Making a 9.5hr drive to the beach with 2 children! 12 months and a 3yr old.

Karli - posted on 05/17/2011

We leave early after breakfast, and stop for lunch. If you have a park or playground along the way, pack a picnic and let them run and stretch a little. They will probably sleep in the car after lunch for a couple of hours we have a snack in the car after lunch and then we have a couple of games. When things get to the breaking point, stop for dinner and when we get back in the car we get out the DVD player and that usually sucks their brains out of their heads and we can usually get to where we are going just in time for bed.

Karen - posted on 05/17/2011

My sister used to pack everything up and go to bed at a decent hour and then leave at 2 or 3am (giving herself at least 8hrs sleep). The kids slept at least half way and then they would stop if anyone got too cranky. Bring some things to entertain (coloring book, silly songs, stories on tape (you can borrow from the library) ect...

Theresa - posted on 05/16/2011

We drove from Minneapolis MN to Milwaukee WI with our 4 kids ages 14, 11, had just turned 2, and 7 months. We started out in the morning after breakfast and drove until lunch. Stopped to eat and let the kids (and us) stretch a little. Then back in the car where the little ones slept. Stopped again for supper to stretch. Got to Milwaukee in the evening. The last hour was fussing off and on for the 2 year old. I would just try to reach back and entertainer her. Daddy would also reach back and try to tickle her toes. It worked, but wouldn't have lasted much longer. I think they did pretty well considering. If you drove at night the kids would probably sleep, but then when you get there they're ready to go and you're tired because you haven't slept.

Good Day! - posted on 05/16/2011

This September we are going to my best friend's wedding about 8 hours away. My children will be 3.5 years and 6 months at that time. I want to leave our house very early in the morning and take our time all day. I'd rather the girls have good sleep in their beds the night before so they aren't cranky in the car. We'll stop and rest when we need to. I'm sure the 8 hour drive will turn into a 12-14 hour drive...but ah well.

Stifler's - posted on 05/16/2011

I like to travel at night, less stopping for feeds and playing. We traveled a lot with just Logan and I found it got him out of whack to travel at daytime. Sometimes you can't avoid it but traveling at night is definitely better.

Karen - posted on 05/16/2011

We made lots of 8-9hr. trips with our kids when they were that little. What we did was let them stay up late, dress them in pj's, make sure they had pillows/blankets/lovies to bring along. We would leave around the middle of the night letting them stay awake. As soon as they got tired I would prop their pillows up for them, blankets, and lovies ect and they usually stayed asleep the whole way down. if they woke up it would be to go potty/diaper change and they would be so tired they'd be asleep again after 30 min. Ocassionally we'd buy them a snack/toy to eliminate the crankiness of having to go back in the car again. Let them stretch if they do wake up. Let them walk/run around a little. The worst part was I was always so tired the next day. Even if I had slept the whole way down. Travel makes you very tired. I wouldn't even hear my kids in the morning. Luckily my brother (who we visited) would be up very early and would watch them so i could catch a few z's. I was still very tired though. After 1 trip w/ my 2nd son, he started sleeping everynight all night. So that was a plus. Even long after the trip was over and forgotten.