We have lovely friends who live at least an hour’s drive away from us by car. Our extended family is also a short trek away – close enough to make the journey seem feasible, but far enough away to make it seem impossible when you have a child who can’t stand the car seat. I vividly remember the first time we tried to head out to a pre-Christmas dinner with family. Our daughter was about 3 months old, ands she screamed for a good 20 minutes along the way. She screamed so violently that I debated turning the car around, but by the time we got to that point, we were already halfway to our destination.
After that trip, we realized that we had to plan in order to make car trips a tolerable occasion for all involved. Here are some of our survival strategies:
1. Make sure that your baby has eaten before you get into the car. This is true for any age of child, but especially true for babies. What nursing mother hasn’t wished for the magic chest extension that could reach into the car seat? Who has tried nursing a child in a car seat without removing your seat belt? Hands up, all of you!
2. If your baby will sleep in the car, plan the car trip for baby’s nap time. When your baby is taking two naps a day, you can actually plan a lunch time visit for the time between naps. This is perfect, so you can become the master of the lunch date. Friends without children may wonder at your new appreciation of lunch, friends with children will totally understand.
3. If you can, travel in pairs. Have one person sit in the back to distract the baby.
4. Have baby distractions on hand. Play silks are excellent for peek-a-boo, and they don’t turn into projectiles when the car stops suddenly. Crunchy toys and soft toys that squeeze and bend are fun to play with in the car. Little soft mirror toys are good distractions as well. Finger puppets may seem like the realm of the desperate, but what’s more fun – playing with puppets or listening to a screaming child?
5. We found that music was an excellent distraction for the older baby, too. Songs with silly words and animal sounds may not be your first choice for your listening pleasure, but they’re amusing and distracting for babies.
What are your favorite tricks for distracting your baby during long car rides?