Roadtripping with a Sassy Toddler

At the end of the day, the memories and experiences we have because of these road trips makes them all worth it

We do our fair share of road trips...be it day-trips to the farm to see G'ma and G'pa, road trips to Omaha to see friends or just the frequent trips to and from Ankeny or Manson...some weeks it feels like we're in the car an excessive amount, especially when I'm flying solo for most of these small excursions.

And here's something...Maverick is not (nor has he ever been) and excellent car-rider. He's mediocre at best and lately he's kind of awful. We hit a high point during our trip to Omaha last month (praise Jesus) and suddenly I had dreams of visiting a friend in Cedar rapids! Heading to Omaha again this fall (this time bringing daddy)! And maybe even going along for a family trip to Sioux City in the not-so-distant future! That all seemed more realistic after our fabulous trip to Omaha! Buuuuuut Mav really fell off the happy-car-riding-wagon these past few weeks. That false sense of confidence was quickly dashed as soon as we got in the car to head to  Manson a few weeks ago and he chucked his toy and drink and snack before we were even to the Interstate.

Great.

So I've gotten pretty desperate creative with what I keep stocked in the car for snacks and entertainment. Right down to the little tote I keep everything in...it's a bag I got for ordering my summer Bible study from She Reads Truth and it says, 'Grace Day' right on the front in big, bold, black letters. So every time I reach for a toy to hand the irrational, squirming, crying toddler, I am forced to remember GRACE.

Here's what we do to make our road-trips enjoyable do-able...

We do almost all of our traveling in the morning, if we can help it. We traveled during nap time on Christmas Day last year and it was a disaster and I haven't done it since. Mav is (usually) a completely different kid when we are on the road by 9am or before vs. traveling too close to nap time, during nap, or even after a good nap! I could force him to just learn to deal with traveling when it works for everyone else, but I've chosen to try to set him up for success as much as possible by road tripping in the morning ONLY (and making sure we reach our destination in plenty of time to set up for nap or are back HOME in time for nap!). The drive is more enjoyable for EEEEVERYONE.

Do not underestimate the power of the Dollar Tree. Before we went to Omaha last month I went to the Dollar Tree and stocked up on $16-worth of new/different cheap toys and snacks. This was a LIFE SAVER. I grabbed everything from a package of pipe cleaners to new animal crackers to little airplanes. If it was something new/different/interesting it was worth the $1 price-tag to give it a try. Some of my finds only lasted for five minutes, but the little red plastic motorcycle I bought kept Mav happy for upwards of a half hour on the drive there. So worth it.

I also round up a few toys he hasn't seen/touched in a while from home and throw those in the car before a drive. This 'trick' used to work a little better than it has lately, but sometimes just a random spatula from the kitchen will keep him happy and occupied for 15 minutes! Or Tupperware containers and their lids! I'll give him almost anything I can find if I'm out of options...my tightly-shut tube of mascara, the straw from my water cup, my empty iced coffee glass (again, tightly sealed), the pool passes on our key ring...anything to buy me five more minutes of fuss-free driving.

We do not stop. Well, last month when we went to Omaha we did once on the way there and once on the way back so Mav's traveling buddy could eat, but as a rule when it's just the two (or three) of us we don't. Maverick is the kind of kid who just gets MORE upset if we were to pull off and try to 'comfort' him or stop to play at a rest area...getting back in the car would mean a horrendous fit (we've done each of these things once and I vowed to never do it again). No matter how bad it is...we just plow right through so we can get where we're going that much quicker.

We love eating and snacking in the car. It's a good way for me to waste 20-30 minutes of the drive if I'm strategic about it. I hand back an apple or a banana for Maverick to work on and wait to see how long it lasts. Fruit snacks, peanut butter sandwiches, cheese sticks, crackers, goldfish, fruit leather, pouches, and ice water in a Starbucks cup has been known to keep him busy for the first 20 minutes of our drives.

And over pack the snacks! If he's asking for a third apple sauce pouch, I just give it to him. They don't have any added sugar so who cares and playing with the empty pouch and lid when he's finished keeps him happy for a few extra minutes. I brought a TJ Maxx bag FULL of an assortment of snacks when we went to Omaha and I'm so glad I did. I would offer Maverick choices, which was a new thing he's not used to and there was room to throw in road trip snacks for the mom's too.

We don't stop and do errands on the way out of town. This prolongs the whole drive and it's wasting the first (few) precious HAPPY minutes Maverick has to offer during the drive. Whether it's Manson, Ankeny, or a longer trek, I like to make sure the gas tank is full, the coffee is ready at home (in copious amounts), and everything is packed and loaded the night before or in the morning before Mav is even awake. I refuse to listen to my child throwing a fit in the car because of my poor planning. If I've done everything I can do and he still loses it, that can't really be helped.

For trips longer than 30 minutes, I make sure we have one of Mav's blankets and his Chester the Raccoon. He's not typically allowed to have his blanket anywhere outside of  his crib, but for long car rides, I know I can whip out in a moment of desperation and he will instantly calm down and probably be happy chewing on it for up to 20 minutes. If I wait until he's done with blanket and throw back Chester, we will probably be able to make it wherever we're going. They're my secret weapons.

Side note...Maverick calls Chester, 'CHAACHAAAA' and it is the cutest darn thing I've ever seen/heard. 

If all else fails, I pull out my phone for Elmo YouTube videos. I run out of data so fast it's ridiculous, but sometimes it just needs to be done and I deal with the consequences later. Ideally, our next vehicle will have DVD players in the head-rests or we will probably be purchasing a travel-DVD player. Some days I wonder how parents even parented before screens...is that bad? Mav was sick with some pukes this morning and we watched PBS for THREE HOURS STRAIGHT...what else were we supposed to do?!


If you have kiddos who love the car...congratulations. If you have kiddos who tend to be nightmares during car rides longer than a trip to Target (but let's face it...sometimes even that 10-minute car ride can be rough because #toddler), I hoped something from this post helped!

MmB