With all of the traveling, we have done with our two boys 2.5yrs and 8 months. We have found these 5 essentials the most important things when traveling.
The 5 essential items you need when traveling on a long car trip – pram, snack box, small seat bag, tie your toys up and label your child’s toy.
Things to think about when going on a long car trip
Before going on your long car trip make sure that you are prepared to keep little ones entertained and have the things you need in places that can be easily accessed. Below are our 5 must-haves when traveling anywhere for a long period of time.
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- YOYO Pram
- Pill Container Snack Box
- Small Seat Bag
- Toys Tied Up
- Boys Teddys labeled
YOYO Pram
It doesn’t matter what age the child is this pram has been the best thing. They are on the more expensive side but you can buy cheaper options and if you live in a main city as we do in Perth. We actually found someone who we hired the pram off for the first few trips. Then for our baby shower for our second we asked for contributions for the pram rather than small gifts. We now have two prams.
These prams have been so good for us when traveling overseas or on long car trips. We even managed to find some connectors that connect both prams together to make a double.
PROS:
1. It’s so small you hardly have to make allocated space for it in the boot. Sometimes when our boot is full we just slip it in behind the seats as the boys’ legs are still too short. This is also a great place to grab it at stops quickly without having to empty the boot to get to the pram.
2. Once you get the hang of it it’s so easy to grab and fold with one hand (which is great for getting in and out of the car for quick stops)
3. You have a place to secure your child in when you are trying to unpack the car to set up the tent or caravan and they can’t run away. This has been very helpful as we can focus a bit more on getting the caravan ready without constantly having to do everything one-handed or running after the toddler.
4. Even if they don’t want to be in the pram it works as a great way of carrying all our bags and jackets. I don’t know about you but despite us trying to cut down on what we take we always seem to have a heap of extra stuff and the prams have been a great place to store these when the boys want to run.
5. We have fit both our boys one on top of the other and as they get older its actually easier to stack them. However, we loved the pram so much we ended up buying a second.
Cons:
1. Can be expensive, however, there are so many cheaper versions out there that do the same job.
2. Another thing that needs to be packed into the car. Before, we got the yoyo pram we just didn’t bring our pram with us as it took too much space up in the boot. Now, that we have these prams it is another thing that’s been added to the packing list.
3. The wheels don’t always like sandy gravel roads. So far, we have managed to use the prams everywhere that we have been. Including harder beaches, the bush and even snow. Although they don’t always like the terrain we have never not been able to push them.
4. Can be heavy if you are carrying on your shoulder. As these bags are so small we will sometimes just fold them up and carry on our shoulders, especially when going through airports. This can be hard at times as they weigh about 4kg which does get tiring and sore after a while.
Pill Container for Snacks
We first came across this amazing idea when flying but have again used it for our long car rides. Our toddler absolutely loves the idea and always goes looking for the box that has the smarties in it first. This will normally keep him entertained for a little while as well as helping his finer motor skills popping open the lids and closing them again. Win Win!!
Pros
1. Keeps our toddler entertained for a while and something new for him to do
2. Makes snack time a little different and we have found he is more likely to try and eat other foods that come out of the boxes than if he got a bag of nuts.
3. Less likely to be spilled as you can only really fit a certain about in the container and ‘hopefully’ if they do drop it… all the lids aren’t open.
Cons
1. Always goes for the chocolate first and then sometimes he has left the rest.
2. We have had a time where he has opened all the lids and then dropped the container.
SMALL SEAT BAG
The amount of times we have wasted during our stops looking for a nappy or wet wipe or some food was crazy. So, we used the same concept we use when flying and make up travel grab bags. These sit by the passenger’s seats and we have one for each boy (when they were smaller and had different sized nappies).
PROS:
1. Have all the essentials you need to grab the bag for a quick petrol station or roadside nappy change. This has saved us so much time and grumpy toddlers because we could just get out the car and get him out. Before he started getting frustrated that the car was stopped and he still had to wait while we searched for what we needed.
2. During the car ride, we also have a quick place to get some distractions/bribes for the boys if they are not coping. The little packet of m&m’s is always a hit as well as a small bottle of bubbles or some stickers.
3. Essentials like – Pain relief, Teething needs, small toys, WET WIPES, snacks, something for Nappies, WET WIPES, Pain relief for you, spare dummies. Just depends on the age of your child and what you consider necessities at the time.
CONS:
1. Something else to have to be by your feet when traveling
2. Another thing to have to pack and think about
TIE YOUR TOYS UP
We learnt very quickly that although toys were great for distractions….. it got very old very quick … when we had to pick up a car or teddy for the 1,000th time. We use small carabiners and the plastic ropes that are coiled and can be pulled out and then bounce back in.
PROS:
1. Keeps all the toys together. This was great because we then hung it from the window handle and they had a variety of toys to play with at their fingertips.
2. As it was just carabiners it was very easy to transfer all the toys in one go onto the pram.
3. Not having to pick up toys off the ground all the time…. ALL THE TIME!!!
Cons:
1. Can only pick toys that allow for a carabiner to fit through. This isn’t as bad when they are smaller and have the big bulky teething toys. However, as the toddler started to like cars and other toys it was more of a challenge to find toys that could be hung. We have also started using a zip tie around the wheels of the car then connect it to a carabiner.
2. Our toddler went through s stage where he would refuse to play with the toys that were hanging together so obviously it was just easier to have loose toys than the connected ones as we were always having to take them off anyway. But, that was only for a short period of time.
LABEL YOUR KIDS FAVOURITE TEDDY!!!
Our eldest son’s favourite teddy is called ‘Daryl Dog’ who has since ‘retired’ and we can no longer buy another one. So, as you could imagine this would be a complete disaster if he was lost. Especially with a long drive ahead of us.
We bought a cat’s collar and got a dog tag engraved with our mobile number for Australia and then added our email address for international travel.
We have been fortunate enough that the boys’ teddys did have the collars as we have left them behind a few places and have been phoned before we were too far away to come back and collect. We have also done the same with our youngest’s favourite teddy “Sonny the Bunny” who also seems to have been ‘retired’!!
Hope these tips have helped and you have a great road trip ahead. Remember, with babies and toddlers is always the journey, not the destination. So, just take the drive as it comes and if it takes longer than you would have liked to get there, spending that 20 minutes looking at a caterpillar was probably your kid’s favourite part of the whole trip!!
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