Car trip with almost 3 year old

[veronica]

Aside from TV, what can I do to keep her entertained? The trip will be 4 hours so it is not the end of the world, I just hate to do DVD's the whole time!


Also, any travel essentials I should remember? I bought the aerobed posted on the bargain thread for her to sleep on. We will be at a friends house and it is large so we should be pretty comfortable on space. I am thinking -do you bring a lot of toys from home? any safety essentials? This is our first time travelling, obviously....

[Melaine]

This is not particularly original, but last trip we took with our girls (23 month old twins), I started gathering stuff to entertain them. It was easy for me because I buy lots of used stuff all the time. I found books 4 for $1 at Goodwill and stocked up on some new titles. I also got a couple of stuffed animals on clearance at TRU, and then of course I had snacks and we also listened to some kids music. I pulled each "new" item out at intervals so there was something new and interesting every half hour or so. My kids are so little that I can even hide away some of their toys ahead of time and pull them out for the trip and it will seem like new stuff! We have so many toys that they don't even miss anything! We don't have a DVD/TV in our car otherwise I'm sure we might utilize that!

[Melaine]

Oh yes and cheap dollar store toys. I'm sorry that all my ideas are so consumer-ish, but hey all is fair in traveling with toddlers.

[BeachBum]

Kids CDs really do the trick for us...lots of sing a longs and making up stories together. He will also do "lift the flap" type books and there is a "seek and find" series of book with Sesame Street characters that I got at Kohls that he likes for the car too. Sometimes he will do etch a sketch type things.

[elephantmeg]

frankly DS watched "cars" all the way to chicago (14ish hours from here) and back. He played some with a couple cars/trains/tractors and I had a book that you could press and it would make car noises.

[blisstwins]

crayons and notebooks to draw in
stickers
Little People music CDs (for some reason my children sing along more easily to these)
snacks
interactive books (Wiggles and Dora) from Costco
maps (my kids love to look at maps while in the car)

We don't use a DVD player at all. We play rhyming games, ask the kids to look out the window and tell us what they see. Then we ask them what letter that starts with, etc. My twins are almost 4, FWIW. Have a great trip.

[sdjeppa]

Four hours isn't bad. We have done long trips (8-20 hours) and I pick up little things at the dollar store, etc. and I wrap them up like presents, then every so often I let him pick one out. It's like a fun surprise to unwrap something :).

Crayola color wonder are great in the car too.

[wencit]

Ditto the new toys and snacks idea. DS was in heaven with all the contraband snacks he got to eat on our recent car trip, stuff that I normally don't give him at home on a regular basis. He was REALLY well-behaved during the 8-hour drive, let me tell you, LOL!

Also, does your child still nap? If the trip is only 4 hours, I would probably leave right before nap time (assuming she sleeps in the car), and take advantage of that time to drive as far as I can without stopping.

[mommy111]

Coloring books, stickers and color pencils/markers etc. They make a 4 hour trip with a 3 year old go really easy. Add in some snacks (preferably sugar-free ones) and a nap and the trip will be over before you know it. We've done 3-4 hours often and its not too bad.

[Jen841]

"New" books
Lacing beads (with an extra bowl to catch them)
Post It Notes and pens (we draw mustaces etc and put them on each other)
Cars
"Their" music
Throw in an old (does not need to be full) deck of cards

We have 2 boys (5 and almost 3), and in 3 weeks they logged over 50 hours in the car and they were angels! No movies used, although they were available via laptop if needed.

A deck of cards can be hours of entertainment at the friend's house and in the car. You may be finding them forever, but worth every find!