Overnight Car Trip with 2 Girls Ages 6 and 3 - Watertown,MA

We did 5 days to Anchorage with a 3 and 1 year old. Just have snacks, maybe some games or a portable DVD player, and go for it. Kids adjust when they know there is really no other choice.

My family loves road trips and have driven the the 20 hr trek from Mi to Tx with little ones. The key is to include the drive as part of the vacation. We don't do overnight drives but we do pack the car the night before and head out by 4 am. By the time the sun is up and the kids are awake, it's time to stop for breakfast. If you're lucky maybe you get to eat in a quaint little town and stop by for the sights. You may extend you trip but it's less tiring and more fun.

I would probably choose to break up the drive, if it were my family. I don't like driving at night and I think I would have a hard time with that. I also don't think kids get as good of a night sleep in a car so I would rather break it up, stay in a hotel where the kids can get some energy out swimming that evening, get a decent night sleep in a bed, and then do a smaller stretch the next day.

I am sure there are many out there who do what you are planning on doing. And if it works for your driving style, by all means, definitely go for it!! I couldn't do it that way, personally :-)

Safe travels!! :-)

That's when YOU need to sleep. At night.
It'll ruin your trip to drive then.
I would just drive in the day but take breaks.
Ages 6 and 3 can do it.
There are no babies to randomly just scream. Good luck!

We did this (drove 12 hours) about twice a yr for 18 yrs.

We did not drive at night.

We did get up very early and leave at about 5 am. You get about 3-4 hours till you have to stop for breakfast. Take action toys, like balls, Frisbees or jump ropes for rest stops. Get some books on CD at the library, like Hank the Cowdog. Can you tell I had boys, lol! I always had books they could look at and newish small toys, crayons, etc.

It became a special part of our life together. Go for it!

We have driven from GA to MA and back every year, sometimes twice a year, for several years now. Over the years we have done it with babies as young as 3 months, toddlers and kids as old as 9. We always vary our schedule for what we think will work best for the kids. The only time we didn't drive straight through was to make a full day stop at an amusement park. We don't like the idea of stopping just to sleep because while it would be better for us we think it would be tougher on the kids. They would spend half a day in the car get out, sleep and then get back in the car for another half a day. We usually plan it so we arrive at our destination between 2-3 in the morning. That way the kids sleep for much of the driving and go right back to bed when we arrive.

We do have a DVD player in the car, handheld video games for the older kids and pack toys and plenty of snacks.

What works for our family may not be the best plan for your family but it is definitely doable and much more budget friendly than flying for a large family!

No you are not crazy. It is much easier to travel at night with or without little ones. Since your children are so young you wouldn't even have to go so late, but you may hit some areas of rush hour traffic.

I will strongly suggest a portable DVD player (if you don't already have one). I have found that makes traveling for kids a lot easier in the car if they have a distraction.

I still make a couple of trips a year from Florida to PA and it is cheaper for me to drive then fly and rent a car.

We drove from Chicago to the jersey shore a few years ago. The kids were 19 months and 3. Best thing we ever did was drive at night.

I suggest leaving in the afternoon,letting them watch a movie, stopping for dinner, driving a bit morel,and then stopping and getting them in their pjs. Our kids were out immediately. By then they were bored and ready for sleep.

We do layovers when flying too, since on the first flight they are just too excited to sleep.

Hubby takes a cold medicine the truckers use to stay awake.

We drive long distances all the time with little kids (the closest we've ever lived to family is 1000 miles). We prefer to leave at about 3am, which puts us at our destination around 6pm. We drive about 4 hours before the kids wake up, which is a perfect time for a bathroom/breakfast/gas stop. Then we drive until lunch and do another bathroom/lunch/gas stop. Usually the kids will take a nap after that. They wake around 3ish and we pop in a movie to finish the trip.

We did the over night thing and it sucked! We were exhausted for 2 days because we missed a night's sleep. And, the kids didn't sleep that great. We also like to show kids things along the way (they LOVED the pay phone at one rest stop). Just stop every few hours and let them run around.

