Road trips can be hit or miss with a toddler in tow. I have learned a few tricks that have worked great for our family along the way! We have taken our almost four year old on many road trips ranging from 4- 15 hours! Next summer we are trying to plan a 2 week long road trip with both kiddos! This is how we prep for a road trip with a toddler.
Snacks on snack on snacks!!!!
Since toddlers love to get hungry or thirsty at any moment, I keep a small cooler and a tote of snacks in the car every road trip or day trip no matter how long! Water is essential and it is so expensive to buy waters at gas station, not to mention the time to stop. I also keep juice boxes or small milks for longer trips. For snacks I try to go for things my toddler will like and us: rice chips, crackers and peanut butter, fruit, snack bars ect… Don’t forget a bag for trash and wet ones for clean up!
Plan your trip to drive during sleeping hours
Cars put toddlers to sleep and driving outside of sleeping hours can throw off their sleep schedule. Not to mention having your little one/s sleeping during the drive is so much easier than having them scream to get out or need to stop for bathroom breaks. When we drove to Disneyland it was 15 hours. We left at 8 pm so my son slept more than 2/3 of the drive. Make sure to switch off driving with your partner! When we drove home we left at 11 am and drive through the day. It was hot and my son hated it! He kept asking to get out, so we ended up stopping a lot more than on the way there. Also he was wide awake when we got home at 1 am!!!!!
Extra clothes!
You never know when they could have an accident or spill something on them so and extra change of clothes is needed. Also if you leave at night and want clothes for the next day don’t forget the extra outfit!
Blankets and pillows
These you will want to grab for the adults too. Driving through the night can get chilly and sleeping in a car is already uncomfortable, so grab your neck pillow or the one you cant sleep without to have in the car. My grandma always had a pillow and blanket for each my sister and I for every road trip. I swear it would help me sleep longer.
Activities
Charge up the tablet, portable dvd player, gameboy whatever it is your child uses! Dry erase books are great for the car or etch a sketch. My son loves to play I-Spy on car rides, an easy game to play that requires no material or pieces.
