Looooong Drive with 15 month old

So for some crazy reason we have decided drive to Adelaide when we visit our fmaily after christmas. We live in Sydney. DH and I have done the drive lots of times before and done it in a day (14 hours). We realise we will not be able to do that with DD. We would like to take 2-3 days but there isn't a lot on the way. I just want to get there as soon as possible.

Does anyone have any suggestions, tips or hints about how to make this easier and better for DD??? I don't want her to be unhappy the whole way.

I know the feeling, we're heading inland over Christmas. It usually takes 12 hours driving straight through, but with an 18 month old in the car, who hates being in the car, it's going to be a nightmare! We've bought dvd players for the girls, we're loading the car full of toys, crayons/colouring books, books, etc. You'll just have to try and entertain as much as possible. And stop every couple of hours for a break for half an hour to stretch your legs, let DD run around.

we have not long ago completed over 8000km in just over three weeks with our three kids in tow. By the end they were sick of the car but as a general rule travelled well. we don't have the dvd players but numerous friends of ours who do long drives do and they find them a lifesaver

we keep up the food and the toys and try to leave at times where they have a big sleep which for us is early morning such that they sleep until breakfast have a nap mid morning and then we are usually stopped for the day not long after lunch (depending on how they are travelling). we tend to try and grab food and drive while they are eating as this keeps them occupied - we try and time toilet, fuel and food stops together such as to minimise stops - makes trip shorter.

we have a rule that if a child is sleeping we don't stop unless absolutely necessary (eg desparate toilet stop)

if we are going on a trip that will take more than a day then we try to make the biggest day the first and then short days there after as ours are quite relaxed for the first day but get antsy after that cause they've used up their toys or had a gutful of travel food.

None of our children absolutely hate the car though and thus why the first day is pretty cruisy - if your child hated the car it would be much different.

we tend to find its not so much the length of the day but the number of days consecuitively in the car all day that wears thin with them and thus the long first day and short thereafter.

we have multiple options of places to stay if possible such that if they are asleep as we pull into town (a) then we drive onto town (b)

think thats it for the moment but if I think of other tricks I'll let you know

We do long trips a lot (nuts I know), cos we live in that 'but there isn't a lot on the way' bit of NSW lol.

Lots of stops (drives DH crazy because he just wants to get there). It does add hours but for her sanity and yours it's better. She doesn't understand time or distance, nor the reason she must be strapped in immoblie for many hours on end.
Lots of little food treats. Not junk, but not stuff she gets every day either - that gets chucked on the floor very quickly when they're cross.
I fill the footwell under one of their seats with 'stuff'. Books, toys, utensils (Nate loves em), just stuff for them to look at/touch/chew.
Good luck.

Best thing I find for my DD is a nursery rhyme CD. Drived DF and I crazy, but DD loves it and will dance away and 'sing' along.
I agree with toys and books and food treats. Try keep the toys and books within reach. You could always take turns at driving and the person not driving can sometimes sit in the back with bub and keep her occupied.

I think it all depends on how your little one travels, 14hrs shouldn't need 3days.....2 at the most. It all depends on what you can handle also.

We did the trip from QLD to SA just 2months ago with a 2.5yr old...no probs at all. 12hrs the first day & then just a quick bit the next.

This is what works for us, we always leave at some stupid time of the morning.....like 3am. Yes we are tired, but we make a cuppa, take some chocolate, red bull etc & just get going. Works wonders as he falls back to sleep in the car & there's you first 5hrs done! keep it consistent & you can get a good distance in that time....and we are the same...we DO NOT STOP.

Then our fist stop is breakfast & we like to make it somewhere DS can have a good run around, play etc. New nappy, clothes on & he's not too fussed getting back in the car as hasn't noticed we were really in there for that first part.

We then just give snacks & lots of books, toys etc & we have a DVD player. We only put that on as a last resort. Also he loves his music, so DH has to suck it up & deal with it LOL. Again, no stops til we are ready & can usually do another 3hrs or so. By this time its lunch & most of the journey is complete.

I like to just get it over & done with, you can rest when there & people are around to watch your child etc. It's not much fun along the way if you are in some small town stuck in a cheap hotel for the night. They like that less IMO.

But that's what works for us & we too live remote so we do it all of the time! I also find it easier to deal with leaving earlier so when we do stop it's at a time DS can have a good play & will go to bed that night so we can all rest. Nothing worse than him having a late sleep or part of his nights sleep in the car & then we can rest at the end.

Thanks so much there is some awesome advice there!

