Car Driving

Is it the car or the carseat that bothers him? My son didn't like the carseat, so we would have him sit in it while he was in the house. That way he could see us and play with us. Once he was OK with the seat it made cartrips much easier!! Also make sure the seat is adjusted correctly, maybe he is trying to tell you that the straps are too tight or rubbing/poking him.

Well, really he shouldn't be driving the car until he is sixteen. :) Just kidding, I know what you meant.

Anyhow, my daughter loves it when I play her favorite CD's - that seems to keep her interest for awhile. There are also many toys out there that kids can play with in their car seats. If you really want to splurge, you could get him a DVD player and he could watch that. Some kids enjoy just you conversing with them. Others don't want to talk to them it just makes them upset. You really just have to get a feel for his personality and adjust to what he needs. You may have to try different things until you get the "combination" correct. :)

Good luck! I am going on a 10-1/2 hour car ride with my 1 year old this weekend....I am thinking I'm in for a treat.

Try toys or videos.It could be because he still has to face backwards and he's board b/c what can you see facing backwards..not too much of anything.
But i took my kids(ages 11,3 and 20months)on a road trip from Pa to Ok...they did great,we had videos and toys/books and we drove straight through.they slept in the car.
But good lck
J.

Both my daughters had a similar problem late at night. I bought the Fisher Price musical mirror with lights. It was PRICELESS.

Honestly, it's really a developmental milestone going on - around this age, babies start to realize that, even though they can't see you, you still exist (before then, they're neurological reasoning is that, they can't see or hear you, or a toy, you or it no longer exists and they move on). This new realization also explains the first bout of separation anxiety - he realizes that you aren't there, and it makes him upset. Keeping a steady stream of talking, singing, etc, as well as frequent stops (yes, I know it's a pain in the butt to make a stop halfway to the grocery store, but it WILL get better). Hearing your voice should help him, and you can also get a soft mirror like this one (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4269003) so that he can see the back of your head (although this might only console him for a minute, because he won't be able to understand why you're up there looking the other direction. If you try all that and he's still miserable, you might want to consider switching to a different car seat (I'm assuming you use an infant car seat "bucket" or "capsule"). Convertible car seats like the Cosco Scenera 5 point or the Evenflo Triumph Advance (I can give more recommendations if you go this route) tend to be more comfortable, and give the baby/toddler more of an ability to see out the window and be more comfortable in general. Also, when he's a couple months older, you can adjust the installation of the car seat so that his seat is more upright (you should maintain a 45 degree angle for infants). This also might make him happier.

And a general PSA: babies and toddlers can see a lot more rear-facing than you think, especially in a convertible car seat. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends you keep your child rear-facing as long as possible, and for very good reason (http://tinyurl.com/2smdts, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9916868/, http://tinyurl.com/gvh7b). There is a great video on YouTube about the view from a rear-facing car seat, and I think it's fantastic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj4xEOP7yWk). If you'd like more information about rear-facing, please let me know. Car safety (for everyone) is very important to me.

~H. Ross, NHTSA certified Child Passenger Safety technician.

We've done a lot of travelling with our kids who are now 2 yo and 3 yo. We've always made sure they had things to keep them entertained such as small toys, books, mirrors (they can see themselves and you, too)and "carseat toys". We had one that was a dashboard with turn signals, a horn, keys, etc. I think I've also seen ones that were like piano keyboards. We have kid's cds so we can sing along to their favorite songs. We also have a dvd player in our van.

Other than trying to keep him entertained and interact with him, I would suggest seeing if the carseat straps need adjusted. Perhaps they are pinching or irritating him.