How do you keep a 2 year old happy on 10 hour trip?

Question

My daughter is going to be 2 in like 3 weeks. We are going on a 10 hour trip to Florida. We are leaving about midnight. Any suggestions on how to keep her happy during the trip? We are bringing a DVD player for the car That she can watch with her favorite cartoons.

Answer 1

I remember a few years back when I went on holiday with my best friend and her 4 year old daughter and my godchild, Tessa. Whilst my friend was packing up Tessa things and starting to load the car I took Tessa to the park and let her do ANYTHING she wanted, we ran around the outskirts of the park, went up and down the slide hundreds (it felt like it!) times, played hide and go seek (don't worry I let her think I couldn't see her but I would never let her out of my sight!!!!!) and endless jumping, rocking and climbing activities. Then we had a race back to her house, it is in a very quiet neighbour hood and a dead so we ran the whole way back to her house! I was as exhausted as she was. Her mother bathed her and gave her some dinner and we gave her pajamas to put on, it would get her in the sleepy mood! We loaded up the car and she fall asleep! When a noisy truck blew its horn behind us at a traffic light a few hours into the journey she woke up but I gave her a drink of water and I read her the first page of a book and she was back to sleep! Long, night time trips aren't always that bad as HOPEFULLY they sleep!!! Just make sure you wear them out first!

Answer 2

do something that day to wear her out and try to keep her awake as long as possible so she can sleep most of the car ride and when she wakes up put on her favorite movie, have snacks, read to her, bring a new toy that she hasnt seen before so she will be fascinated by it for a while, play some music she likes to listen to

Answer 3

When I took my 2 year old on an 18 hr car trip, we had gone to visit my best friend and her family and were on our way home. My friend had given her a Leapfrog refrigerator toy with the letter magnets in it. She was completely enthralled the whole way with learning her phonics and letters. Fortunately, the gadget does have a high and low switch for the volume - as far as talking toys go - it's one of the most tolerable for mom and dad to hear over and over and kind of funny too! It says the name of the letter and the sounds it makes - I find that anything educational related is better than straight entertainment because they will learn things and pick up things you may think they are not even ready for. Now that she is five, my little girl knows every letter and the sounds they make - it will help her in Kindergarten where they are expecting so much from them these days! My kids love Baby Einsteins and Little Einsteins videos and those are also educational. If you go to a teacher's store - you'll find some excellent resources.

Answer 4

Leaving at midnight? Good, keep her up till it's time to go (no naps after 5 pm), and then load her up and go! She ought to be so worn out that she sleeps the entire time!

Answer 5

bring games coloring books maybe music if she likes it books for u to read to her and toys!

Answer 6

Coloring books, music, try not to load up the car with a bunch of sugary snack foods. More like apples and stuff if she wants a snack so she doesn't have so much energy. But make sure you tire her out the day before.

Answer 7

well.. she isnt going to want to be stuck in a car seat the entire ride. so every now and then stop at a nice resting place and let her get some fresh air. and it will be good if you sat in the back and played with her. it will help tire her out.

the dvd player is a great idea

Answer 8

Hehe, we must decently close by. Florida is a 10 1/2 - 11 hour trip for me.

You'll have to pack some toys, I'm not for sure what 2 year olds usually like.

Answer 9

well i have a 3 year old sister and luckily we have never goen on a 10 hour trip maybe 5 hours at the most

a dvd player is the way to go

i suggest bringing her favorite stuffed animal, a blanket and small pillow

before you go, let her pack a bag with whatever small trinkets or toys she wants

bring stickers

a metal cookie sheet and some magnets is fun, littlest pet shops will stick to the sheet too

an etch a sketch or viewfinder

sticker books and coloring books/ simple activity books are fun

crayons and her own notebook

when my sister was two, she liked this snap-shut makeup case that had a mirror. she would open and close it and look at herself thousands of times. just make sure it has no makeup in it.

scotch tape, believe me

books

foam shapes and a glue stick

bring some of her fave music CD's

finger puppets

those gel colorforms that stick on windows, or keychain animals that also stick on windows

wrap new dollar store toys in wrapping paper (the more layers the better) and give her one every half hour or hour... this might keep her occupied for most of the trip!

dont forget snacks... and a lollipop or gummy bears just in case (for emergncyes) :)

and do not bring juice boxes because they will squirt all over, it even happens to me. if you do put the juice box in one of those plastic juice box holders

believe me, you won't need all of these! she will be fine. and kids are very easily entertained. have a great trip, and hopefully your kid will sleep most of the time! :)

good luck

Answer 10

maybe some car friendly snacks, a few toys. When she wakes up maybe sing songs with her. My niece loved singing songs in the car, it kept her happy but did get annoying after an hour. You could also sit next to her if she gets really fussy and read to her. I would also try to tire her out before you leave. Take her on a long 30-45 min walk around your neighbourhood. Let her run if she wants to and horse play so she gets it out before being in the car for 10 hours. Do not let her take a nap that day so she falls asleep might work too.

Answer 11

I would avoid bringing the DVD player (or anything else exciting) out initially - start off with the car dark and quiet and hopefully she will go to sleep for a good long time and you can get a big chunk of the journey done before she really knows it's happening. You might consider not putting her to bed that evening so she is tired - only you know your child, this would work for some kids and make others frantic and miserable.

Also, think about which side of the car the sun will be on most of the time and make sure her seat is somewhere else - she'll be happier and calmer without the sun in her eyes.

And I'd mix things up. Don't wait until she is bored with DVDs to try another distraction - let her watch one episode, then turn it off and give her a toy (try to buy a few cheap ones and don't let her see them beforehand), then do some singing when she loses interest in it (get a kiddie tape or CD), then another episode on the DVD after that. And try to time your stops for when she's getting fed up.