looking for ideas

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
looking for ideas
2
Wed, 03-15-2006 - 10:17am
Any ideas on how to entertain a 20 month old (NT as far as we know) during a 6 hour car ride? My older son does pretty good with this long hike to sister's house as long as we have the portable DVD player, paper and crayons and snacks - not too much whining. Jack (toddler) will probably sleep for only about one hour of the whole trip - he does not have much of an interest in movies (ignores the TV during the day). Any ideas?
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Wed, 03-15-2006 - 12:06pm

We have a 6-7 hour drive to my parents' house, so we've done that often. I have to say that when DS was 20 months old, the ride was pretty tough -- but we got through it. Make as many stops as you can -- I know that adds time to the trip, but it's worth it to let them stretch their little legs and run around a bit. My kids are always rejuvinated for a while after we stop, and it takes them a while to get cranky again. ;-) Try and pick up some interesting snacks that they might not otherwise get -- but try to make them nutritious so you're not pumping them full of sugar for the car trip. We found, for example, organic teddy bear-shaped cereal that was *really* fun finger food. We also sometimes get little boxes of cereal in varieties they don't normally eat -- good for holding in the backseat, and a bit more nutritious than your usual snack. Bring things like string cheese or peanut butter crackers so they get a little protein in them. Does your DS respond to music? We made a CD of our kids favorite songs for our last car trip, and it worked *really* well when they were starting to get cranky -- the music calmed them right down and even lulled them to sleep. And it's worth it to get some brand new books or little toys that you can dole out slowly over the course of the trip, so that they associate being on car trips with positive things.

It might be a long trip, but by the end of the day it will be over! ;-)

Good luck!

Jennifer :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2001
Wed, 03-15-2006 - 12:32pm
Well we have an entertainment system in our minivan and that has helped us immensely.

 


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