Other than consuming a lot of coffee, I’ve had to come up with ways of getting through a long car journey with a 5 and 2 year old. Well, the 5 year old is easy to entertain. The 2 year old however, he’s the trouble maker.
First thing we did was get a new car. I mean, we needed a new car, and got ourselves a pretty decent upgrade. Nothing too crazy high tech, but something affordable with a few perks to make our journeys a little more comfortable.
As we’ve been going on a lot more staycations since our redundancies, we wanted a car that had plenty of space to pack everything we needed for a holiday in the UK. Our SUV has enough boot space for the travel cot, stroller and suitcases. And anything else we can squeeze in.
The boys have plenty of space in the back with a useful drinks holder that pulls down in the middle seat. To try and keep toys/snacks/gadgets as accessible as possible we’ve given Lamb a seat organiser in front of his seat so he can grab things throughout the journey. His little brother still faces backwards so he doesn’t have this luxury just yet. But he soon lets us know when he wants something!
Something as simple as bluetooth in our new car allows us to connect our phones to play music and audio books through the speakers to keep the boys happy. You’d be surprised how much an audio copy of a Peppa Pig can entrain a 2 year old!
The boys do love a bit of Netflix, so we bought them a Kindle Fire Kids to keep them happy. It is an absolute essential item for us to keep the boys entertained in the car.
As well, as gadgets to keep the kids occupied, I also load the car up with magazines, books and stickers! A little sticker book that Bear can hold easily will keep him happy for a good half an hour. I don’t care where he put the stickers, a long as we can get a bit further down the motorway!
On our way back from Wales last week I gave Lamb a Melissa & Doug sticker book and he created an alien and robot scene all over his window. Did the the thought of removing the stickers from the window make me a little nervous? Sure. But did it keep him quiet? Yes!
Of course no one would go on a long car journey with kids without filing a bag of edible goodies. I try to have a mix of healthy foods and treats. I start by offering the healthy stuff, but ultimately know I may end up continuously offering sugary snacks to avoid yet another stop at the services to let them run around.
In preparation for a long journey I cut up grapes and cubes of cheese (two things both the boys will eat lots of) and pop them into little snack pots. Apples usually keep them quiet for a little while too. I avoid oranges and bananas because of the mess.
I also pack crisps, sandwiches, and things like cheese straws. Then of course biscuits and chocolate make an appearance eventually…
Over the last 2 years we’ve been on several long distance car journeys with the boys. My family live 200 miles away so we visit them a few times a year. As well as any staycations we go on with my in-laws. We are slowly finding the journeys are getting easier as Bear (in particular) gets older, but also we are learning what to improve each journey we take.
The time we set off, the day we travel, even planning stops to avoid getting too achy and bored in the car.
Aviva (who we buy our car insurance through) have a new app which monitors your driving and could ultimately lower your car insurance cost. The app also comes with an integrated dash cam which could also help as evidence if you were to have an accident. If only I had this when that stupid woman crashed into me when I was pregnant with Bear!
We actually just renewed our insurance with Aviva last week and they were really good value. But if we could save a little more by downloading the Aviva Drive App even better!
~A~
* Sponsored by Aviva.
Fab tips, my girls would love to be able to watch Netflix in the car haha!
great post! Im a childminder so love hearing tips on making journeys more fun and stress free. Thanks
Fab post, I love the little car tidy too on the back of the seat – we definitely need one of those.
You sound super organized and they are great tips! Long car journeys can be a nightmare if kids aren’t happy so it’s definitely worth making the effort to be prepared.
This is so helpful! We’re planning a family holiday but the thought of a long journey with two kids is so daunting!
Snacks and films are the way to go! I don’t know how we coped before we got in car DVD players for the kids. We regularly travel 7 hours up to visit my brother in County Durham so we often have to take the kids on long journeys x
These are all good tips and we employ many ourselves. One thing we don’t do is use tablets with our son in the car (or books) as they make him car sick. Other than that he’s a great traveller for road trips.
Great tips, I love the back of seat holders you have for all their stuff. So hard to keep kids entertained for hours!
Travelling with our little boy who is now 5 has never been to much of a problem. We give him a film to watch and he’s pretty happy. Our 18 month old is a little less easy though and we planned our journey for us sleep time, but she refused, screamed all the way and pooped as we were on the motorway. What a nightmare it was!
You’re so organised! The organiser is such a good idea. The dash cam is so handy for long journeys.
I can’t be without my iPad when I go on road trips with my one year old, such an essential!
Long car journeys with kids are my nightmare! I try and avoid them at all costs but it does mean we miss out of adventure possibilities. I like these tips and I’m going to keep them in mind for our next long car journey. Kat x
All about the food here – and the Fire! It’s a good that they have a tracking app – I’m all about saving money! We have such a mum car now
I have a black box with my insurance company and that’s how I monitor my driving and its saves me lots of money. I just bought an SUV too, am excited to take it on long journeys.
Fantastic tips! Travelling is hard with our 5. I’ve recently discovered the benefits of having a mobile wifi thingy in the car. Everyone gets to use the Wifi and I don’t have to shout at anyone. Haha!
We don’t go on many long car journeys but this summer we have spent a lot of time travelling to France and back on the Eurostar which has meant a lot of time in the car for the little ones. Lots of snacks gets us through!
i love these! were on a long car journey today
Great tips – I used to love those car organisers when my three were younger x
Some great tips, the long distances especially in the UK with countless roadworks can be a nightmare!
Some fantastic tips here, thank you! Aviva sound great too, love that they can lower your car insurance through the app!
Yeah it’s a pretty cool idea isn’t it! Especially if you’re a good driver and deceiver cheaper rates! x
I love this –
Good advice- our car gets covered with stickers too!
Drives me mad when I’m cleaning them off the windows, but at least the kids are happy! x
Long car journeys are so tough with kids! We’ve just traveled to and from wales with a 3 year old and new born, an endless stash of biscuits is my trick. Don’t you hate it when they drop something and you can’t reach it! Claire x
Oh that’s the worst!! Always have duplicates hahaha x