Traveling with a toddler?

[Anonymous]

Ok so I am a traveling with kids newbie. The longest my 18-month old has been in the car is probably 40 minutes. We are contemplating a trip to visit family - the drive would be about 4 hours. He is a very active toddler. I was thinking maybe it would be good to go at his bedtime - in his pajamas, etc. and hope he sleeps the whole way and tehn just transfer him to the hotel crib. Could this work?? Is there a better way to do it? I can't imagine him just sitting in his carseat awake for 4 hours - even with stops! Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

My DD is also very active and that is what I usually do, she generally stays awake for 30 or 45 minutes and then sleeps the rest of the way. It has worked pretty well for us so far.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you!! It's really encouraging that this could actually work. And of course if it does I'll be kicking myself for making us virtual shut-ins for the past 18 months.

[Anonymous]

Sleeping in the car is the best option, if there is a way YOU can get enough sleep afterwards. That has never been an option for us. Otherwise, drive during nap time. That leaves you only two hours in the car awake. Leave a bit before lunch, when he's already running down. Eat lunch in the car. Stop about once per awake hour to run around. And then have lots of books, crayons, songs, snacks, etc. to entertain him. It works quite well. Especially if you point out trucks and other interesting things to see.

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with 13:35. A four hour trip is very do-able if you plan it to coincide with naptime. We often do 4-5 hour trips to visit my parents, and our plan is: We usually leave about 1 hour before lunchtime, b/c keeping DS entertained for an hour with toys or books goes fine. He'll get antsy at the 1-hour mark, so then we stop for lunch, eat, then back in the car. Within a half hour, he is asleep and usually he'll nap for about 1.5 hours (2 if we're REALLY lucky). By the time he wakes up, there is usually about an hour left in the trip. We stop again if needed to give him a break, then entertain him until we get there.

We once tried a long trip at bedtime. It worked OK, he transitioned to his crib after we got home with just a short wakeup, however then he woke up a few hours later and it was a NIGHTMARE getting him back to sleep. So I'm a little worried to try that again. Like everything else, every kid is different so yours might do fine. Not much you can do except try it and see how it goes.

[Anonymous]

We just did a 10 hour trip, with stops included, with 20 mo DD and we were surprised at how well it turned out. We had also done a four hour trip in the past. I, too, like to plan as much as possible around the lunch/nap schedule. Hitting the road before lunch gets in some miles, then have lunch and hit the road again for naptime. My issue with arriving someplace after bedtime is the surprise LOs get when they wake up in the middle of the night and have no idea where they are. This happened when we arrived home after our ten hour trip...DD fell asleep about an hour before we got home and, although she was back in her own crib, she woke up in the middle of the night crying because she wasn't awake to realize we were no longer in our vacation villa and sleeping in what she got used to for a week. But again, everyone reacts differently.

Finally, my biggest piece of advice is to fill a toy bag with some items DC has never seen or played with before. The novelty will keep DS entertained for a while.

[Anonymous]

For a 4 hour trip, I'd recommend naptime rather than night time. My daughter is about the same age, and she takes a 2 hour nap. So, figure you get in the car, after about half an hour he falls asleep for two hours, and then there's only an hour and a half to go. For us, the DVD player in the car is a godsend. But new books to look at, or travel toys (like the magnadoodle type things--I'm forgetting the name of them) are good too. Also, bring along a kids' music CD; that keeps the mood happier...!

By the way... the reason I say naptime rather than bedtime is IF he doesn't fall right back to sleep when you get to the hotel, you will have one unhappy kid (and parents) on the first real day of your trip. My two don't do well at falling back asleep once I wake them up--and moving them ALWAYS wakes them up.

[Anonymous]

i agree with naptime rather than bedtime. my son often sleeps longer than his usual nap in the car. i was surprised that my son stayed awake really late (i think he liked all the lights) when i tried the bedtime thing and only fell asleep right before i got to where i was going...then was a nightmare when he woke up, etc.