Long journey with kids in car help...

Lyndsay_21

thanks for all the advice i have no idea why she doesn't like dogs i am totally a dog person being brought up with on so she doesn't get the fear from me! i think she's just never really been around them and MIL's dogs aren't exactly 'bright' to say the least plus there the kind that just like to run and play at every possible opportunity and being big dogs they tend to bump into things! I'm sure all my worries are unfounded and the kids will love them.
Wish me luck

Becles

Good luck

Hope you have a lovely time.

Counting_Pennies_2

I have just come back from a four hour trip with a one year old. Now having some quiet time on the computer to recover!!!

My only way of coping was to pass back a sequence of books, toys, little containers to shake and make a racket, raisins, snack bars, bananas and in the last half hour white chocolate buttons!!!

Singing didn't work, and if you see a traffic jam and they are asleep take the first exit off the motorway and keep driving on the A roads instead. Sadly we got held up in a traffic jam, my little boy woke without any movement in the car and we got stuck with three and a half hours of active boy instead of the two I had hoped for!!!

Another tip is to plough on and do as much of the journey you can until they really need a break, we managed to do the four hours without stopping, and although the last half hour was hell, we were back in time for him to run off his energy for two hours before bed.

Good luck!

mjenn5

Reading this thread with great interest.

This Saturday we will be having the pleasure of a 5 hour car journey with 5 children.

To prepare for this I have a ream of paper with pencils and crayons. Gameboys at the ready along with daughters Videonow player.

I have got my sons ps2 with screen ready for in-car use and a supply of good holiday songs at the ready.

Limit the juice to cut down on constant stops for the toilet and lunch prepared for the hungry and bored.

Plenty of coffee for the drivers and the must have Starburts (Opal Fruits of old) sweeties.

Lord help us but I am sure we will all survive.

Good luck to all and enjoy your holidays

jenpoptab

Becles wrote:

Mine have an A4 clipboard each for paper. They manage to hold that on their knees ok. When I was little, my parents gave us a tea tray each. That might work too as the lip stops the pencils rolling off.

I've usually put stuff in a bag on the back seat between them and they've managed to reach ok.

Another thought! The cbeebies website has pictures of TV characters to print out and colour in.

Thanks, only just got around to checking back here. Good idea, I might have a look at those lap tray with beans in them so that it rest's nicely on her knee. I think I may print off some pics from cbeebies as well. It was her 2nd birthday on Sunday and she got a fimbles toy and now she has become obsessed with them, won't stop watching the dvd!

gravitytolls

Can you drive at night.

I know what you mean about being scared of dogs. We've always had 'em. 2 years ago we took in 2 rescue foxhounds.

They were lovely and lived with us for 2 years. Then the male bit my 3 yr old by his eye. The dog was summarily taken back to the pound, and my son is scarred for life(I'm not trying to scare you).

But now he's petrified, our own dogs are fine, but he screams and becomes hysterical with other dogs of all sizes, despite it being a year on.

So maybe you could get a cage/mesh dog guard to keep children and dogs apart. That way, the children can't bug the dogs, and they will fairly peacfully behave. In my experience dogs always travel better than children.

henhog

I know your kids are younger but one game we always played as kids and still play today with own family is Pub Cricket. When you see any pub, if it has a person in the name i.e. William of York you score two runs (two legs) first to spot score the points. Pub names with animals in score well (fox and hounds would be eight) If it is a King you tripple your total so far, a queen double it, a prince add ten etc (make your own rules up) However, if it is anything to do with fish you all lose your points (Fisherman's arms etc) except for the one who spots it. (fish have no legs!)
It does pass the time (not on motor ways!) and helps them do their maths as well!
Good luck;
Henhog.

Jay-Jay_4

Have you got a stairgate that you could take with you? If you put the dogs in the hall and put the stairgate on the lounge door, your children can get used to the dogs and vice versa without having wagging tails and big doggy heads in their faces.

apprentice_tycoon

I've come to this thread very late after the OP, our journeys were made a little easier by our 'present fairy'. I bought lots of cheap toys, puzzles etc (nothing that has little bits to drop on the car floor). On occasional stops for toilet breaks either OH or I would hang back for a moment and pull one of these out of a bag under the passenger seat and put them in the kids car seats for them to find after the loo (oooh the present fairy's been again...bless 'em!). We kept this to 2 or 3 times per long journey so that they didn't get to expect it every time we left the car.

Mumstheword

a video on helps our three. they are 9,4 and 2, but luckily will all accept something like star wars!
No need for expensive dvd in car things. we use a little telly, dvd player, and a power inverter to run them from the ciggie lighter. keeps them quiet for ages! we wedge the stand of the telly into the sunroof, so the telly is high up and all 3 can see the screen.

Also got some trays (about the size of small litter trays!!) with pencils, paper etc in. tray edges stop the pens falling out.