18 Hours in Car with 3 Year Old

I just did the same exact trip with my 3 year old son. I sat in the back with him, and brought a plastic storage container of things like puzzles, books, flash cards, crayons, coloring books, stickers and paper, playdough, and dvd's. I made sure to alternate these pretty quickly with him so that he really never got the chance to get bored with them. I went and got a lap desk at Ikea for $10, the kind that has a bean bag on the bottom and a desk on the top and it worked great as a surface for him to play playdough on, and color on. Im not sure if this is an option for you but I also brought my laptop with some preschool age programs, and this was by far his favorite thing and kept him busy for hours on end. I got a lighter adapter for charging purposes.

But one thing I did do that I think helped a lot, was I brought a little bag with bubbles, a kite, and a beach ball, and we stopped every few hours at a rest stop and flew a kite, blew bubbles and chased them, or kicked the ball. I snuck a lot of running in there with "Hey can you beat Mommy to that tree?" and other things to let him run some of his energy off. We also stopped at a hotel that had a pool so I took him to the pool that night and let him play, in hopes that he could burn off enough energy to go to bed at a decent time that night, it seemed to work.

Its a long trip!

Good luck! I highly recommend a DVD player. We have three boys and that has been a LIFE SAVER. Here are some other fun ideas from Burb Mom: http://www.burbmom.net/im-leaving-on-a-jet-plane/

OMG I saw your post and cringed. I recall long road trips when I was a child with family growing up. We'd do the I Spy, check out different states on car tags. I couldn't read or do puzzles or I would get sick. I know it is much easier these days with DVD's etc.

We personally do not drive anywhere if it is over 2 hours. We are believers in flying. I can't imagine being on the road with my daughter that long.

Have fun and cherish your moments. The other response about running around at stops and making sure your son gets some exercise sounds like good ideas.

EDIT: In response to Christine's remarks.... My comments were directed at childhood memories (NOT NEGATIVE) of being in a car for a long period of time. I recall great memories on our road trips. I cringe at the thought of driving like that now (traffic, time, etc). Plane tickets for a family of 5 are not comparable to a family of 3. Of course it sounds like it would make sense for a road trip with a family of 5. Each family has to do what is right for them. I don't see insensitivity here, lighten up.

Enjoy your road trip with your son and making memories. That is the point. :)

A portable DVD player to watch a movie or two would help as well. Lots of drinks and healthy snacks too.

Might be too late, but here are some things that have worked for me with my 3 year old daughter, other than the DVD player of course:

1. Books and books of stickers... and a notebook or another book. She spends HOURS sticking stickers all over... warning: it will be a mess.

2. Magazines and sissors. She LOVES to cut out all the girly things in magazines, such as handbangs, dresses, flowers, animals,e tc. It entertains her for hours and it is so inexpensive. At the container store they have these portable sitting tables (i don't know how to explain) like trays... and you can put it over her legs, it holds crayons, notebooks, etc., and then you can fold it into a "portfolio" thing with everything inside (is this making any sense??)

The DVD player is definitely a life saver. One tip about bringing new little toys and such: I bought a bunch of little things at the dollar store and other things I knew my kids would like. I wrapped them up separately in tissue paper then after every rest stop the kids would get one to open. It was like Christmas to them and they still remember the times we did that (they're teens now)
And when we were at the rest stop, we would do jumping jacks, hop, run in place, anything to get the wiggles out. Have fun-it's really easier than you think.

The DVD player with cartoons that he likes would be great. I just went on a 12 trip with my grandson who was only 1 1/2 and he loved watching the DVD with his favorite shows. He loves the educational ones best.

Love and Light,
Rev. G. Hudson, Reiki Master.
www.reikigailhudson.com