Ideas to keep DS occupied for long car trip!

[AJ's mommy]

Hi, I hope I'm posting this in the right spot. We are leaving next week for a 12+ hours drive trip to Canada. I was wondering if some of you might have suggestions for me to keep DS1 (almost 3) occupied. He doesn't watch any TV so the DVD option is out. He is a really good traveler and we did this trip with him many many times already. I just feel at his age he might get bored of just seating and watching outside We will need to stop often so I can nurse DS2 and DH will take him for walk, but still it's a long drive. Thanks for all your reply... I'm just out of ideas for activities that will keep him busy for longer than 10 minutes!!!

[momtoTnT]

We just got back from driving from WI to CA with our 2 - ages 6 and 4.5. We did have a dvd player, but didn't use it except in emergencies LOL.

We played road trip bingo, the ABC game, count how many red/blue/insert color cars/trucks you see, played I Spy, sang songs, brought a couple of little toys - DD had some dolls, DS had a doll and a truck, they had books, magna doodles, etch a sketch, pipe cleaners, lacing boards (tho I made ours out of cardboard and a shoelace), we had markers/velvet posters to color etc. And lots of snacks. We also had some kids cd's and a kids book on cd but we honestly didn't listen to them.

Have fun!

[Alyantavid]

Paper, coloring stuff, magnadoodle, activity books, some new (or ones he hasn't seen for awhile) toys.

I think the frequent stops help more than anything.

[St. Margaret]

Yup, Magnadoodle, novel toys. With DD we brought a whiteboard that has things to color and letters to trace (she was really into that at the time), plus I sat by her and made her toys talk. Also a stack of picture books; she'd look through each one. Ha dto remind her this time why mommy couldn't actually read them to her but they did entertain her for a stretch. CDs she loves.

[ASusan]

I wrapped 20 little toys (mostly ones he already owned) in paper from an old paper shade. I doled them out about 2 an hour - add in the hours he slept or didn't seem to need a toy - and that accounted for a 14+ hr trip.

The best occupier of time was - and still remains - Look and Find Toy Story. I would have preferred a non-commercial one, but none were to be found where we were looking. It's relatively simple - the pictures of the items on the side exactly match the items in the big picture - but DS can spend 10 minutes or more on one page.

And now DH wants to get the Toy Story DVD "because DS will really like it," :eyeroll (based on the fact that he likes the look and find).

[sapphire_chan]

Time the drive to a bit after lunch when he might feel sleepy?

I know as a kid the car trips always seemed shorter if I fell asleep during them. As teenagers, my little brother and I would end up asleep with his head on my shoulder and my head on his head.

Read him 1/2 a story so he can day dream about the rest?

[curiouscanadian]

I've been researching exactly the same topic for my almost 2-year-old. I realize a 3 year old will be at a different stage, but some of my ideas in case it helps (some duplicates of PPs):

Crayons & paper (I found a tray for DS - similar to this - but I've also heard a big cookie sheet works ok, the lip around the edge helps keep things contained)
MagnaDoodle or Etch-A-Sketch
Aquadoole
Playdough
Pipecleaners
Magnetic books/puzzles
Lacing boards
Felt mat with shapes/animals
Weekly pill box /sm containers with small snacks
Finger puppets
Ball & bubbles for rest stop
Colored tape/Stickers (stuck to a pillowcase so they're easy for little fingers to take off)
Kids music/singing songs
Books on tape
New books
Musical instruments - maracas, bells, tambourine

As one of the pps mentioned, I'm going to wrap everything so it takes DS an extra minute or two to get into them. Plus I'll probably use coloured cellophane that he'll enjoy playing with on its own (proven at his dayhome, please note DS isn't one to put things in his mouth). Apparently this wrapping tip even works with old toys, just adds a bit of a novelty factor to a favorite toy...

At 3 I'd think you could do a lot more games (like I Spy, Car Bingo, etc.) with him than I think my DS will go for. Your DS might also go for an I Spy bag. I was thinking about is for my DS, but decided he's still too young.

I was set on avoiding the noisy/light up toys as we generally do at home, but I read a post where someone pointed out that even annoying toys are better than a screaming child so I'm rethinking that!

Hope this helps!

[crowcaw]

On one long cartrip with 3yo twins -- performing songs from lyrics found on a kids' songs website using dh's Blackberry killed a couple of hours. I lost my voice by the end of the trip.