In a couple weeks we’re heading back to Pittsburgh for the weekend for my husband’s cousin’s wedding. We’re SO excited to head back for a while, but I, personally, am a little nervous about the long drive (15+hours!) back. We’ve always taken longer rides in the car with our daughter; in fact, we’ve done this drive before…But now that she’s a toddler, she wants to move around constantly, and really long car rides are a little bit scary to me!
Here are a few tips we’ve been using on our weekly 2-hour rides up to the cabin, and one product called the Snack & Play Travel Tray that we love (enter to win one below!):
- Always have a snack at the ready! Preferably easy ones that won’t require tons of cleanup!
- Snacks include drinks–they get thirsty too! Don’t forget the sippy cup! (We’ve done that…)
- Be prepared to enter the back seat. Sometimes my daughter just wants me to come hang out with her for a bit!
- Have some toys
- Build a Car Kit. I use some cosmetic bags that I’ve never used (hello Clinique gifts that had that useless bag in them!) and put crayons, little toys, notebooks, etc. into them so that she has something to play with.
- Stop as often as you can to stretch their legs. We travel 2 hours up to our cabin every Friday evening and we stop halfway to get dinner. If you’re going on a long trip, stopping every hour sounds awful, but even if you just get to a rest stop to let them run around for a little bit every couple hours, they should be good!
- Play car games like I Spy, sing songs, or if you allow your kids to have tablets, let them watch an educational show. We don’t let our daughter have a tablet in the car yet, but once she’s old enough, I’m sure we’ll allow some screen time during a long trip!
- Keep shades in the car to keep out the sun. Nothing is worse than trying to sleep and having sun in your eyes!! Bright sunlight with no shade could make a toddler antsy or upset.
- Keep them engaged and talk about your trip, or things that interest them (if they’re old enough)
- Don’t forget their favorite blanket or stuffed animal to sleep with in the car!
One of our favorite new products is the Snack & Play tray by Star Kids. This tray attaches around car seats, strollers, or can be used by itself, as an interactive tray for dry erase creations, and it’s also magnetic, so kids can put magnets on it and play as well.
Use the dry erase pad to draw, or use it as a table for drawing in a notebook, or playing with toys! There are convenient side pockets that will hold sippy cups, play packs or toys, and it conveniently hooks around the car seat or stroller for easy installation. Check out my video review below:
What tips do YOU have for traveling in the car with a toddler?! I’d love to know!!
And if you’d like to win a Snack & Play tray,
Enter the Giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway is open until 12AM CST 5/23/17. Open to US residents 18 years and older. Thank you to Snack & Play for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
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That travel tray looks AWESOME. I wish I had that when I was a kid!
RIGHT?! I feel the same way! No tablets, no trays, no dvds 😀 I honestly can’t even remember what I did in the car! (I get car sick when I read so I KNOW it wasn’t that! LOL!)
These are some really awesome tips! We plan on taking a 23 hour road trip with three kids next summer! Eek!
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Oh wow!!! That sounds super awesome though! Our big one is for July 4th and we’re still trying to figure it out based on her schedule!!
The snack + play tray is no joke! *Life Saver* I also can’t count how many times I have jumped in the back with the kids just to change things up and keep them company!
Stephanie recently posted…5 Memorable Developmental Milestones During Your Child’s First Year
Hehehe yes!!!!
That tray looks awesome! I’m so nervous to take my daughter on her first long car ride since she gets so bored and restless in the car. Definitely have to check this out for her!
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Yes, and my daughter is at a hard age for car rides where she can’t talk coherently, I don’t trust her to not eat crayons…!! lol!
This would be so helpful for our upcoming trip to Myrtle. It’s an extra challenge that our toddler is still rear facing, so this would help make activities a little more fun!
I know, rear facing makes it so hard!!!!
This is awesome! I had no idea this existed! We try to plan our long trips to leave as soon as it’s bedtime so she sleeps since she loves sleeping in the car seat anyways. But I’m going to look into this for day trips 🙂
That is a great idea!!!!
These are some great tips! We’ve taken a few road trips with our toddler and thankfully he generally does pretty well in the car. I’d love to have one of these trays for him, though!
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That is so awesome, what a trooper! 😀
Traveling with a toddler is SO tough! I like the idea of getting out every couple of hours. They really do need the extra activity to survive the long car ride!
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These are such great tips and THAT is an amazing product. I need that in my life. Since I’ve given birth, I’ve always sat in the back seat with my kids. It just makes everyone happier and calmer, but sometimes, they tend to like being babied. Lol! Like, if it’s just them with Dad driving, they’ll eat on their own. If I’m there, I’m going to have to hold both of their plates and feed both of them.
Belle | http://www.OneAwesomeMomma.com
This product is genius! Totally need it for our upcoming long summer rides. I’m so bummed I missed this giveaway 🙁
This is so useful, because at the end of summer we’re doing a road trip to the North Shore with her. I am a little jealous that you go to a cabin every Friday evening.
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Perfect timing! We have a big road trip coming up in a few weeks, and I need all the tips I can get!
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