Car Trips with Toddlers Made (Easier)

Car trips with small children are always a bit tricky; you hope they are in a good mood and play by themselves or sleep. It’s bad when they whine and grumble and want to get out again right after getting in. Since we recently took a long car trip that worked out wonderfully, I’d like to give you a few tips here on what to pay attention to on such a long drive:

1. Preparing for a long car journey with children
2. Comfortable child seats
3. Toys for the car
4. Early departure
5. Breaks with a playground
6. Snacks and drinks during the journey

Preparations for a long car journey with children

In my opinion, it’s important to prepare the children for what’s coming. Days beforehand, we had already started telling them that we were going on vacation. The day before departure, we told them that we would wake them up during the night and put them in the car because we were going on vacation, but that they could go back to sleep. Because of that, I felt they coped with it very well. There was no crying or whining; on the contrary, they were extremely excited about what vacation was going to be! The suitcases were packed and we had already put most things in the car the evening before. The evening before, I put the children to bed in comfortable sweatpants, so we didn’t have to change much in the morning.

Comfortable child seats

The seating position is important. Especially since our children are still strapped into these large child seats. I put their children’s pillows in the back with them, which they really liked, and they were able to cuddle up nicely. Of course, the cuddly toys came along, and to be on the safe side I also brought blankets, but we didn’t need them. For the sun’s rays, I brought cloth diapers so we could completely cover the window. Next to the child seats, we placed various toys within the children’s reach.

Toys for the car

I thought about this for a long time; of course the cuddly toys came along, but what else? It shouldn’t be too big, and they should be able to use it themselves. In the end, I brought small cars for my son, and Lara actually played mostly with the cloth diapers and the cuddly toys. And I have to admit, we followed the tip about new toys at Mc Donalds with a Happy Meal; there were such nice figures included at the time, and they played with those for a long time too.

Early departure

That was a really good tip from a friend. We got up at 4 o’clock in the morning and finished loading the car. Only then did we wake the children, get them dressed, and at 5 o’clock we drove off; the children were still so tired that they soon fell asleep again. Our first break was then the breakfast break. After eating, they fell asleep again and we had a wonderfully relaxed drive! We did the same on the return trip, and it worked really well again.

Breaks with a playground

Since the children are so confined in their seats, you should take a break every 2 hours. Most service areas are equipped with a playground outside or even inside anyway. Of course, rest areas in nature are also possible; children love roaming around in the grass, or you can take a short walk. We always noticed when it was getting too much for the children and didn’t watch the clock too meticulously. We also only headed for larger service areas, because there was always plenty for the children to look at there. The playground was then the icing on the cake.

Snacks and drinks during the journey

For the children, we always had something ready to snack on and drink. For drinks, on the one hand I had the water bottles that they had with them in their seats. On the return trip I also had extra cocoa cartons with me. For snacks I had all sorts of things; here are a few examples:

• Soletti
• Fruit bars
• Gummy bears
• Fruit (bananas, raspberries, etc.)
• Cookies

These are my current tips on the topic of car trips with toddlers. Our twins were almost 2.5 years old at the time, and we drove 6 hours one way and even almost 9 hours on the return trip, and it worked wonderfully. Of course, not all children are the same and everyone has different experiences, so if anyone has any other tips or has had other experiences, please send an email or leave a comment so that this list becomes complete and hopefully gives courage to many parents who love to travel!

Read also: Experience report: family vacation in Kos

Photo by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at