travelling with kids

We used one of the those $199 DVD players on our trip that we slung between the seats for the kids to watch. As they are not an option, try "I spy with my Little Eye"

sorry about the double question I made a stuff up

Make up a storage box between them both with 2 hinged boards that can swing onto there lap . In the center have there pencils and plenty of paper , coloring books ect

the most simple advice i can give you is.
leave them with the inlaws.
cheers

all good advice,$200 for a Dvd player is bloody cheap.Would cost more emotionally to involve the inlaws.Dvd it is.Thanks all.

All things being relative, define long distance!
ie. To my kids; anything over 300Kms
To my wife; anything over 32.5kms
To me; anything that takes more than 24hours! :)

Just keep telling them "we're nearly there"

We've travelled with ours since they were toddlers. Both boys, they enjoy their gameboys and that keeps em occupied for long stretches. But really, a bit of commonsense and good old fashioned parental control doesn't go amiss. Don't give in to their every whim because you make a rod for your own back. We went away with another couple and they were stopping every half hour to give their little treasures a distraction (from a wee to a look at the horses) we eventually ignored their stops and just carried on, and met up when we arrived. They kept feeding them drinks all the time and of course it needed to come out the other end. We find if you communicate and try to play word games (spelling contests or I-spy). Gets a bit tedious after a while but helps. I suppose word games may be a bit beyond them at the moment but when you start them travelling at an early age, they get used to it. Just don't over indulge. On the other hand, don't be too strict, a thrashing every hour is enough.

Easy...Fernergan (sp?) or childerens Nurofen. :)

I have a 5 year old and a 1.5 year old. Longest trip they have done is 14 hours with about a 1 hour stop. DVD player saved us from going insane - as did the colouring books. Don't need a fold down table - a stable table does the job fine - and is also handy at camp.

Never more than 500k per day .Stop every 2 hrs to let them run , lots of mind games , i spy , count wind mills , silly songs , lots of fruit creates the stop , travel by THEIR abillity not yours ,, when asked are we there yet ,answer with "where are we going, what do YOU think we will see " ,, create the game as you go along ,, PUTTING IN A DVD ECT DEFEATS THE PURPOSE could have stayed home ,, our 7 yr old loves to travel , he remembers big red from when he was 3,

There's a few articles on this subject on this site under the "On the Road" tab at the top of this page

Trevor

We sling a bag over each front seat that doubles as a strorage bag and a table, (K-Mart). A DVD player each, (2 kids), one that plays music as well,(own head phones is a must for parents sanity). A munchies bag. A diary, puzzle, maze colouring books etc. We have travelled with them since babies, now 8 & 10. We live in Yass and have been up the centre a couple of times, over to Broome, Cape York, and most recently the Simpson where they had their own DVD's and we have all survived. Your own set of head phones to block their noise out is a great idea as well. Good luck.

totally agree with alloy....we have 3 boys....now aged 12 , 14 and 17, and have had camping holidays with them since they were in nappies often travelling up to 10,000 klm....and we have never seen a problem with having lots of breaks.....you seem to see more ....if time is a problem.......maybe people should not try to take on so much

Maybe try changing the seating positions every few hours ? Plenty of games and drinks. Play I spy etc .

G'day J.T.

My wife and I have similar aged kids and used to be driven insane by the end of a 6 hour trip to Grandmas. So we lashed out and purchased a dvd player from Aldi for about 200 or 250 dollars and it has been worth every cent. Now the only argument is which movie they watch first.

Hi J.T, we've got 2 kids aged 4 and 6.

We actually bought them a DVD player each and I know there is a lot of talk about DVD player's, but we use it as an event during travel. For example, we'll travel for 2 hours BEFORE they can watch a movie. Or when we are travelling down the Hume Hwy with not much to see, that's when we'll let them watch a movie.

Itinery is very important as well. We plan plenty of lengthy stops. We don't just stop for 10 minutes. For example, when travelling to Melbourne, we might stay overnight in Gundagai and we'll stop for an hour or 2 in maybe Goulbourn. Stop at a park, let them have a run around etc. Then on day 2, we'll stop at Albury for an hour at a park and have lunch.

I agree with what was said above about not travelling too far in a day. Our limit is probably 500-600 is a day, otherwise it just isn't fair on the kids. As it is, that's 6 hours or more sitting still in a seat, which is tough for adults!

The DVD's cost us about $250 each eand they each have headphones. It means they don't fight over what movie to watch. There's a photo of the set up in my profile.

Also, depending on where you are going, sometimes the journey is interesting, some times it isn't. We went to the snow and the kids loved looking out the window. When we're driving from Albury to Melbourne along the Hume, EVEN I have trouble not falling asleep :-)

Cheers and enjoy.

Jason.

I have one word for you...DVD (or is that 3) we have a 2 & 6 year old. The DVD gets them in the car they get bored with that after one DVD and then sleep for a while and then wake up and want to look around and have a chat. We have cut the " Are we there yet's down by 80%"

DVD is cheaper than panadol in the end ( for the driver)

SKinny

Im a DVD fan as well but we have travelled Tasmania Perth return in 2000 with a 2yo before DVDs.
Wiggles tapes (now CDs) and books on tape as well as the wild life windmills where amusements while driving.
Plenty of yummy low sugar food and drinks.
Stops on wake up or soon after.
Stops when you just want to keep driving!
Stops every couple of hours at playgrounds in the park or Macdonalds!!
Carry a ball for the times there is no facilities (soccer, throwing, catch)
We had a station wagon at the time and a bench seat so, luckily, we all sat up the front (with the back full of gear) this made entertainment easy.
As a bloke it was frustrating at first, especially with all the stops and not driving past 3pm on the first couple of days but by the end we put in some big days with no problems.

Now with the DVD I have also purchased a cheap inverter and with a battery pack a x-box games consol can be used with the DVD. This has entertained the kids well for the last 18 months traveling over 50000km.
It does not mean the kids dont get bored! I dont blame them on some of the epic drives we have done lately.
What I have noticed is the kids now rely less on the DVD player and spent more than 50% of the time checking out the scenery and talking to me.

Hi!
looks like its all been said before me but I will addin my 2 cents! Ive got 2 kids 9.5yrs and 5 yrs
We travelled to Exmouth(14 L O N G hours from home) a couple of months ago and all i can say is THANK GOD for dvd players. i got mine for $229 with all teh bits and bobs. What a fantastic investment. We left home at 8pm at night(heh they sleep better in the dark) and they watched their first movie then slept for a couple of hours then watched another one...slept etc. I am so glad we did it at night(even though I was totally xhausted by the time we got there...lots of coffee stops on the way) coz when day broke at Canarvon(breakfast stop) the rest of the trip was boring... all the kids got to look at was spinifex...spinifex....spinifex...ooooh ant hill....spinifex...etc
we drove home during the day(left Exmouth 7am to avoid the BIG roos) and all I can say is I know the definition of HELL now! Daylight means limited sleep and lots of tantrums!!! And that was just from me and my hubby!LOL
My advice is if you have a long uninteresting drive..travel at night and seriously try for a portable dvd player.besides even though I am sure your 2 year old is smart but games like eye spy are not really suited to him.
CHEERS
katrina