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Roadtripping with Toddlers

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Roadtripping with toddlers can be tough, but I’ve got to say that our trip this time (at 2.5 years) was SOOOO much better/easier/more fun than last year at this time (at 18 months). It was even much easier than our summer road trip to Utah (when they were 2). Here’s my take on the experience, and how to make it a bit more bearable, in a frugal way.

At 18 months (and younger), the biggest challenge was lack of mobility. This is really our fault because we were so used to making these big, long roadtrips in a single day and we hadn’t really shifted our thinking and our mindset to accommodate little people yet. We kept trying to drive for such looooong stretches that just did.not.work. And the wee ones would let us know how miserable they were.

At 24 months, the biggest challenge was lack of independent play. By this point we’d shifted to allow for more frequent and longer stops for walking around and stretching out our legs (which helped a lot), but by this point our girls still did not watch any TV shows or movies so downloading things to the ipad, for example, was not a realistic or helpful idea for us at the time. Most of their in-car entertainment involved me having to squeeze between the car seats in the second row to read books, sing songs, and entertain them in whatever way possible. This was exhausting for me (moreso than them), and made the hours seem to draaaaaag by.

At 2.5 years traveling felt like a breeze in comparison to earlier trips. We knew what worked and what didn’t (e.g., need a few short stops, and at least one mid-day long stop). And by this point a whole new world of independent play car-appropriate toys were opened up to us. The girls spent a lot of time “reading” books to themselves, playing on cheap etch-a-sketch toys, and taking turns playing different learning apps on the ipad (for the record, they still don’t watch TV shows or movies, but I can see that coming in handy for any future roadtrips as they grow older).

What Did We Do Differently?

One thing is that instead of relying so heavily on toys, I relied more on food this time around. Last time I had given them some sweets (their summer roadtrip to Utah was the first time they’d ever had suckers), but this time I opted for more nutritious foods. They’ve just learned to peel clementines and are SO proud of themselves for doing it on their own. This was a perfect snack because its (1) cheap, (2) healthy, (3) time consuming. It takes them a good 5-7 minutes to peel the whole thing, another 3-5 minutes to eat it, and then they want another. The clementine snack was a solid 20-30 minute ordeal that required nothing on my part. Easy-peasy!

Another thing that we did differently was to try to strategically plan stops at big, open spaces where the girls could run around. I packed things for lunch (lunch meat, cheese, bread), and had planned to stop at a rest area for lunch. There’s so much more open area for the girls to run and play in, plus its cheaper and healthier than a fast food lunch. Unfortunately, it was raining the full first day on the road. We would not have been able to eat outside, plus the rain made the cold feel so much more biting and bitter than it would otherwise have been. So we still ended up eating fast food in the end (sad face). But the second day we stopped at a rest area for snacks (we were to my Mom’s house by lunch time, so didn’t eat lunch on the road), and the girls loved running around. They made a little game of holding my hands and running around me like a merry-go-round. Made me dizzy as can be, but they had a blast and it was a great way to release some pent-up energy.

The last thing that we did different was with our dinner plans while on the road. Last Christmas (and even over our summer road trip), when we stopped we checked into a hotel and then went out for dinner. What a TERRIBLE idea! Hubs and I thought it sounded good, in theory, because we’d get “real” food instead of fast food. But in reality it’s a huge mess. WHY would you take two 2-year-olds who have been sitting in a car all day long and try to force them to behave in a restaurant? Nightmare-status!! This time around, we knew that we needed to check into our hotel and stay there! We ordered a pizza and let the girls play in the room (just now realizing we really should’ve eaten the sandwich stuff I’d packed, though it was nice to have a hot dinner). They jumped on the beds, took a bath in the tub, and climbed all over the desk chair and miscellaneous furniture. Maybe not the best behavior, but they were able to release some energy and not be forced to sit politely at a dinner table on their best behavior (which would NOT be happening). As a result, hubs and I were so much more relaxed because we weren’t worried about the girls fussing, trying to run around, or cause a scene. We just let them play in the room and all was well.

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So, the moral of the story is that we made it to Austin all in one piece. We also made it here on significantly less money than I’d planned. Remember when I’d guesstimated our costs?? Well gas was much, much less than I’d planned (in some places it was as low as 1.97/gal), and although we still ate out for lunch and dinner, we did so cheaply. I’m tracking our expenses so I’ll likely do another numbers post (like the one from last time) about this trip once its complete. In the meantime, I hope everyone is having a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season!


10 Comments

  • Reply Misti |

    I have twins as well ( 16yo identical boys) but one trick I learned on long car trips was if possible to find a hotel with an indoor pool; if I could find one that cost wise was within $20 I would book it. We would go there when we checked in so they could splash around and burn off some energy; then I would wake them early the next morning to go one more time; they were so tired by the time we left that they slept for the first few hours in the morning.

    • Reply Ashley |

      That’s a good idea! Great way to burn off energy! On a more personal note, I hope you’re doing well with the boys! The first year with our girls just about killed me. Everyone says it, but its so true that things really, truly do get so much easier over time! Hugs to your family!! : )

  • Reply AY |

    Great post!! I so agree wth the snacking idea–that is a great way to pass the time in the car! We just drive ten hours with our 20 month old but we left after work and so she slept the second half of the drive. Anyway this wasn’t the point of your post but I just wanted to say that’s awesome that you don’t let your kids watch a ton of tv or movies. We are waiting until 2 to let her watch stuff and even then plan to keep it minimal! (Except confession I let her watch a curious George episode when I just absolutely need to get something done–I’m in grad school). She isn’t even interested in tv for longer than 10-20 minutes but she can sit and read books I herself for an hour. I just know how much I fight being addicted to my iPhone and want to help set her up for better habits and using her imagination etc! Anyway kudos to you, I wish people thought I was less crazy when they find out we do this! And hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

    • Reply Ashley |

      Mine are about the same in terms of their tv attention span (10-20 minutes at absolute max…probably less). I’d made a conscious decision to try to keep them from it during their first 2 years and, even now, I try to limit it. It hasn’t been hard since they seem uninterested right now anyway but I would definitely like to try to curb any screen-time addiction early on through careful monitoring, etc.

  • Reply Joe |

    Great, have a terrific holiday and refresh and recharge!

    Our secret for long road trips (and please don’t judge) is McDonalds with PlayPlace. Both for our young kids and for myself. 🙂

    • Reply Ashley |

      No judging here! We’ve actually tried to find places with play areas on this route before with no luck. There’s a lot of remote areas and the only “big” city between Tucson and Austin is El Paso. Pretty much anyplace else just has basic fast food options – no play areas. : (

  • Reply Laura |

    Joe, I do the same thing. If we are making a trip long enough that we have to stop to eat we look for a fast food place with a play place.

  • Reply Den |

    I agree with the pool at the hotel – it’s worth a few extra bucks for us all to jump in the pool after a long day in the car – tires us all out and helps us sleep well! As the girls get older, don’t forget the license plate game, the I spy game, and having them help you map the trip on a paper map – can keep kids occupied for long stretches. And as they grow into the 8-12 years, it’s fun to let them help plan the trip – where to stop for breaks, fun places to visit along the way, favorite food stops, etc…..my kids loved being in charge of these details.

  • Reply Den |

    And one more idea – hubs and I would take turns driving. That way dad got to hang out with the kids and play games, etc…..kids always thought dad was more fun and entertaining than mom, plus then I got a break from kid games and could just drive. Even if only for an hour here and there, it broke up the monotony.

So, what do you think ?