Before my daughter was born I was under the impression that all babies loved the car and, by extension, the car seat. I would see commercials with tired parents driving around the block to lull their fussy baby to sleep, and parents shopping at Costco, their car seat plopped in the cart and their baby happily along for the ride.  But then, I became a parent and like so many (all?) other parts of being a first time parent, not everything was as I expected.  Our drive home from the hospital was a dream but from day 2 onward our daughter screamed, inconsolably, from the time her little body touched the car seat until we took her out at our destination. The only time we got a break was if she had cried herself to sleep. It was heartbreaking. If I had a dollar for every time I searched some variation of “how to make your baby like the car seat” I would be rich! With family 4 and 5 hour drive away, there was no way we could avoid driving so we persevered with the hopes that exposure would help (it didn’t). In spite of the tears, from everyone involved, we have managed to visit family regularly and have even done road trips in Greece and Hawaii! While we aren’t quite on the other side, it has gotten significantly better over the last few months and we have plans to road trip through Iceland and Ireland later this summer. Below you'll find a couple of tips, and some toys and activity suggestions that will hopefully keep your little ones occupied on the road!

Plan ahead with Snacks and Activities!
Snacks and activities that are planned, purchased and packed in advance will make all the difference, especially if your road trip is a long one! We pack a lunchbox with fruit, veggies, hummus, cheese, dry snacks, and a puree pouch as well as a spill proof cup filled with water.

Before we left for Hawaii, I prepared for the flight by purchasing a few inexpensive toys from the dollar store and local baby store. I approach longer road trips in a very similar way!  Having a few new items in addition to your favorites, and giving them to your baby over the course of your drive is sure to keep them distracted for longer. Need some ideas of what kind of toys will keep your little one entertained? Here are a few favorites for babies to preschool age kids:
 
For Baby:

• Teething toys: we found the Nuby teething ring kept our daughter’s interest for a while. It had lots of little parts to look at and taste and the ring was fun to put on and take off of her arm. (*face palm*)
• Stuffies: We brought one of the Lamaze toys to Greece and kept another one in the car at home at all times. It was a favorite – it crinkled, was soft, had contrast elements and lots of different textures.
• Soft book: Another favorite, our daughter loved flipping through the pages. The book we had also had crinkling pages, flaps and other elements that were fun for her to play with. Skip hop has a few bright colourful soft books while Wee Gallery has a line of high contrast books. 
• Music: download your kids' favorite movie soundtrack or some favorite nursery rhymes. Variety is the spice of life: try classical music for younger kids, it was like magic for our daughter!

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Toddlers and Preschoolers:

• Flash cards: we have the Mudpuppy first words cards and our daughter loves flipping through and babbling as she looks at the pictures. It can keep her entertained for quite a bit
• Melissa and Doug Water Wow: we will be getting a couple of these for our road trip this summer. Our daughter loves to colour and this is mess free and reusable way to “paint” in the car.
• Magnadoodle: an oldie but a goodie this is a way to be creative over and over and is no mess! 
• Sticker book: reusable sticker books like this one are often recommended as items that keep kids attention for a long time!
• Car games: toddlers and pre schoolers can play eye spy while school aged kids can play road trip bingo or the licence plate game.
• Cookie sheet and magnets: a small dollar store cookie sheet can be perfect for magnets and also as a little tray to use to play with hotwheels, animal figurines, as a hard surface for colouring and  for snacks
• Colouring books and crayons

 Time it Right
As much as possible we try to time our drive with nap or bed time. This way we can maximize the amount of time that the drive is peaceful and quiet. If we are driving at bedtime, we do our bedtime routine before we get in the car and make sure that the things we need to transition to the crib at our destination (sound machine, pack and play, fitted sheet etc.) are all easy to access.
 
Take your Time
We realized early on that dead-heading from one destination to another was not going to make anyone happy.  Instead, we tried to change our attitude about driving to our destination – treating it more as a journey and taking the opportunity to spread out our picnic blanket or explore a new towns along the way.  If your little one is young enough you can manage to spend almost an entire “wake window” out of the car feeding, changing them and playing a bit to ensure they are drowsy when you get back behind the wheel. If your little one is older, breaks from the car work best if you can find a place for them to burn off some steam. Get your passenger to check out if there are any interesting things to see or do in the next few towns and enjoy the journey!
 
Experiment
We asked for tips and tricks from our friends and family and searched high and low online. We tried a mirror, no mirror, sitting in the back seat, talking and singing to her, feeding her before, feeding her after, using a specific lovey.  After I read that transitioning to a convertible car seat can help (since baby is more upright), I went out and purchased a new car seat - I figured we needed one eventually, right?! Experimenting with potential solutions will help you tease out what isn’t wrong (pain, discomfort, gas, fear, boredom etc.) Every kid is different, though, and we definitely found that some of the solutions we have heard work the best typically make our daughter angrier. For example, we learned over time that she just wanted to be out of the seat and in our laps.  Having us in the back seat with her was not comforting for her and just made her reach for us and cry even more. In the end, the only thing that seemed to work consistently was a Vivaldi CD that we had been given as a gift. We had put it on jokingly saying maybe she just needed some classical music ... and it worked! We played that CD on loop for months and months and got occasional reprieve.

Bend the Rules
We aren’t overly strict parents (at all, really) but we do make it a priority to have regular meal and snack times that are enjoyed at the table. We also limit screen time to facetime with family. In the car, though, we offer snacks more often and have the iPad loaded up with some videos of some of her favorite songs to use as a last resort. Our hope is that these “treats” will help make long road trips smoother and will save our sanity! 

Between snacks, activities, music, and some emergency screen time, sprinkled with some breaks to stretch your legs and burn off steam, hopefully your roadtrip will be smooth sailing!! ​​

What have you found helps to pass the time when you're on a road trip? 

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