# 12-Hour Road Trip Alone with a Toddler



## BarefootScientist (Jul 24, 2007)

Am I crazy?









So I am thinking of taking my almost 2 year old to see family, and my DH will not be going with. They are a 12-hour drive away and we'd be staying for 2 weeks. Then a 12-hour drive back. And these 12 hours can be broken up, hotel money is no big problem.

I know all about making sure we have lots of healthy snacks, new things for diversions, stopping often and letting him run around...but I've never driven this far ALONE with DS before, so I need any other tips you can give, relative to that.

Also, specifically, anything you can tell me about how long I should expect to be able to drive in one day, and when I should start (eg. naptime? middle of night? bright and early when toddler awakens?).

And DS and DH have never been apart for more than o/n. Obviously on this trip he will be with other family (who he is for the most part familiar with and likes), but do you think being apart from daddy that long with distress him, and how can we ease that?

Lots of questions, sorry! TIA for any tips or advice you have!


----------



## nextcommercial (Nov 8, 2005)

The drive will be the hardest part.

Is there any way to break it up into two six hour drives? One 12 hour drive is going to be extremely hard on you. You want to be as safe as possible. Is there a really cool place about halfway there that you two can stop and have fun, swim, spend the night and start again the next morning?


----------



## BarefootScientist (Jul 24, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nextcommercial* 
The drive will be the hardest part.

Is there any way to break it up into two six hour drives? One 12 hour drive is going to be extremely hard on you. You want to be as safe as possible. Is there a really cool place about halfway there that you two can stop and have fun, swim, spend the night and start again the next morning?

Oh, yeah, we will definitely do that. Cuz I can see a 12-hour drive taking about 24 hours with a toddler...


----------



## samstress (Feb 21, 2008)

my sister lives five hours away from us and i have driven there many times with just my dd (now 26 months). i've tried leaving at all different hours of the day and have found that leaving at bedtime works the best. yes, it means i'm up late, but dd sleeps the WHOLE way. i usually stop once to stretch my legs (and get more caffeine







).

leaving mid-day or morning works too, but it just takes longer (more stops for feeding and entertaining dd).

a 12-hour drive is quite a haul. i'd definitely try to break it into two days (not so bad since you'll be staying for two weeks).

HAVE FUN!


----------



## reader18 (Jun 14, 2007)

nak -

i don't think it's crazy. i did it about 5 years ago and i was pregnant too. i don't really remember it being difficult.

we did stop to visit friends one night on the way there (which was about half way) and then took a different route home to see my sister and spent the night with her. so i did have people to stop and see along the way, which was nice.

i did all my driving during daylight hours as i felt more comfortable with that.

i know we left the house early morning. He fell asleep in the car and slept for two hours or so then stopped for breakfast. i'm not a morning person, but i enjoyed getting on our way while he was still sleeping. we listened to a lot of cds and i told a lot of stories with silly voices to keep him entertained.

it's fun to think back on that trip, we had a good time. he loved all the attention from family once we got there- i don't remember him having a hard time being away from daddy, i think we were gone a little over a week.

i think its totally worth it, esp if you break it into two days.


----------



## joy2grow (Apr 10, 2006)

I live 5.5hrs away from my home town. I've made the drive 3 times with my 2.75yo and it's no big deal at all. I favor leaving just after lunch as the motion of the car and a full tummy usually help DD fall asleep pretty quick. That way she's ready to wake up just about the time I need to stop to pee & get a snack









I do have a portable DVD player that I bring and we usually turn it on for the last leg of the journey. She also enjoys a variety of CD that we jam to or will look at books or toys for some of the time. Being able to relax, renew and explore a new environment of a a hotel will be a fun experience for your child. DD is very attached to DH but it is always about mama - as long as I am with her she is OK in any circumstance. Have fun!


----------



## Flower of Bliss (Jun 13, 2006)

It takes 5-6 hours to drive from here to where DH and I grew up (and where pretty much all of our family still lives). We've done the drive 20+ times with her. Generally it goes quite well. I usually do the drive with my DH, but I've done it alone.

