Highway To Hell

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

I just returned from a road trip (all told approximately 17 hours round trip) and let me tell ya...
Yikes.
I was with two other adults (one of whom was pregnant), two dogs, and a two-year-old.
Anybody ever travel with a two-year-old?
It's like travelling with Satan.
I do not say that in a facetious manner. I'm dead serious.
As a passenger, I get car lag pretty easily; two hours on the road and I'm nodding off the rest of the way.
Not this trip.
Blood-curdling screeches every ten minutes made dang sure I wasn't gonna get a wink of a nap. Mix that with constant whining for his sippy cup (which he threw more times than I can count getting juice all over everything) and having to endure miles and miles of shows like GO, DIEGO, GO! and THE BACKYARDIGANS...
Now, I love this kid. He's my best friend's little boy and he can be the sweetest thing in the world...sometimes.
But if he's tired and fighting sleep (which he usually is), there is no making him happy.
This is why kids are NOT in my future.
Ever.
You might get an angel. :angel:
Or...:devil:

(He also had a MAX & RUBY DVD and I must admit those shows were somewhat entertaining. Good animation and art and decent stories, and they didn't make me want to slit my wrists after having to watch a couple of them. Parents, take note.)

[Amethyst Hunter]

I just returned from a road trip (all told approximately 17 hours round trip) and let me tell ya...
This is why kids are NOT in my future.
Ever.


Same here. What you described is enough to make me turn homicidal in point-two seconds from just an hour's worth of exposure to it, let alone 17+... :hairpull: No thanks.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I travelled a day and a half with a two year old once. It wasn't so bad. He had his moments, sure, but we ate at a lot of McDonalds while we were on the road. The food sucks, but he was able to blow off a lot of energy in the play areas. That really helped.

[Moonlight]

Oh geez, I've just had flashbacks. I got dragged on a bus trip to Spain by a now ex-boyfriend (hmmm, I wonder why?!). The bus was full of screaming kids and idiot parents and the trip took 24 hours. I wound up knocking myself out with travel sickness tablets and somehow got 12 hours of sleep amid the screaming and little b*stard that was kicking the back of my seat. Needless to say, holiday was also hell and boyfriend got dumped not long after. I prefer to fly!

Hums the AC/DC song. Dammit! I'm going to have to find it now!

[Der Cute]

Travelling w/ 2 yr old tips:

Teach words. I played UP Down with the electric windows. I was driving, and teaching John what UP meant, and DOWN. He had a small vocabulary and his pronunciation was horrid (developmental issues) so I took it to find ways to teach.

Stop often.
Find things you think will amuse munster. Oh Look! A water fall! Wa-ter. Cold. Teaching again! Go play for a bit, run energy out.

Remind of rules.
If you are quiet (not good, too vague) and color, we will have an ice cream/reward when we stop next!

Sing songs.
Happy songs, then quiet stuff.....and let him sleep.

Run energy out at pit stop, eat food and full belly puts baby to sleep.

but yeah, a cooped up 2 yr old can be....interesting.

Cutenoob

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Just remember: no matter how much you feel like doing this, strapping the child to the top of the car for the remainder of the trip is NOT an option.;)

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I'm lucky, mine takes after me and she sleeps pretty much the entire time she's in the car. I have a hard time staying awake on long car rides unless I'm driving. If I'm not interacting with something, my brain shuts down and I fall asleep, it's like my brain has a screen saver or something, I dunno what's up with that. But it makes traveling with my daughter a bit easier.