stephi_jay
We will be taking a two day car trip (and then back a week or so later) and just need ideas to try to keep her entertained and happy while stuck in her seat? We have bought her three toddler cds (both normal nursery rhymes and travel-related) and are planning to get her a magnadoodle or something similar but im stumped as to what else i can do to keep her entertained any ideas? TIA :)
Answer
Oh my, I'm in the same boat. I have a three year old and a 15 month old, will be 16 months, when we take a long trip in a few weeks. My three year old is great in the car but the younger one hates it and after about an hour or two is itching to get out. We took an 8 hour trip a few weeks back and the only way we got through it was by having one of us sit in the back with her and play with her for most of the trip, especially as she refuses to nap in the car much.
Things that keep her occupied...
Snacks and drinks. This is seriously the biggest thing that keeps my kids happy in the car. Makes a mess of the car and car seat but totally worth it in the long run IMO if it keeps your baby from screaming for hours. I don't know what I would have done without a stash of blueberries and cheerios. Milk gets really nasty if they spill any so I'd stick to water or juice if you can. Of course, two days is a long trip, so you probably need some milk in there somewhere. Other snacks that travel well are goldfish, pretzels, gogurt type tubes (if you use a cooler), etc.
Toys, toys, toys. We had everything from little people, to electronic doodle pad type things, to dolls, cars and toy frogs but since their attention spans don't last long, you have to switch them out often. The good news is that you can usually switch them back into the rotation fairly often too. Anything small enough that you can pack easily is fair game IMO. The key, at least for my daughter, is giving personal interaction with them. My son would be happy playing with them on his own, but with my daughter, she wants you to play with them with her. Same goes for the CDs -- great idea, but singing along with them makes a huge difference in how happy my kids are on the road.
If your daughter is into peek-a-boo, bring a small cloth/blanket. This kept my little one entertained for quite awhile. They say it's the little things, right?? :)
Again, if you can get into the back seat with her, finger play is huge. Itsy Bitsy Spider, Five Little Ducks etc. I know it makes for an extra exhausting trip for mom and dad to constantly have to entertain baby but if your daughter is anything like mine, that is the only way we survive long car rides. :)
Good luck and have a good trip!
ETA: Oh, and as others said, expect to make a lot of extra stops so she can have a break. But, if she's sleeping, don't stop unless you absolutely have to. ;)
Oh my, I'm in the same boat. I have a three year old and a 15 month old, will be 16 months, when we take a long trip in a few weeks. My three year old is great in the car but the younger one hates it and after about an hour or two is itching to get out. We took an 8 hour trip a few weeks back and the only way we got through it was by having one of us sit in the back with her and play with her for most of the trip, especially as she refuses to nap in the car much.
Things that keep her occupied...
Snacks and drinks. This is seriously the biggest thing that keeps my kids happy in the car. Makes a mess of the car and car seat but totally worth it in the long run IMO if it keeps your baby from screaming for hours. I don't know what I would have done without a stash of blueberries and cheerios. Milk gets really nasty if they spill any so I'd stick to water or juice if you can. Of course, two days is a long trip, so you probably need some milk in there somewhere. Other snacks that travel well are goldfish, pretzels, gogurt type tubes (if you use a cooler), etc.
Toys, toys, toys. We had everything from little people, to electronic doodle pad type things, to dolls, cars and toy frogs but since their attention spans don't last long, you have to switch them out often. The good news is that you can usually switch them back into the rotation fairly often too. Anything small enough that you can pack easily is fair game IMO. The key, at least for my daughter, is giving personal interaction with them. My son would be happy playing with them on his own, but with my daughter, she wants you to play with them with her. Same goes for the CDs -- great idea, but singing along with them makes a huge difference in how happy my kids are on the road.
If your daughter is into peek-a-boo, bring a small cloth/blanket. This kept my little one entertained for quite awhile. They say it's the little things, right?? :)
Again, if you can get into the back seat with her, finger play is huge. Itsy Bitsy Spider, Five Little Ducks etc. I know it makes for an extra exhausting trip for mom and dad to constantly have to entertain baby but if your daughter is anything like mine, that is the only way we survive long car rides. :)
Good luck and have a good trip!
ETA: Oh, and as others said, expect to make a lot of extra stops so she can have a break. But, if she's sleeping, don't stop unless you absolutely have to. ;)
Hows this so far.. if I continued would you be interested in reading it?
Q. Note that I didn't revise this, so there are probably lots of mistakes. Just what do you think of it so far, would you be interested on reading more? Also, the chapter isn't finished yet.. thats just the start.
thanks :)
BOOK: Puzzle Pieces
CHAPTER:Six Years
It had been nearly 6 years since I last went up to Maine for the Winter. I missed the snow, the skiing, the occasional deer; all the things that were non-existing in Florida. My old friend who I used to play with when I was younger moved to Maine, apparently in a large cabin near a ski resort his family owned. Luckily, that guaranteed us free season passes whenever we came up for a visit.
It was a pleasant 54 degrees in West Palm Beach. A few clouds that had a resemblance to cauliflower, and there was still morning dew left on the grass. The four bags we had were shoved awkwardly in the car, piling on top of each other like four clumsy bags of potatoes. Never mind the fact it was only my dad, my mom, and I traveling. Our fourth bag was filled with all our snow gear, that we finally found after 4 hours of searching down in the basement.
I walked outside and sat on the steps. Three months of staying outside in the cold.
âYouâll probably need an extra jacket to bring with you on the plain ride, and when we arrive. Itâs suppose to be 32 degrees in Maine!â My momâs hands flew up, we never saw those digits in Florida before.
