Road Trip W/ 2 Kids

When our kids were little we drove several times from CT to FL. It's a 24 hour drive, so we had to make an overnight, but that still made for 12 hours in the car.

What worked for us, was to leave very early in the morning (3 am). The kids would sleep until 7 or 8, we'd stop for breakfast (at a rest stop or a park) and let them run arround. I'd pack stuff like fruit, yogurt and bagels. Then a few more hours and stop for lunch. After lunch back in the car, they'll usually take a nap. Before you know it, you're at your destination.

We often make the trip back home to the east coast and we have 4 kids. I can say straight thru is VERY difficult and does not work for our family. My opinion is happy kids make happy parents when making long trips. Stop often for 10 minutes of play and run around time. And make sure you have things to do in car . Portable DVD players with head phones, a tote with books and small toys, coloring/drawing supplies. We don't have to leave while the kids are sleeping because we make sure they are entertained. I also keep a cooler with light snacks and drinks accessable. If you think yourkids will have trouble getting backinto the car after their "run around time" it would be a good idea to make that the special snack time. Let them know after they stretch their legs they will get back in the car and have a "treat". I also found an old instant camera and we sometimes take a picture of each kid at the stops and after snack they get the picture. Long road trips don't have to be painful for them, or you! Have fun on your trip. Oh ya, stopping to sleep I think is a good idea if you are not sharing the driving. It is a lot safer and the kids might be better with a some what normal bedtime routine.

We have done about a 22 hour trip 3 years in a row now with our kids. They are now almost 3 and 4. We do it through the night, leave at about 5/6pm and it works out perfect. They sleep exactly the same as they do at home. We did do it in 2 nights once on the way home this year and it was more work to unpack and repack and also to try to get them settled down in yet another unfamiliar place. Plus, then the 2 drives were during the day and they seemed to get ansty much more frequently. It wasn't bad doing it in 2 days if you are not in a rush and can stop plenty. It also helps if one parent can be in the back with them. But, I would still say going through the night is the way to go. We have several family members that do the same trip once a year for years with their kids and that is the only way any of them will do it. Plus when you or your husband are not driving, you actually get to rest because the kids are sleeping. When you do it during the day, it seems the passenger is catering to the kids most of the time. Have fun!

I would go in 2 days.
To keep from having to unpack the whole car, set up over night bags, put what you will need for one night in a separate small bag and take only that in.
That's what we do when we take long drives or have multiple places to go in one trip.

Just pack O. overnight bag--just the necessities for everyone for O. night's stay. You will be SO happy to stop for dinner, maybe a dip in the pool and some time to relax while you're on the road! It will be worth it.

I would plan to leave early in the morning say 5 or 6 pm. drive to within an hour or two of your destination. stay at a hotel with a pool and let them swim and wear them selves out before bedtime. they will be ready to move move move lol. if there is a pool they can get all that energy out. and will be ready for a good visit when you get there the next day. good luck on your trip. not sure if you have check into it but the local library will put together a vacation pack for you if you call. you tell them the ages of your kids and what they are interested in. you can get books, books on tape, coloring pages, card games etc.... we always do it when we are going on vacation.

We drove to visit my family in the DC area from Indianapolis over Christmas. We hadn't made the trip in a few years. The kids were 3.5 and 20 months.

They were such troopers. We chose to go straight through for the very reason you indicated - we didn't want to deal with having to pack and unpack the car on multiple occasions.

We always make sure the car is packed with snacks, milk, backpacks with toys. We had a DVD player that was the saving grace.

My other advice is to make sure to take scheduled stops ~ every 2-3 hours while they're awake to help release pent-up energy. In our experience, they don't really sleep well when in their car seats for long periods of time (especially if they're prone to being active sleepers anyhow). We have tried the late night, through the night thing, only to have one kid wake-up when stopping for gas, not going back to sleep and being thrown off their schedule entirely.

We found places like Walmart and Target were Godsends for us - lets the kids stretch their legs, load back up on drinks, etc. if needed, and back on the road for a few more hours.

Good luck!