AHHHHH!!!! Traveling 18 Hrs with 2 Little Ones!

Hi K.! Right before we took my son on his first road trip of 5 hours at 6 months, we got some great advice from a waitress who overheard us talking about how to "make it" to our destination. She suggested we wake up in the middle of the night and it worked great! We packed the car and went to bed early. Woke up at 2AM and got everyone in the car by 3AM. He woke up and fussed a tad; but, didn't wake up until 7AM when we stopped for breakfast. The last hour was a breeze. Now, that he's two, we've done longer trips (up to 12 hours) and we are still leaving early to get try and get us halfway through on sleep. When he wakes up, we exit right away and find somewhere he can run around and get the sillies out. Then, we turn on the DVD player for a few hours. I always try to find a few goofy sightseeing stops along the way so that we have a few "activities" that can help him unwind. It makes the total drive time longer; but, it keeps us all sane. Good Luck!

I just came back from a 9-12 hour trip to South Carolina. We had borrowed a portable dvd player. If you have lots of DVDs like I do then have the kids pick out a couple of movies each and play them during the trip. Also plan out your breaks. Kids travel much better than most people expect.

Each child had their own bag of "things" they like or can't live with out. The bag was filled with things/games to keep them busy. It also helped keep them organized. Books on tape are great for kids. I don't like to show too many movies in the car but that is always an option. ANd of course music that they enjoy to sing along with.

I almost hate to admit it, but.... We love our portable DVD player (Americas Funniest Home Videos are the best) and those electronic 'lap-top' computers for kids. Toy isle at Target type. Also maze books.