How To Survive Road Trips With Toddlers

Fun Cheap or Free understands the struggle involved in getting toddlers to the vacation destination of your dreams (0r theirs).  To help us moms arrive in one piece, with all our hair intact, they've put together an awesome list of tips and tricks for travel that you absolutely must read!

This year, our summer vacation involves a three hour car ride with a two year old. Of course I'm taking his tablet (thanks grandparents!) fully loaded with Disney clips and kiddie apps to occupy him. We also splurged on a car charger with a cord long enough for him to play from the back seat while it charges. The tablet should buy us some peace and quiet for a bit, but it's not going to work for three hours. Besides, that much screen time makes me cringe.

Of course I'm taking snacks for the trip. The bunny crackers and fruit slices should buy me a few minutes here and there. He can't yell “Mommy!” on repeat like a broken record with a mouth full of strawberry after all.

But what should I do with the rest of the time? I'm definitely trying some of these ideas!

1.  Sippy cups already filled and in the insulated tote so I didn’t have to worry about pouring while driving.

Because my husband has a talent for hitting bumps and pot holes at the worst possible times.

2.  I filled a tote with books that he could reach from his seat.

Making things accessible from his seat is essential. It minimizes the number of times I have to awkwardly reach into the back seat to hand deliver the next distraction.

3.  When we needed to stop I tried to find rest stops with play places or with grassy areas so we could run around and burn off some energy. I found this one random stop that had Llamas. Highlight of the trip for my little guy.

We probably won't see any llamas on the way to the beach, but safe areas to run are essential and much preferred to chasing my active little boy through a gas station parking lot or around the tables at a fast food restaurant.

There are so many more tips in the list of tips and tricks for traveling with toddlers that have helped me come up with my own creative ideas for our impending road trip. Share your tips in the comments.