The dust has settled from Thanksgiving travels, and there are still a few weeks until families hit the road for Christmas, Chanukah, or New Year's. Now is the perfect time to start strategizing for your next road trip with a squirmy baby or toddler. With proper planning, the trip doesn't have to be something to dread, and instead you can focus on looking forward to spending time with your loved ones at the other end of the drive.
Drive overnight if at all possible
If you can drive overnight, this makes for a much simpler trip. Instead of having to stop for a wriggly child to expend some energy, you can take advantage of the fact that your little one will be sleepy, and for many children the car helps put them to sleep anyway. On our recent drive from Boston to Maryland's eastern shore, my husband and I only had to stop for gas once, just like in our pre-child days, when we drove overnight and the drive took eight hours. On the way home we had to drive during the day and we ended up spending fifteen hours on the road instead because of all the stops we had to make. An added benefit of driving overnight is that there is rarely much traffic, helping to get you to your destination all the sooner. This is particularly a great option if you are heading to visit family, who might be willing to take care of your child when they wake in the morning so you can get some extra snoozing in.
Be willing to compromise and be flexible
Do what you need to do to get through the trip. You might want to think about giving your child a special treat to help them stay calm and quiet in the car, even if it's not something you would usually do. For instance, on our recent trip, my husband and I decided at a certain point to give our one year old his pacifier, even though he had officially given it up a few weeks before -- we only brought it out when nothing else worked, and it hasn't caused any permanent backsliding. Likewise, we wouldn't normally give him a full snack-trap of cheerios because of the mess it causes, but on a long car ride, we decided to just deal with picking up the flung cheerios, since it was better than hours of screaming. You can also look up places to stop along your route that are kid-friendly -- a playground, children's museum (check your local museum's membership, if you have one -- lots of museums have reciprocal agreements with other museums around the country).
Bring your sense of humor
You could think of a million things you'd rather be doing, I'm sure, than sitting in a car for hours on end. Your little one would rather be anywhere else too. You will all survive though, and, no matter how bad the traffic, you will eventually reach your destination. Keeping the right attitude about the journey can make all the difference. Mentally add on 50% of the travel time to the total, so you don't feel like you're behind schedule. Do whatever you need to do to stay cheerful and non-stressed, and your child will pick up on that and stay happier too.
Mira Whiting - Mira Whiting is a knitter and mom living in the Boston area. She blogs about knitting at Mira's Knits and motherhood at Mamas and Milk.
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