Long-Distane Travel With A Wild Hobbit

[crazyofficeclerk]

Play-doh is great as far as I'm concerned any time. It was one of my favorite toys as a kid. If you go that option I would get a lap desk to use it on. That way he might not be able to mash it into everything.

The only advice I have is that the best laid plans often go awry. In other words, realize that all your plans involve 2 things that are very unpredictable: a small child and traveling. From road construction to weather to screaming anything can go wrong. Just be flexible.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I don't know what you drive, but I keep a potty seat in the back of my van. I've actually put the potty in an SUV, and that worked, too. I have a bag of Chux pads that I've cut up into smaller squares, a bunch of gallon size zip lock bags, a roll of toilet paper, a box of wet wipes, and a bottle of hand sanitize.

Kid has to go, sometimes she has to go NOW and if she can't, you get a situation. Put a square of Chux in the potty, let junior go potty, then dump the whole thing chux and all into a plastic bag and seal it shut. Next time you're near a garbage can or a dumpster, jettison the warp core.

Sippy cup with plain water and some snacks is always a handy thing.

My kid likes to play with her V-tech or her daddy's iPod touch that we've downloaded kiddy games onto. Also, you can get a tiny little portable dvd player to put in the back seat. We put velcro on ours and attach it down to the lid of the cooler back there for her. They are not expensive. (I know you said you aren't into that idea, it's just here in case anyone else finds it useful.)

As much as I hate McDonalds, they have play areas that are great for her to get out and blow off steam.

I would not do the Play doh thing for numerous reasons, the main one being that you don't want him noshing on that when you're not able to really watch him. He could choke on that. Also, Playdoh in the hands of a toddler ends up ground into everything. You don't want that in your car.

Music that the kid will like that won't drive you nuts will be useful. I like Backyardigans stuff and Dan Zanes. I'm lucky in that my kid likes Bluegrass, Folk, and Irish regular music, too. But Dan Zanes is folk that is pitched to children, but it's really just good fun folk music that anyone can enjoy.

[AnaKhouri]

He likes those horrific Wee Sing CDs, we have several, plus Peter and the Wolf and Sesame Street. I've learned to tune them out.

Luckily he is still in diapers and has shown zero interest in potty training so far, so no problem there.

OK, nix on the Play Doh. I found a magnetic board toy and a Magna-doodle type thing. Those may help.

[AnaKhouri]

Update: Khan was an angel during the trip, both ways! He's such an easygoing little monkey and I am so very proud of him. And we had a nice time in Florida to boot! Thanks everyone for the advice!

[MaggieTheCat]

That's awesome, glad it went so smoothly.