We did Adelaide to Melb with a 15mth old and then home again. Going over wasn't to bad. Kameron slept alot of the way. We stopped to feed him/us, change nappies etc. Coming home though was a NIGHTMARE. Only cause both Andrew and I were sick with the flu. We really regret not pulling into Horsham or Tailem Bend on the way home and phoning home to say we were sick and had stopped over. Cause we were both so unwell, Kameron was picking up on that as well and was grizzly for the 8hr drive home which seemed to take 80 hours LOL.

HI Darl,

I would have to agree with the dvd players idea. I found that was my best shot for my son. I had to let them run around in the park a couple of times but apart from that toys and dvd players are a blessing. There is a new toy called "I Teddy" which is a teddy bear with a dvd player in it. I dont know how much it is but target and k mart sell it. I hope this helps.

Good luck. Its going to be hard either way.:D

We did a 14 hour drive when Zander was a little bit older, I think about 20 months. I'll be honest, he was perfect for the first 11-12 hours & then we struggled. I have lots of suggestions!

* Leave very early, like 4-5am, keep her in her pyjamas & hopefully she will sleep for 4-5 hours & you'll be well & truly out of Sydney by the time she wakes.
* Stop for breakfast & a play, even if you take breakfast with you, stop, get her dressed etc
* Hide the toys!!! Bring them out only when necessary & not all at once because she'll get bored with them. Maybe get something new & exciting that she sees for the first time when she gets restless, though being just after Christmas she'd have lots of new things!
* Take a portable DVD player & her favourite movie, use it as a very last resort though because it will probably become annoying! You can borrow ours if you don't have one ;)
* Play her music when she gets upset. "How about we play DD's songs for a little while?" And put on Wiggles etc etc, we found it works best if you sing along.
* SNACKS!! We had lots of different things, some of them new that he had never tried which helped. Sultanas, apricots, fruit bas, muesli bars, grapes etc. Zander had his first lollypop on a long trip, it kept him entertained for aaaages!
* Try to keep stops to her schedule. You & DH can wait for food, stretches etc most of the time if she's sleeping or settled. We only stopped when Z became restless & nothing was calming him down. When you stop make sure she has a run around. Chase her around a park, send her up the equipment if you stop at Maccas, KFC etc. She's going to have stacks of energy to burn.

I think that's it for now, but if I remember anything else I'll come back :)

Thanks Sarah! More great advice. I need to aquire some more dvd's we don't really have any kids ones!!

Just in regards to the DVD's, I would get singing ones & ones that have lots of colour & dancing etc. Kids of that age are usually not into the movie type things. We made the mistake of getting some kids movies for DS too young & he never like them. He was more into Baby einstein, high five, raggs the dog...that type of stuff.

Ez if you have any in mind let me know we might have them & I can bring them when I see you next week ;)

We just got back from a trip from Wagga to Adelaide so a bit shorter than your trip. I thought it would be hell but didn't end up too bad. I had a massive bag of toys that i would dig into if he got grumpy. I borrowed some toys from friends so they weren't his and that worked well. Also had some nursery rhyme cd's that we played and that kept his pretty happy (but drove dh and i around the bend). I also had heaps of snacks that i would give him if he got grumpy. Just things like rice cakes and those mum mum cracker things which weren't messy. Crumbs are easy to clean up or vacumm up. I reckon you could do that trip in 2 days quite comfortably. Ouyen is quite a nice town which is half way from Wagga to Adelaide which would be good to stop over. DH also suggests Hay or Balranald (think thats how you spell it) as they are slightly bigger towns. We tried to leave early in the hope that ds would sleep for a few hours but that didn't happen so id be hesitant to do that again.

Thanks Sarah.

Isabel I am worried DD would be wide awake if we left early too. She is easily woken and the fussing about getting her in the car would prob wake her. We might need to do a test run :) We were thinking of staying at Hay (we stayed there on the way home last time before DD came along) I'll look at Ouyen tho thanks!

Erin (nice name by the way ;) ) I know what you mean DD has only just got into the wiggles so we will borrow some of those off a friend. Tho the other day that dreadful movie Beverly Hills chiuaua was on Foxtel and she was mesmorised!!

ETA Isabel I just google mapped Ouyen its not on the route we normally take...do you think that way is quicker than going through Mildura?

DH reckons it is if you are going to Adelaide city or the southern suburbs. He said if you are going to the northern suburbs you go through Mildura. He has done that drive many times as he is in the RAAF so he does alot of training there.

We normally go to Balacklava which is North so that is why we take the Mildura way, We are going to Port Broughton this time so will go that way again I think.
In the RAAF is that why you are at Wagga? My DH is in the Army :) We have had lots of friends in Wagga over the years but Army ones.

DH is posted in Adelaide so we live there but went to Wagga as my bro also joined the raaf and had his recruit graduation this week so we travelled over for that. Never in a million years did i think i would have such a defence force orientated family lol. Hope DS doesn't think he is joining too...