16 tips for enjoying road trips with little kids
1059 miles. 22 hours. Two tiny humans. One successful journey south.
We moved from Somerville, MA, to Savannah, GA for a month while waiting for our home renovations to finish. I thought it would be fun (yup, I’m officially crazy) to drive with our two little kids instead of flying. Plus, it would be much, much cheaper than plane tickets plus a rental car. Two little kids, 1059 miles. How hard could it be?
I approached this road trip like I approach pretty much everything in life: research the crap out of it, over-prepare, and get really, really pumped the day of. Picture Amy Cuddy’s power posing taken to the extreme. Pretty sure I was playing Macklemore and Lady Gaga and dancing like a maniac while packing the car, but there’s no photo evidence.
Was the trip all peaches and cream? Nope. But I can honestly say I enjoyed it.
Here’s the top 16 things that worked for us.
1, 2, 3: The tips for general travel (vs. road trips) with littles totally apply here, so if you haven’t already checked out that post, those are the first three tips. ESPECIALLY tip #1.
4. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. No seriously, more snacks than you ever thought you would ever need. Then pack a few extra for good measure. Don’t forget to pack some for YOU, too.
5. Buy a few new toys your kids haven’t seen before. These do NOT have to be expensive toys. I bought a slinky, a harmonica, and a kazoo (all about a dollar each), and a few others. I also took toys out of storage that they hadn’t seen for a while and presented them like new toys. A friend said she bought a pack of those little 3M neon stickers and they kept her 3-year-old occupied forever! I did buy a pricier ($34.99) kick pad/dangly toy thingy for Moseah that goes over the head rest and makes music and lights up when he kicks it. Bought us a few hours of delight on the way down.
6. Want to go a step further? Wrap all their new toys in wrapping paper – it adds to the excitement and buys some extra minutes of fun while they unwrap.
7. Bring all their favorite music. I listened to “Do Re Mi” from the Sound of Music for probably 30 minutes on repeat. A happy toddler is a happy mom! Sometimes we would listen to songs, and sometimes we would sing songs, and sometimes we would make up songs. If you can, make a playlist on Spotify that has their current favorites, save it offline, and then just hit “shuffle” and go.
8. Take turns so your eardrums don’t explode. Be good to mama!! While I would occasionally let her play Do Re Mi on repeat, we would also take turns picking a song so that it wouldn’t be just kid songs for 17 hours. Cimorene would pick one, then Moseah would pick one (i.e.: I would pick his favorite song and play it), and then I would play something I like. Since Cimorene knew her turn was coming up, she was happy even during my choices. Siri and Spotify made this safe – I don’t recommend this if you don’t have a hands-free solution or another person in the car to help.
9. Audio books. This is something we didn’t do successfully (see note about losing the iPad right before we left), but so many moms recommended it to me that I wanted to include it. It can be on the car stereo for everyone or for just one of your kids with headphones.
10. White noise. We brought a portable, battery powered white noise machine. This helped Moseah stay asleep while Cimorene was very, very much awake.
11. Strategic hydration. I’m not saying dehydrate your kids. I am saying that if your toddlers are newly potty-trained, or still just little, either put them in a diaper or be strategic about when you give them liquids. Like, have them chug water 30 minutes before you know you’re going to stop, but don’t have them chug water when you just stopped. If you do, you’re going to stop again before you’re ready, and your trip length will double.
12. Leave when it works for you. You know your kids best. One mama told me she leaves at 4 or 5am, so the kids sleep for a bit on the first part of the drive. Another mama told me she would leave at 7pm and drive 12 hours overnight so the kids would sleep almost the whole way (and presumably the parents would take turns napping the next day?). Do your kids fall asleep easily in the car seat? Are you rested enough to drive at 5am, or through the night? What major cities are you driving through, and what does that mean for timing and avoiding rush hour? Make good choices.
13. Time your breaks. If you need to stop, be strategic and stop for more than one reason. Kids need to pee? Also get gas and give them a snack. Hit NYC at rush hour? Stop for an early dinner and wait it out. Any stop I take with my two kids, even if it’s literally just a pee break, takes no less than 20-25 minutes. Those add up really quickly and can turn a 7-hour drive into a 10-hour drive.
14. Plan at least one longer break. If you have time, it helped us to make one stop that was a little longer so the kids could get their energy out. Find a playground on the way, stop to see a relative or friend for lunch, or see if there’s a kid-focused activity nearby.
15. Fussing is A-OK! You’ve got to do what’s right for you, mama, but for me it’s ok if my kids get fussy in the backseat. I think it’s important that they learn patience, independence, and to be creative on their own. Will I help and give them suggestions? Yes. Will I pull over to pick up all the toys my toddler has thrown on the floor every time she does it? No. A dad friend of mine said that when he had a 10-hour drive with his three kids he would pull over if they got really upset, wait for them to calm down, and keep going.
16. Screen time. I was planning on having an iPad for emergency screen time (they don’t get it at home) but I couldn’t find our iPad in storage. So… that was a fun last-minute surprise, but it also ended up being a blessing in disguise. Now I know I can go for 17+ hours with two kids and no screen time, and they will be fine! BUT, I will also find that iPad, and keep it for future road trips as a backup.
Happy Driving, and let me know what works best for you!!
P.S. If you want a few laughs, here’s what our scheduled ended up like.
Day 1:
2:30pm: leave Somerville to beat Boston rush hour traffic.
6:30pm: arrive to Connecticut just in time to go trick-or-treating, since we decided to leave on Halloween. Change into costumes in a supermarket bathroom. Smile at all the employees who look at you like you’re a little nuts when you come out of the restroom in a black catsuit carrying a miniature wonder woman.
Day 2:
5:30am: leave Connecticut to beat rush hour traffic in NYC, which starts promptly at 6am so don’t be late getting out of the house or life will SUCK. Get gas on the way. Quickly.
7:30am: kids both awake, start breaking out the new toys. One toy per leg of the drive, we tell Cimorene, and all toys are gifts to both her and Moseah even if she’s the one to open them.
9:00am: arrive to Philadelphia, stop for brunch and a playground session with Tía Tasha.
11:30am: leave Philadelphia to beat rush hour traffic in DC. Learn that there’s always rush hour traffic in DC.
12:30pm: another new toy for this leg.
2:00pm: Stumble into an express lane that saves 45 minutes, celebrate with a car dance party while whizzing by bumper-to-bumper traffic. It might have been a $20 toll, but even if it was twice that it would have been worth it.
2:30pm: Cimorene needs to pee, which would require getting out of the express lane with no re-entry. Tell her she has to hold it for a little bit like a big girl. Sing songs to distract her.
2:45pm: get off the express lane as soon as we pass all the traffic. C goes pee, but nothing comes out, because she didn’t actually need to pee she just wanted to get out of the car. Facepalm. Think we put her in a diaper at this point, just in case.
3:00pm: C and M both fall asleep. Further evidence that she didn’t really need to pee.
5:00pm: another new toy.
7:00pm: Pee break even though we’re only an hour away from our destination, because something tells me this time C really does have to pee.
8:30pm: arrive to Dad’s in NC! Go to bed because I’ve been up since 4:30am.
Day 3:
9:00am: Leave Dad’s.
11:30am: stop for pee break and lunch.
1:30pm: SAVANNAH, GA!!!
Google maps says: 17 hours. Reality with two children and traffic: 22.5 hours. Not too shabby