Long Road Trip with Terrible Two's

I agree with many of the suggestions.

Get a DVD player. It'll be worth the money and you can get them pretty cheap nowadays. Pack a bag of toys he's never seen before and he'll have fun with the novelty of new toys.

My parents used to do this with us kids. They would leave at 4 am in the morning. We'd wake up enough to walk to the packed car and then slept through much of the trip in the morning.

Good luck!

We took our 18 month old twins on a 15 hour car trip this spring break. What really helped us was stopping at places to eat where the kids could get out and walk around/play (McDonald's playplaces). We also timed it so that we did a chunk of the driving at night so they would be sleeping for a big part of it. It was tough, but we survived. You'll have to be firm with your boyfriend, though, that you will need to take breaks so your son can get up and walk around. He'll feel even more constrained than you will because a car seat has no room for a toddler to budge.

What we do in the car is we have one of those portable dvd players. We got a carrier for it that has speakers built in and you can drape it between the front two chairs. Then we watch her fav shows/movies. Backyardigans, Monster's Inc, whatever your kid likes.

We also have these cute little books we found at hobby lobby that look like coloring books, but you just have this little water brush and it makes the color appear. She loves it and the only mess is water. You can also get the color wonder markers that only mark on certain paper. It keeps them busy with little mess.

If your boyfriend does not plan on stopping when your child needs a break, I suggest you not go on this trip with a toddler. It could be a fun trip, but the 2 year old needs to have his needs met first, not your boyfriend. You will have to work at keeping the little one entertained, but a huge part of it will be stops to run around and get rid of energy.

We bought a portable dvd player and a case that attaches to the head rests so our kids can watch movies. Also check out getting a lap table (onestepahead.com) so that he can draw, play with cars, or have a snack with out having to worry about dropping things. We have also left really early in the morning so the kids are still sleeping and used kid sized neck pillows for them so they could still sleep comfortably. You do need to make stops along the way so he can get out and run, kids are not meant to sit for long periods of time. Good luck with the trip.

I have made this trip with 4 kids and at any given time there was a 2 year old! I survived every trip. Here are some tips:
1)if possible, sit in the seat next to your son
2)bring a portable dvd player that hooks to the back of the driver seat and head phones
3)bring a tote filled with smal toys and book
4)crayola make special markers that only write on special paper. Perfect for cars cause they dont stain
5)make frequent stops and make it fun. its a great way to work of pent up energy from sitting in the car. let him run around for a minute.
6) keep a cooler with spill proof cups and easy , low mess snacks
7) bring motrin and earplugs (for you of course)

Understand that this is going to be hard for your son. You can make it fun for him and easier for you. Try not to get upset when he gets frustrated. Since he doesn't understand time, this will seem like an eternity to him.

I hope you have a good time!

Buy a portable DVD player/tv (the little 7-10 inch ones) and mount it to the roof of the car (obviously the inside) and play all sorts of disney movies ... good luck! Let me know how it works!

well. my family (husband, 2 1/2 y.o. and me) went on a long road trip last summer. honestly, it was great. we had a dvd player we didn't even use till the way home. it was a great adventure! he had a little $5 travel magna doodle which kept him occupied for quite awhile. LOTS of snacks, books, cars. and yes, be prepared for at least one or two lengthy stops. he has got to stretch his legs and run some energy off. it really isn't that bad. does your son do well in a car, in general? i think mine didn't realize exactly what was going on - for the first several hours i think he was just looking at it like any other car ride. hmm. where we going. wow there's a bulldozer! woa, look, cows! eventually he took a nap. (we started EARLY in the morning, in order to let him sleep through a lot of it. it worked!) your bf is going to have to be patient and roll with the punches. just like anything else, you have to take little man's cues. but i was very pleasantly surprised by how well my son did. it's a tough age! but like you we really needed it, so we went for it. and never looked back. don't stress yourself out over it, let yourself get caugh up in the excitement and make it positive. it'll be a blast! have fun!

ps, someone mentioned sitting next to your son. since it was only the three of us, i sat my son in the middle of the back seat, surrounded by his "entertainment" on either side (blankets, toys, books etc) so that he could reach everything. then i put my seat as far back as i could, and my husband's legs are long anyway, so it was almost like having him right between us. worked great!

Would it be possible for you to start your travel at night or early in the morning during his regular sleeping time? Most kids will sleep the majority of the time during car rides. Are you planning on driving straight thru or stopping for the night? At this age if they aren't sleeping then frequent stops to let him get out his energy will be needed. Does he have toys or activities that he likes to do and can be done safely in a car seat? Bring those with you! Good Luck!

We've been on several road trips with our young child...some were out of necessity and some were for vacation. There are always tense moments for us. The things that have helped are: portable DVD player with a few new movies, a few new toys (dollar store work just fine), taking breaks to play, bringing lots of snacks, and stopping no later than 7:00 at night if possible. Our child wasn't great about sleeping in the car so we needed to stop early enough to let him run off some steam and get to bed at a decent time. We weren't prepared to travel at night because we get too grumpy without sleep but many people do choose to travel that way with young children and have great success. Taking a ball or a trike (if you have room) can be helpful in case you have a hard time finding a play area. It is important that you are prepared and that you do stop for breaks. Your child will need that. It might help to let your child play at lunch or supper time while the two of you eat. Order his food when you are ready to leave and he can eat it in the car. Just a heads up...the return trip is sometimes more difficult because they know they are going to be stuck in the car seat "forever." Save some really good toys or movies for the return trip to make that a little easier.

i have a three year old and i found it wonderful to bring my lap top with and pop in a new dvd or one of his favs when he started getting a little antsy remember though children have a lot of energy and need to use it up so do try and stop at least every hour or so for at least 20 mins to let him run around a pit stop or just get out of the car. also bring some songs you know he will like and interact with him. maybe even try purchasing him a new toy and give it to him when you know he is just sick of being in the car. you might end up in the back seat with him to play for a while