car travel tips for our looong road trip tomorrow

[sirenz]

so we are off to canberra tomorrow, its about a 9 hr trip from where we live possibly longer if ds gets his cranky pants on.

I'm after some tips on what you do with your 2yr old on long trips.

ATM I have a new travel table and a new colouring in book, some new crayons (all of which have been hidden from ds until our trip), we have our in car dvd player to play wiggles etc, but last time we went on a trip this wasn't enough for ds, he gets bored very easily.

Any other suggestions, bearing in mind he is only a toddler and gets bored easily.

Also, food ideas? How do you serve your snacks to toddler on a long trip?

I have little containers to use, but i was thinking of getting a multiple compartment lunch box to fill with goodies when he gets really cranky.

any tips would be great thanks

[~Trish~]

My 2.5 year old has been on loads of long car trips thanks to our caravan. We are fortunate that he is an awesome traveller. Colouring books are a great idea, but at his age you might find he bores of them within a few minutes. Playing DVDs is what gets us through LOL! Also try and stop every hour or two so he can stretch his legs. Lots of different snacks to keep him occupied is good. Little containers are fine, then you can just dole out his snacks as you think he needs them. Don't forget to pack a big drink for him too. DS2 loves cars, so we also have an assortment of cars and trucks for him to play with. That's pretty much all we do, good luck!

[Rach75]

mine travels great too

he doesn't really need anything to occupy doesn't have a dvd player etc but wanted to offer some ideas for food

I got him a tupperware lunch pack thing a while back anyway he has his water bottles, and in the nack pack (as he calls it) we have lots of goodies, things he doesn't get on a everyday basis, little packs of lollies, apricots, sultanas, popcorn, bickies etc, all in individual packs... he loves it and uses it whenever we are in the car

[sirenz]

thanks for the replies ladies

I think the little packs of snacks are a great idea. The only time ds gets lollies is when he goes to the dr so I think maybe a lil pack of jelly beans might be good. I am making a choc chip oat slice for him too. And maybe i might get some tiny teddies or something like that.

the cars are a great idea too, he has heaps of cars, so i will bring some along.

thanks again

[*Beema*]

Books, regular stops to run around and play, tiny teddies keep them busy for quite a while, hope he has a nap or two

Have different things for the DVD's as well. You can also get the read along dvd's but he may be too young for that. The Justine Clarke CD "I like to sing" is great

[beansbeans!]

Our Miss M is very good at the long trips, as shes being travelling since she was born.
Now when we go away I get her to pack a buucket full of toys she wants to take. Books, her fav stuff and what not. We dont use a dvd player, instead we watch out for trucks, buses.. We play things like what is it? When we see other traffic, what colour is it? And her favourite is the 'racing' game. Its not actually racing, but if we are about to overtake, she pretends that she is racing the vechile we are going by. And not to forget the emgerency vechiles, thats always a favourite, making the sounds and what not. We also do the animal thing too, so we look out for animals, normally we tell her we can see the animal, we get her to find them, and then tell us what noise they make, maybe what colour they are. And when things get really tough we always have a playschool cd in the car for silly sing-alongs.... We do the actions, sing and mix up the words. That one lightens up the trip for everyone, so thats good...

As far as food goes, we take all her fav things. So she likes her grapes, bananas, sultanas, apple and what not. And I always have a treat for her to bribe just incase. So sometimes its some biscuits or something similar.