommend a parent sit in the back seat to supervise.
- toddlers need a longer time to stretch their legs outside the car.
- toddlers can be a lot more vocal about wanting to be all done with the car, prep them before traveling by practicing quiet sitting time each day, working up from 5 minutes to 20 minutes. Give them a pile of books or some crayons, they may play or not but need to stay on the couch/chair.
- take more frequent, but shorter breaks to provide opportunities to go to the bathroom.
- plan gas stops/meals to coincide with potty breaks so you're not stopping unnecessarily.
- bring more toys/books and bring kid cd's to play in the car
- consider using a portable dvd player or iPod to play a movie at some point during the trip when you anticipate your kids getting antsy.
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