I agree about starting in the afternoon, with dinner and pajama stops. I'm not a huge fan of too much screen time, but in this case, I agree with the DVD thing. If you don't have a portable DVD player, now's the time to start looking to see if you can borrow one from a friend. I wouldn't put it on right away - let the kids enjoy whatever portion of the ride is occurring during daylight - there are CDs with "songs for the road" and there's also "travel bingo" which the 6 year old can play and the 3 year old can sort of fool around with (no one cares if there's a winner, only that they're occupied). We used to have one with a heavy-duty card base (like a board book), with plastic sliding doors that you slide over the objects you spot. Instead of numbers, there are typical highway items to spot - a motorcycle, a truck, a police car, a barn, a speed limit sign, etc. It works great for kids who aren't reading yet, or not reading much. Then, as others have said, stop for dinner, and when it's dark and they are bored, THEN put the DVD on.

A lot of long-haul trucks use the highways at night, so it's important to tie a lot of extra distance between vehicles. You'll be traveling in winter conditions at least until you hit Maryland, and maybe longer, so you have to factor in ice and freezing on the bridges. Really concentrate on defensive driving techniques, and be sure your car is gone over by your mechanic before the trip - oil, tire pressure, fluids, you name it.

Have a series of small snacks for the kids, and not just cereal things or high sugar. Have some trail mix, fruit, yogurt, etc. in small, manageable packs like zipper bags or small tupperware-type containers they can manage themselves. Put a car organizer on the back of the front seats so they can reach their stuff, and look into those little activity trays that fit over car seats and boosters. Children's resale shops are a good place for those so you aren't paying full price. Be sure to take their favorite stuffed animal and blanket, but also have a couple of new things that YOU keep with you for meltdowns, boredom and even the dinner table while you wait for your food. We always kept "car toys" that were never brought into the house and only taken into restaurants. Worked great!

There is a non-caffeine, non-stimulant drink - an alternative to those horrible energy "shots" - that is great for focus and increased blood flow to the brain. There's no buzz, and no "crash" - it's patented (very unusual for food products) so you know it's safe, effective and unique. I would really consider that instead of coffee or energy drinks which are so harmful and cause heart palpitations. If one adult is awake and the other is sleeping, you need a reliable alternative to ensure that the driver is alert and functioning! You can buy it on line - I can give you the referral and the link if you are interested.

i know a lot of people do it, but I am not a fan of overnight driving - I feel it's dangerous for a lot of reasons, a main one being the driver dozing off - it can happen in a flash, with disastrous consequences. we have done some long road trips that required 1-2 FULL days of travel with our kids being all ages(they are currently 4, 7, and 11) - we have survived them all and never driven overnight. I feel like the first day or two of a trip after an overnight drive would be miserable as kids are chipper while mom and dad are fatigued. we don't even have dvd players. they bring a DS with headphones, books, and other small/quiet toys - and they just understand that we're in the car to get somewhere. we don't stop every 2 hours either for a long break, etc. that just turns an 8 hour trip into a 14 hour trip. we pack drinks/snacks and just get it done. we're actually doing a 17 day road trip this summer(yes, we MIGHT be crazy haha!). two day "hard drive" to Chicago, 11 days to slowly trek through Route 66(2400 miles) with lots of stops at the OLD original hotels/diners/etc, 1 day at santa monica beach, 2 days at Disneyland, then a two "hard drive" home from LA. the kids actually chose that as opposed to a one week "fly away" vacation to FL/CA/HI... different strokes for different folks, but the overnight driving thing has never appealed to me. good luck whatever you decide!

We drove 12 hour trips many times when our kids were small... instead of driving at night, we left early in the morning (4 am?) and put the kids in, and let them sleep..... we could get several hours down the road before we really needed to stop.

FYI.... we moved to Texas from Iowa when kids were 6 months, 5 1/2, 8, 9 1/2..... we didn't drive back to Iowa, but our families were in Kansas, which was a good 11-12 hour drive.

We didn't want to do the all night drive, because I don't stay awake at night well on the road, and also, when we would get there, if we had driven all night, the adults would want to be sleeping, while the kids were raring to go!

We just got into the habit of stopping every couple of hours for a break.... we still do that, even though it is just hubby and I.

We live in CT and have made the trip to NC a few times. We actually drive all the way to Florida but usually stop in NC. What works best for us is to go to bed early and get up REALLY early (like 230 am). That way, both parents are rested, the kids will (hopefully) continue to sleep for the next 4-5 hours in the car, at which point we stop to stretch, change, and eat breakfast (I pack bagels and cream cheese in the cooler). Try to find a McDonald's with an indoor playground (even if you don't want to eat there, just get a coffee and let the kids climb for 20 minutes.
A portable DVD player is life saver-borrow one if you don't have one.

