We just got back from a week in New Orleans with Adam’s family for Thanksgiving and it was our first long road trip with Jack as a toddler. We did this trip one time with him before but he was 3 months old, and we drove through the night. He slept the whole time! This time, however, we knew that wasn’t an option because Jack doesn’t really sleep in the car anymore and we are getting too old to drive completely through the night and not be absolutely dead for 24 hours when we arrive at our destination (early 20s Adam and Taylor did that a bunch….late 20s/early 30s Adam and Taylor can’t hang that much anymore LOL). ANYWAYS – we ended up having an amazing road trip with Jack and here are the best ways we came up with the make it so! Let’s jump into it.
Long Road Trip With A Toddler: Tips, Tricks & Sanity-Savers
PLENTY OF SNACKS
We packed a LARGE variety of different healthy snacks for our trip. We skipped the chips/candy/etc and went with apples, dried strawberries, cheese and crackers, pretzels and cheerios. This helped tide Jack over in between stops and I didn’t worry about him eating a huge amount of junk while we drove.
MAKE AN ACTIVITY BAG
This was great! We made an activity bag full of things Jack either hasn’t seen in a while or things we bought new for him. It had books, a silicone popper and lots of cars/little toys. This was great because every time he reached his hand in, he brought up something new! It was perfect. I brought extra stuff in his suitcase, too, so that I could switch out the activity bag items before our trip home.
DOWNLOAD A FEW MOVIES / TV SHOWS (AND GRAB THIS IPAD HOLDER ON AMAZON)
We tried to do as much non-screen activities as we could during our 10 hour drive BUT there were times when Jack was super restless or bored and a movie was JUST the thing! We downloaded 3 of his favorite movies and he watched 2 of them each way (there and home).
PLAN YOUR REST / FOOD STOPS
We strategically planned our food and rest stops to be the best for Jack. We got out of the car and ate inside restaurants so Jack could get out of his car seat, we chose outdoor mall areas to walk around and we picked rest stops with parks and play areas so Jack could get energy out in between long stretches. We have these locations pinned so that we can visit them again in the future.
SNAG SOME NEW REUSABLE STICKER BOOKS
These are great because Jack can peel and stick them himself and they have tons of options. We put a few of these in his activity bag so he could choose which ones he wanted to play with. I had new ones for the drive home!
KEEP DIAPERS / WIPES / SANITIZER IN AN EASY TO ACCESS LOCATION
I had a “grab bag” of diaper changing things and wipe down items so that we could keep Jack nice and comfortable. He hates things on his hands so when he is snacking I have to be ready to go with wipes and napkins. He is also RIGHT on the brink of potty training and he tells us when he needs a diaper change – usually immediately after he goes. I didn’t want to be digging through our car to find the diapers/wipes so I had a bag that sat right behind the car seat for easy access.
LEAVE EARLY IN THE MORNING TO CAPITALIZE ON SOME SLEEP TIME IN THE CAR
We had a 10 hour drive so we left at 3 in the morning both ways. Our thought process behind this was that we’d get a few hours of Jack sleeping (he notoriously does not nap in the car), and we’d get to our location in the early afternoon so Jack wouldn’t have to go directly from the car to bed – or risk him staying up way past his bedtime with no nap. That worked perfectly on the way there, and we got home early enough on our way back that we even got to put him down for a nap after our car ride! It was better for everyone this way.
