Road Trip from Phoenix to DC with 1 year old- is this crazy??

[Anonymous]

My one year old DS and I are flying to Phoenix to visit family this summer. DH has always wanted to do a cross-country road trip so he'll be driving out on his own. He thought it would be fun for DS and I to join him in the car on the trip back. I've never taken a road trip with DS so have no idea what to expect for this long in the car. Does this sound crazy? I know we'll have to make a lot more stops because of DS but could this somehow be fun or just a big hassle? Any insight would be much appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't have considered this when either of my kids were one-year-olds! The end result of road trips, getting to the destination? Fun. The getting there? Not so fun.

[Anonymous]

My sister just drove up here from NC with her one year old (about 5 hours). He was miserable, despite them doing everything possible to make him comfortable-- lots of new/old toys, reading books, snacks, rest breaks, etc. He just wanted to be up and running/crawling around and not trapped in his car seat for long periods of time. He was simply too young to understand why he was "stuck."

I know other people have probably done it, especially if their children were good car sleepers, but her experience taught me that after kids get old enough to really start moving around long car trips are out until they older.

[Anonymous]

agreed!! strapping a kid down for that long is just not fair. we just drove 10 hours with our 21 month old...we had elmo videos, and lots of stops...but it still sucked for him. it'll be a long while before we do that again!

[Anonymous]

The idea is crazy, he would be miserable and therefore you would all be miserable.

[Anonymous]

A 1 year old - No.

Mine were way too mobile and didn't want to be restrained in the car for longer than an hour. They just loved moving around too much and loved their new found freedom in pulling themselves up/crawling/walking.

Unless you are planning a ton of stops for stretching and getting the wiggles out I would say it would be miserable.

Besides, a 1 year old won't get much out of the trip (not to mention remember any of it). Looking out of the window for X hours a day may be interesting to us as adults, but to a 1 year old...I don't think so.

[Anonymous]

Yes--Crazy. Insane. Masochistic!

[Anonymous]

there's not enough money in the world to pay me to do that! Even the plane ride seems too long.

[Anonymous]

When my nephew was about 1 year old, I rode in the backseat with him, along with my brother and SIL (front seat), for a six hour round trip excursion. The experience almost kept me from wanting to have kids! He was miserable, and wanted to get out and move around the entire time. He WAILED the whole day.

[Anonymous]

when my children were 6 months, and 19 months old, I took them on a two week car trip. We went and visited friends and family from here to Wisconsin. It was a great trip, and while they won't remember it, I will.

[Anonymous]

agree with others-- it really does sound awful. My DS would be miserable. IF you absolutely had to do it, I might suggest spreading it out by only driving like 4 hours each day (optimally timing the driving with nap time if your DS sleeps well in the car), and making letting your DC crawl or run around like crazy when out of the car.

[zumbamama]

I have done it and it was miserable. The only way I would do it again is if I had a whole month to travel, making many long stops to really explore the country. I drove coast to coast in 10 days with 2 little ones. Besides Lake Tahoe, Wyoming and family in Ohio, the rest was pretty much a big blur with lots of whining.

[Anonymous]

Sounds completely insane! I would feel incredibly sorry for your child if you did this.

[Anonymous]

I would say a long drive up and down the East coast would work because there are a lot of places to stop, but there's a whole lot of nothing out west--lots of driving between placed to visit. I did Flagstaff-Colorado Springs 3 times round trip with a three year old last winter and that was manageable, but unless you have lots of stops planned, I probably wouldn't do it with a 1 year old.

[Anonymous]

nope. no, no, no. Would not attempt. Absolutely not. Don't try this.

Seriously.

It would NOT be fun.