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I'll be driving to a birthday party all the way in Cape Coral (we live in Wellington) to see a friend from NYC that I haven't seen in 5 years and I will have my 18-month-old and my 4-year old in the car with me. They get antsy after 20 minutes on the drive from Boca to Wellington! What should I have with me to make the car ride go smoothly (and btw, we're in the process of trying to break the binky habit in my 18-month-old so timing isn't great if I can't soothe the crying any other way, lol!) Toys are problematic for the 18-month-old because if he drops them, i can't reach them to pick them up unless I pull over constantly. The older one is easier to deal with because I can have books and even my iPod for him to play with (although the iPod tends to set the little one off sometimes because he wants to grab at it).
try a DVD player for them, some snacks ( suger less) and if all else fails give up and ween off the " binky " later.
Good luck, you'll need it, personally, I'd shot myself rather then do anything like that again haha.
First of all, dress yourself with lots of patience. I usually get prepared with low expectations and who knows, I may end up with better than expected results when traveling.
There is a strap that it meant to be used for sippy cups so that if the kids drop it from car seat or stroller, they don't fall on the floor and rather hand and they can pull up with the strap. I didn't use this much for my daughter for the cups, but did use it for some toys when she was younger but you may want to give it a try for the 18-month old if he drops toys. I think you can find at Target or Walgreens: something like this: Amazon.com: Toy Bungee - Toy, Cup, Bottle Tether (Glacier Grey): Baby
Have you thought of scheduling your drive during a time the 18-month old would be napping?
Try to have some snacks that they can both grab onto on a cup. There is a cup with handles from Munchkins that you can put stuff like cheerios and they may not spill as much as other cups. Here's the link but I think you can find at local grocery store, Target or Babies R Us. Amazon.com: Munchkin Two Snack Catchers, Colors May Vary: Baby
If you have a DVD player or iPod - download some movies and get inexpensive headphones (the old-fashion kind that go overhead so they don't fall)...that may help the 4 year old.
Play I-Spy (may work with 4 y/o).
Play songs that they may know the words to.
Sticker work: get several pages of stickers that are easy to remove from the page and give them construction paper or a piece of paper on their lap. My daughter is now almost 4 and we still do this on long road trips or airplanes. The paper I fold in 4 and she usually uses one quadrant of the paper at a time. Besides the paper, they can become a little creative and put stickers on themselves. I have some pretty funny pictures of her having stickers all over one hand (almost like a glove) or in her forehead. The paper you can fold and save in the bag for the trip back.
Thanks so much for the great ideas! And yes, the car ride will be when the 18-month-old usually naps. The odd part though is that he has been much crankier and less likely to sleep since we switched him to facing-forward. He's big for his age so when he was rear-facing, his feet were firmly pressed against the backseat, so much so that his legs were bent! Now, it's almost as if seeing me now all the time makes him want to get out of the seat. My husband who also has a forward-facing seat doesn't have this problem, so I'm stumped. No crying with hubby.
I'm seriously considering making him rear-facing for this trip because he was so quiet and peaceful facing nothing but his little mirror.
Thanks so much for the great ideas! And yes, the car ride will be when the 18-month-old usually naps. The odd part though is that he has been much crankier and less likely to sleep since we switched him to facing-forward. He's big for his age so when he was rear-facing, his feet were firmly pressed against the backseat, so much so that his legs were bent! Now, it's almost as if seeing me now all the time makes him want to get out of the seat. My husband who also has a forward-facing seat doesn't have this problem, so I'm stumped. No crying with hubby.
I'm seriously considering making him rear-facing for this trip because he was so quiet and peaceful facing nothing but his little mirror.
Do you have his seat behind the passenger seat? If so, maybe that's it. He can see you more easily than if he were in the seat beind the driver's seat.
Hold off on the binky weaning LOL....and tie the toys to the car seat, so if the little one drops the toys, they can retrieve them by pulling up the string. That alone, can be a game. LOL Also, if you have headrests, get a couple of those stick-on mirrors to put on the back of the front seats. Good luck...it isn't easy, but it's totally do-able. :-)
Yes, Hopes, his seat is behind the passenger seat! The 4-year-old is behind me (although the same configuration is in my husband's car and the baby is quiet - guess I provoke a strong response!!). I will consider switching their seats for this trip!
Hey, OP. I'd let him have a blankey for the ride too.
It's okay to wean them via teaching them the difference between naptime and awake time.
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