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Long car trips with a toddler - advice please!!

atlanticatlantic
in Austin Babies

Next week, we'll be driving to Boston over three or four days.  Please give me your best advice for being in the car that long with a two-year old!

Best toys?  (she's kinda over the magnadoodle)

Best ipad apps (I know there's a bunch of posts, anyone save one?)

Other tips? 

Thanks for any advice you can give.  My sanity greatly appreciates it!!

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Re: Long car trips with a toddler - advice please!!

  • amyliisaamyliisa

    Our biggest lifesavers on our trip to Florida were the DVD player, and the Pandora app (toddler channel) on the iPhone.  He also had one of these maps that he LOVED playing with and learning the states as we drove through them (he was 3, though, so your DD may still be a little young for this).

    Since that trip, though, I've made some of the quiet games that I found from this site, that would be great in the car too.

    PS - if you are interested in that map, try looking at Kohls.  I actually ordered one last month for my nephew from Amazon because Walmart and Target no longer carry it.  At that time it was $18.99 on Amazon (plus shipping = about $24), but now they want $30 for it!  The day after I ordered it, I saw it at Kohls for $24, but I could have gotten 30% off w/my coupon if I had known they carried it.  I was miffed.

    ETA - OH!  If you do use a portable DVD player (seriously, HIGHLY recommend for a trip that long!), the Leap Frog learning videos are simply awesome.  DS loves every one of them he's seen, and he really really learns from them.  THere are a couple Alphabet ones and a couple Numbers ones.  Check out the LeapFrog site to see details, but also Toys R Us and Target carry them locally (maybe some other places too, but not sure where).

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  • amyinaustinamyinaustin

    We've yet to do this ourselves, but here are a few ideas that work well for us during our "long" trips (2 hours plus):

    High Five Magazine - the search and find puzzles.  We have a subscription and I've made a notebook of just those puzzles for DD and this will usually keep her occupied for a while.

    pencil drawing - depends how much you trust her at this age - but I will let DD draw/doodle with a note pad and a pencil (since that can't mark up her clothes or the car).

    The DVD player is a must though -don't know how anyone would make a trip that long w/o one!

    I've always wanted to make one of these "I Spy" toys, thinking it might be fun on a long trip:

    https://www.makeit-loveit.com/2009/02/eye-spy-bags.html

    GL!

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  • mlf625mlf625

    The iPad made our 10 hour trip last weekend a breeze.  These are some of the apps we used: 

    https://pinterest.com/pin/399188020/

    https://pinterest.com/pin/399204026/ 

    DVD player is a must.  If you don't have them built in, get a portable.  We let the kids watch quite a bit of TV that day, which I didn't love, but they behaved almost perfectly.

    Snacks she's not usually allowed or doesn't usually have would be good, too.  The second the kids got squirmy I'd whip out some treat - apple juice boxes, raisins (DD thinks they're candy), pretzels, etc.

    If she sleeps with a sound machine, and it has a battery option, bring it.  That really helps get DD to sleep in the car. 

    Good luck! 

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