Just needed to vocalize to get it out to avoid passing the feelings on to the fam.
Starting a road trip with two young ones. Kind of stressed about it - we’re doing 30+hrs total car-time over the next couple of weeks.
Have lots of contingencies for the car ride, planned lots of stops, have lots of snacks and some new distractions for the kids.
Trying to tell myself over and over it’s not about getting there, it’s about making a day out of the drives. It’s a very different approach to how I’ve always traveled - usually my wife and I would just power thru and get there. With a potty trainer and a new walker I’m still coming to terms with expecting to stop every 30m. Idk that my heads totally there yet and wanted to share, even if just to put my thoughts on “paper”.
How have other dad’s out there had success with young ones on long trips? Any tips or ideas are welcome :)
My son usually slept for hours of our road trips around the ages you’re talking about. On one particularly bad trip he stayed awake a lot. We played what he now calls “the animal game” where one person thinks of an animal and the others in the car ask yes/no questions to try to figure out what the animal is.
A spin-off is “the character game” featuring TV show, movie, video game, or book characters. Those two games have passed hours on our drives, and it feels more engaging than screen time or loads of gifts, but no judgement for those who use the other methods. We all just have to get through these things! :-)