Because my husband, a touring musician/roadie, works in Las Vegas approx. one out of every three months, I attend school in Los Angeles, and we have a home in Los Angeles, I end up driving my kids, now 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 to Las Vegas to see my husband several times a year. I don't like the drive because it tires me out, but I drive because it's the only way the kids can spend time with their father. (My husband can usually spend only a day and a half at home if he returns to Los Angeles, and flying three people between Los Angeles and Las Vegas several times a year is prohibitively expensive for us.) My kids will usually sleep a couple of hours on the trip but won't sleep the whole way. Last time I drove to Las Vegas, my kids and I spent almost two hours at a restaurant in Fontana having dinner. The trip took seven and a half hours. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the trip more enjoyable for my kids?
Hi, All,
Thank you for many great ideas. I think that my kids will thank you, too!
L. E
Have you tried to drive at night when they should be sleeping? My mother did this when we traveled, and when we woke up, we were there.
J.
Lynne,
What a wonderful Mama you are to commit to this for your kids and husband!
Your little ones are pretty little still, but here are some ideas from our earlier years with traveling tots. Lots of kids music and sing loud so they love it! Childrens' books being read on CD. Toddler shows on DVD w/a small DVD player for the times when they are simply worn out.
We also found LeapFrog options for the kids at every age to be the best for grabbing their interest and helping them learn a lot too.
If these trips are going to continue for years, there are a wonderful series of CDs w/stories for kids that my children still listen to when we travel. They have loved and begged for them for years (probably starting around 3/4). They are called Adventures in Odessey. You can often find them on Ebay or Amazon at a discount price, or on CBD.com
Happy travels!
T.
We drive long distances when the kids are sleeping. Pack them up 30-minutes prior to normal bed-time and hit the road. It's worked for us. Good-luck.
A DVD player in the car is a good place to start.
Get storie books on CD's (scholastic is great for this). The books have turn-the-page signals that your 2 year old should be able to understand. Maybe even have your hubby or family members read some stories too.
Buy some fun music CD's-there are ton of great Disney CD's or kid movie soundtracks. They Might Be Giants have awesome kid CD's and Kidz Bop is good too.
Leaving a couple hours later or earlier may save traffic time if you go at busy hours, even going on a different day (Sat morning instead of a Friday night). I know it's bad now with the construction along the 15.
I second the dvd player. We happened to receive one for xmas the week before we traveled from so cal to lv with our 3 and 4 year old for the 1st time and it made the trip soooooo much easier. Its kind of a lot of tv for one span but its not like you are doing it every day. Good luck to you!
A portable DVD player is what you need! Nowadays you can find a decent one for under $100. You could even try Craigslist to try and find one cheaper. Anytime I know I'll be in the car for awhile I just pop in an Elmo DVD and my 2 yo son zones off into his own little world in the back seat. I totally would reccomend getting one!
Good suggestions from all the Mommy's. Mine is not really a suggestion, but if you need a break and want to get off the freeway, I live in Victorville and will give you directions and meet you at at park or the mall, it has a small play area in the food court, to let the kids run for a few minutes. You are such a good Mommy to make sure they have Daddy time.
Good Luck,
L. A.
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Could you guys meet in the middle? Find a new place to visit each time and make an adventure out of it.
I love the idea of him flying home, driving with you back and forth and then him flying back to Vegas. You can find some great deals on airline tix right now.
I know it's exhausting for you but you're doing a great thing for your family. good luck!
I have a couple of ideas you may or may not have already thought of:
Buy a round trip ticket for your husband. Have him fly home and drive with you back to Vegas. He can use the other half of the ticket to return to Vegas after you all drive home. That way you can share the driving and one of you can attend to the kids. It will also give you some good family time together.
We have found that driving at night was always best for our kids. They slept most of the way. My husband is a night owl so he doesn't mind driving at night. I can't do it. You know what you can handle.
Make sure their car seats are comfortable. Maybe get some extra foam pad or something. They don't get to move around in their seats like adults do.
Get a portable dvd player and bring dvd's from the library or local rental store or netflix. Your kids may be to young for head phones but when they are a little older that is a good option because then you don't have to listen to the movie and can concentrate on the road. My kids are teens now but they loved the "Wee Sing" series. They are pretty hoakie but kids love them and they have a good moral. I just checked Netflix and they have them. I would also recommend veggie tales.
Have a backpack of special toys and games that they only get to play with in the car. Cool stuff that they can't wait to get their hands on. Don't give them the toys all at once either. Divey them out over the drive.
Get some coloring books or those paint with water books (all you need is a paint brush and a little water).
Find a playground that is half way and let them run around.
Think of the trip as an adventure in itself not just a means to an end. It is a small chapter in your life that will pass quickly. Try to enjoy the ride.
I hate to say it, but portable DVD players. I know we're a society that relies way too much on media. But a 1.5 hour movie really does help keep them entertained. And when they're a little older, you can plug in head phones.
I understand your issue, have been travelling with mine since the beginning. On rare occasions we do movies, I have the wee sing tapes (on cd now) and they all still love them, crayola makes those wonderful markers/paint sticks that only mark on special paper. I had some seat back brief case thing(looked like a brief case that hung on the back of the seat) and loaded them with paper, pencil some small kinda toys, etcha scetch or magna doodles make a large variety of toys that work great for travel. When you stop for potty breaks or diaper changes, take a quick walk/jog. point out plants, trees, animals ANYTHING! There is never a lack of insects! Colors, shapes, letters anything they will learn and use their brains and be very excited. try collecting...napkins with logos on them at resteraunts, a special kind of rock or plant leaf..get a book and look it up(check it out of your library) when you get home or upon arrival and down time look at them, start a journal, keep notes let them draw a picture to put in it, use a shoe box to start your "inventory". Try picking out color of cars on the road, what shape are the clouds...think back to before video's. GOOD LUCK! It will get easier, and they will adjust to the travel.
Have you thought about relocating to Nevada so your family can be together? You could attend University of Las Vegas and if you are also working I'm sure there are acceptable job opportunities in Nevada. And this way when he is not at work he can spend time with you and the children.
There's a 14 month age difference between my two children so I get how difficult and exhausting it can be traveling with children. When my kids were younger, we would usually plan our long road trips to coincide with their bedtime. At that time, they were usually going to sleep around 7:30 so I would feed them an early dinner, give them a bath, get them in their jammies and packed up into the car for our drive by 7 p.m. usually. I would usually put a Baby Neptune or Baby Galleo video on for them to watch for the start of the trip and they would usually be asleep in the back by the time the video was over. This usually gave us a chance to drive straight through (such a blessing!). After we get to our destination, we would usually let them stay up a bit to say "Hi" to grandpa or whoever we were visiting, go to the bathroom and back to sleep and hopefully some sleeping in.
Hope this helps.