Lots of people do this. If you and your husband feel confident that you could drive at night while the other sleeps, you should definitely do it. Otherwise, stop somewhere along the way and spend the night. 12 hours is too much in one day - the girls will go nuts.

I think you have a great idea. IF the kids are able to sleep in their carseats. In Oklahoma your oldest would be in a regular seat but many states say they need to be in a car seat until 8. That's why I mention that.

I think if you have a good dinner then leave out it will still be exciting for the kids. They can see part of the travel...

Then when it gets close to bedtime/8:30pm you'll need to stop for an evening snack. Something good of course. Then put them in jammies and pull ups if needed. Total bedtime ritual with brushing teeth, washing face, etc...

Then get back in the vehicle and get back on the road. They may need to stop somewhere in use the bathroom but chances are once they get a full tummy they should drop off.

Then you and hubby can drive. I don't think either of you should sleep. Truly, if the vehicle is totally quiet it's more likely the other person might drop off while driving. When we travel like this we both stay awake. We talk, listen to public radio, sing along with music, play games with the road signs or tags, anything to stay awake and alert. Getting hypnotized by the road is very easy during hours when one is usually asleep.

If you have the money you might go ahead and stop when you're more than half way, at least past Jersey and perhaps past DC. You both need to be aware and alert. If you plan on stopping if needed then you are not disappointed if you do have to.

Once you're all up and ready for the next part of the travel your girls will be just fine after they get a good breakfast.

If you do drive all night and make it all the way prepare your family to manage the kids so you and hubby can sleep as much as needed the next day.

You'll be a happier mom if you get the sleep you need regardless if it's on the road or at your family's home.

This is very doable. I'd never get in the vehicle without a bunch of movies and electronic stuff to occupy the kiddo's when they get bored.

My relatives do this 2x a year. FL to VA. They too leave at 5 or 6 am so that they arrive by dinner time.

One thing I started doing, if I might be staying overnight somewhere, is in addition to the regular suitcases for my family, I pack one small suitcase with a change of clothes and night clothes for all of us. It either gets packed last, or within easy access in the trunk. That way when we do get to the hotel, all I have to grab out of the car is the small bag, the toiletries bag, and any food. I don't have to spend 30 minutes fully unpacking the whole car, just to repack it a few hours later.

We did this a few times when the kids were young. We drove to upstate Maine using this method. We also drove to North Carolina this way too. You aren't crazy. It's a great way to get somewhere without a ton of 'I'm bored' 'are we there yet' 'i'm hungry' 'she's on my side'.

Yes, I just did it! We drove from Northeast Texas to Central California. That was twenty four hours of driving. We did it in two days each way. It can totally be done...oh...and I have a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Neither child is used to long trips, and we survived, you'll be shocked at how well your kids will probably do, I know that I was! We left at midnight, drove all night, the kids slept, and then we drove all day...including stops and everything, we arrived in Tucson, Arizona by 8 pm. That was pretty hard on mom and dad...lol....so when we came back, we left during the day and it wasn't so difficult for us to stay alert. If I were you, I would leave very early in the morning instead of doing the all night thing...you'll be tired upon arrival either way, but at least you won't need to crash the minute you get to your destination if its still before bedtime. Good luck, and you're not crazy!

We drive from Chicago to TN.. ugh..

If you have a portable DVD player that helps. We rented a few movies from the red box They watched them in the car and we returned them at our destination.

Books on tape.. you can get some books on tape and listen to them in the car.

coloring books- they can color - We got trays to put infront of them .

We always look for a play place (out door park, mcdonalds ) for them to stretch and run for a while. Yep, it takes longer but it is helpful.

My parents used to get up at 2 am and start, we woiuld sleep for the first few hrs. This is when we drove to FL. I think the biggest concern is the time of year you are going. weather especially this winter has been crazy.. roads are currently or were closed in IN because of the snow and cold.

Good luck

My neighbors have 3 girls now 2nd, 4th and 6th graders and they have traveled overnight with them for years. They head out about bedtime and the girls sleep most of the way. They routinely travel from the Dallas area to CO and NC

Me personally, no way would I do it. If a destination is more than 2 hours away we always fly. That said, we do live in the DFW area where we can get tickets on Southwest and American at very reasonable prices.

One hotel room is a lot cheaper than four plane tickets, and 2 days of driving more tolerable than one 12 hour stretch. I would be a mess by the time we arrived and wouldn't enjoy the visit after that kind of marathon.

I also knew 6 people that died in one vehicle when the driver fell asleep. I would not risk it.