âIâll be fine, mom. Iâll grab it out of my bag when we get there..â I sounded annoyed, but the thing was that my mom was a hoverer. She always hovered around us, she did that with my 19 year old sister, too. Lucky for her, she moved out.
âOh, are you sure? Please, take it for me,â I heard someone yell out from inside the house, âWe donât need it! We already have one shoved in the car, now lets go!â My mom yelled, I was pretty sure the neighbors could here us.
As I got out of the plane and walked out that long connector into the main place I saw Jasper standing there smiling; along with his mom and sister. It had been six years since I had last saw him, when I was seven and he was eight. I turned to look back and there was my mom and dad, my mom with her huge tote and my dad who already had on his grey and navy winter coat on. That was dad for you, always prepared and embarrassing at the same time.
There was Alice. She was standing next to her mom, playing with some electronic device. She was never much of a talker, not even as a toddler. She was always more focused on putting the blocks in the correct slots or trying so hard to color in-between the line, one of the things most toddlers never cared about.
Jasper walked over and game me a hug, boy I missed him. He was one of those guys who was really just your friend, could listen, could talk, and could totally either bore you or annoy you. His hair had darkened since the last time I saw him. I remember, it used to be a dirty blonde but now it was almost as dark as mine. He had it tousled gently, and I knew he must have used gel or some type of styling cream.
âHey Dakota, howâs it going?â He released me for a few second and smiled his crooked smile. The same one he had six years ago.
âNothing much, howâs the ski resort going? Itâs so great to see you.â I tucked my hair under my ear.
âAhh.. Its ok. We havenât had any snow yet, and our snow machines arenât working well. But yeah, its great to see you.â
We walked out of the terminal after getting our bags. The parking garage was surprisingly empty, only a couple other cars compared to the over thousands in Florida. Jasperâs mom found the silver minivan and we hoped in after putting the bags in the trunk. It was a typical car ride, catching up on things, and listening to the meaningless chatter. All I wanted was to ski already, even if the snow machines werenât working.
holy crud I just realized that.. snort
I like twilight, but I really had no intention to using those names... wow
thanks for pointing that out.
thanks :)
BOOK: Puzzle Pieces
CHAPTER:Six Years
It had been nearly 6 years since I last went up to Maine for the Winter. I missed the snow, the skiing, the occasional deer; all the things that were non-existing in Florida. My old friend who I used to play with when I was younger moved to Maine, apparently in a large cabin near a ski resort his family owned. Luckily, that guaranteed us free season passes whenever we came up for a visit.
It was a pleasant 54 degrees in West Palm Beach. A few clouds that had a resemblance to cauliflower, and there was still morning dew left on the grass. The four bags we had were shoved awkwardly in the car, piling on top of each other like four clumsy bags of potatoes. Never mind the fact it was only my dad, my mom, and I traveling. Our fourth bag was filled with all our snow gear, that we finally found after 4 hours of searching down in the basement.
I walked outside and sat on the steps. Three months of staying outside in the cold.
âYouâll probably need an extra jacket to bring with you on the plain ride, and when we arrive. Itâs suppose to be 32 degrees in Maine!â My momâs hands flew up, we never saw those digits in Florida before.
âIâll be fine, mom. Iâll grab it out of my bag when we get there..â I sounded annoyed, but the thing was that my mom was a hoverer. She always hovered around us, she did that with my 19 year old sister, too. Lucky for her, she moved out.
âOh, are you sure? Please, take it for me,â I heard someone yell out from inside the house, âWe donât need it! We already have one shoved in the car, now lets go!â My mom yelled, I was pretty sure the neighbors could here us.
As I got out of the plane and walked out that long connector into the main place I saw Jasper standing there smiling; along with his mom and sister. It had been six years since I had last saw him, when I was seven and he was eight. I turned to look back and there was my mom and dad, my mom with her huge tote and my dad who already had on his grey and navy winter coat on. That was dad for you, always prepared and embarrassing at the same time.
There was Alice. She was standing next to her mom, playing with some electronic device. She was never much of a talker, not even as a toddler. She was always more focused on putting the blocks in the correct slots or trying so hard to color in-between the line, one of the things most toddlers never cared about.
Jasper walked over and game me a hug, boy I missed him. He was one of those guys who was really just your friend, could listen, could talk, and could totally either bore you or annoy you. His hair had darkened since the last time I saw him. I remember, it used to be a dirty blonde but now it was almost as dark as mine. He had it tousled gently, and I knew he must have used gel or some type of styling cream.
âHey Dakota, howâs it going?â He released me for a few second and smiled his crooked smile. The same one he had six years ago.
âNothing much, howâs the ski resort going? Itâs so great to see you.â I tucked my hair under my ear.
âAhh.. Its ok. We havenât had any snow yet, and our snow machines arenât working well. But yeah, its great to see you.â
We walked out of the terminal after getting our bags. The parking garage was surprisingly empty, only a couple other cars compared to the over thousands in Florida. Jasperâs mom found the silver minivan and we hoped in after putting the bags in the trunk. It was a typical car ride, catching up on things, and listening to the meaningless chatter. All I wanted was to ski already, even if the snow machines werenât working.
holy crud I just realized that.. snort
I like twilight, but I really had no intention to using those names... wow
thanks for pointing that out.
Answer
I didn't read it all. I lost interest shortly after I started. Sorry, good luck though :)
I didn't read it all. I lost interest shortly after I started. Sorry, good luck though :)
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