We just completed a 20 day vacation with Jakob (3 years old) and Caleb (2 months.) I won't boar you with the details of exactly where we traveled. But I will say that it was not uncommon for us to be in an airplane or a car for five hours or more at a time. We went with my parents so it wasn't uncommon for us to be waiting in the car or somewhere else for long periods of time. I knew this would be a complicated trip if I didn't plan well. So I took things seriously months in advance and planned ahead.
This is what I came up with for the long trip with my three year old. You can read about traveling with our two month old infant on his blog Caleb Noble Baron (found on my blog list.)
We live in a rural community so in order to get to anything other then a basic grocery store we have to travel for over an hour. So I took the time to really observe Jakob in the car while on these trips and make notes of his needs and interests.
An I-Pod: The most valuable traveling tools that we brought along was an I-Pod with Sound barrier head phones. We put several folders of songs on the I-Pod for each person in our family and for different settings. For example we had a Sleep folder, Primary folder(children's church music), a Fun folder, and a Dance Music folder. We also looked on http://www.storynory.com/ and downloaded several audio stories from their website. The sound barrier headphones are a lifesaver when the baby is screaming and the three year old can't stand it. Or, when mom is ready to melt down and she just needs a moment of music to herself to regroup.
Small Bag of Favorite Dinosaurs: Jakob loves dinosaurs right now. So I brought a small zip up bag full of dinosaurs to keep him entertained.
Small Bag of Favorite Cars: Jakob will never get board with cars. So I brought along a small zip up bag of cars.
Square Magnetic White Board with Markers, Erasers, and Magnets: This was another great item on the trip. We took this in the car as well as in the restaurants and places that we knew we had a wait. Jakob loved to color the pictures and then erase it and color again. We found the markers that had erasers on the lids. The only down side of the markers is that they were not washable. Jakob's car seat cover is decorated from our trip. If I would have thought about it, I would have put a soft comfortable apron on him to protect his clothes and a towel under his bottom that flapped over the edges of his car seat to protect the seat. Or, find some washable white board markers. :)
Dinosaur Books: I let Jakob bring four books. I would put two books in his travel bag at a time and rotate them.
Water Bottle and Snacks: water and food are a must on a long trip. Try to avoid sugary foods because they can make your child more active as well as up the possibility of car sickness. Jakob enjoyed trail mixes, grapes, string cheese, etc.
DVD Player and Sound Barrier Headphones: We used this as a last resort towards the end of long trips. We brought four movies that were interactive learning videos.
Back Pack: We purchased a medium size back pack that Jakob could drag around. This is what we used as his travel bag. I only put items in the bag that I didn't mind Jakob pulling out. So it wasn't used as a diaper bag.
Medicine: Jakob tends to get carsick occasionally. So we talked to a pharmacist and he told us to use 1/4 - 1/2 of a Dramamine tablet for Jakob. Jakob is really good at taking medicine so this wasn't a struggle. If it is for your child you might ask the doctor if there is a liquid form of Dramamine for children.
Rotate and Surprise: Throughout the trip I rotated a few of the items in the travel bag. I made a few file folder games from http://www.preschoolprintables.com/. I made all of the pieces stickable with Velcro so he could play with it on his lap. Occasionally I surprised Jakob with a new toy to keep him excited about all of the traveling.
Communication and Observation Games: Jakob likes to communicate with us while we're driving in the car. So we would play "The Rhyming Game" (say a word and someone else calls out a word that rhymes), "I Spy" , "What is ______ made out of?" (choose something like a house or a car for example and tell each other what it is made of), and "What lives in a/the ______?" (talk about what lives in the forest for example).
This trip could have been a nightmare. But because we planned ahead and prepared Jakob ahead of time it turned out amazingly well!
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