We always leave at about nap time. Actually I find leaving a bit before I expect her to nap works out beautifully. We have a somewhat easy morning as we can pack and load up the car without rushing too much (I am SO not a morning person). When we get in the car, she can play, chatter, whatever for 30 minutes or so without getting too restless, then she falls asleep. If I keep the car moving, she'll often sleep for 3-3.5 hours. Then we only have about 1 hour or so left until we're there. If she wakes up earlier we definitely stop to run around, snack, use the bathroom, etc. We arrive around dinner time.

I have a soft basket that fits neatly beside her car seat that she can actually reach from her car seat (I buckle it in right next to her). I fill it with toys and books (small musical instruments, small stuffed animals, a handful of Schleich animals, a tiny magnadoodle, board books, etc). Usually I put some bulky things on the bottom to lift the smaller things up higher, and sometimes I put things in small bags so she can pull them as a set. I pack plenty of easy car snacks in snack traps that are easy to just hand her, and usually 2 cups of water so that when she drops one I can hand her another.

We've done the trip many times without stopping at all, and we rarely stop more than 2 times. A 12 hour drive split in 2 days with an exciting hotel stay (and hotel pool) in the middle sounds like it would be pretty doable, especially since you'll have 2 weeks there before you have to do it again.


----------



## kbl (Apr 17, 2008)

We just did two 12-hour days in a row, each way, w/our 2.5-y-o. Books on CD from the library were great, although I have to admit I sunk to my new low and borrowed a DVD player from a friend - which was absolutely SUPER. I figure a little video vegging is not such a bad thing if it gets you to where you're going -- as my friend said, "long car trips stink and if we could all be watching movies, we would be!"


----------



## BarefootScientist (Jul 24, 2007)

Thanks everyone! I am especially glad to see so many of you say you enjoyed traveling with your toddler or that it was no big deal. We decided we are going to give it a try.







We'll leave next Thursday. I'm excited!







I welcome anyone else's ideas or tips.


----------



## averlee (Apr 10, 2009)

My daughter, 25 months, has never liked riding in a car. Roadtrips are sometimes very hard- even the 3 hour drive to see grandma.

Trying to drive at the times of day my daughter is most active almost never works out. Most of the morning, she wants to be busy running around, and being confined to a carseat is really hard for her then.

We tried various carseats until we've finally found one that seems to bother my daughter less. It sits up very straight, and doesn't block her view much. It has less padding than others we've tried, I think it makes her feel less squished. She also loves to listen to music, most kids do.

Also, my daughter gets irritable (understandably) when she's hot, cold, wet, or it's too sunny. Once, I didn't notice that the chest clip on her seat had heated up. When alone in a car with a toddler, it can be hard to keep up with their needs, spills, etc. Sometimes we're stopping every half hour so I can adjust shades, retrieve toys, etc. That's okay, but it does take longer. So, I suggest letting go of time frames- get there when you get there.

This is horrible advice, but in the car, we use a portable DVD player to watch cartoons and Sesame Street and Barney. This is such a fun treat that it really does help in a pinch, when nothing else will. I have even resorted to letting her have at it with an ice cream cone, so we could make the last 20 miles.

When you get there, hopefully you can set everything up to help your little one feel comfortable. We always bring quite a lot of toys from home, and some of our favorite stuff- My daughter has this little foam couch thing that pulls into a bed, it has Dora the explorer on it. We took it with us to a hotel, she was so glad to have her own couch there. The same with her potty. A trip to the grocery store, to stock up on familiar favorites, really seems to help my daughter settle in at a new place. Like, if she knows where the Annie's bunnies are at grandma's and the hotel, everything's cool. Pictures of our cats, in your case maybe pictures of Dad, and frequent phone calls home can reduce the stress of being apart. And, sometimes preparing a countdown of some type- removing a link from a paper chain every day, or eating one raisin out of the box each day, and when they are all gone we'll go home.

Best of luck, and have a blast!


----------

