How to travel with a child on the car and not get crazy

It's complicated. Very difficult. The child does not stand up. He wants to run, to mom, to watch, to touch again on the handle, to eat, drink and so on. He gets tired quickly, so will weep and to break out of the car seat. This, in turn, terribly tired us all, tired and irritated, they want to turn back and never nowhere to go.

Do not do it if you are unsure or do not want. Or do you really restless child. Fly on an airplane. Vzhuh, and you are there. Or just 8:00 flight. Yes, after such a journey 8 hours a plane - a pf-f.

stops

big

Divide the journey apart. Empirically, we have determined that the maximum number of hours that can withstand the parents and the child - is 7. A better 6. We drive 6 hours to stop in any city for the night.

small

Stop to refuel, drink, pee, eat - pull out the baby and walk 15-30 minutes. As you might expect, because of this way of 6:00 turned into eight or more.

When Jan was six months old, we went by car to Moscow non-stop. I thought it was over, I cried in the way of impotence. Now we even traveled to Moscow to divide into two days - we spend the night in the bottom.

After 6-8 hours of driving, we squeezed. But a dream return force, and in the morning we are again bright and cheerful. And the side-effect of the trip you will like.

Sleep

If a child sleeps during the day to coincide with a trip to the dream. For example, take the exit from the city in 11-12 days, the child then falls asleep and sleep for 2-3 hours. And then the remaining time will be the easier (not to entertain 8:00).

Do not go into the night. You will have one person who had enough sleep - it is a child. In the morning he will bodrenkim, and you will have to hang out with him, and you're a zombie.

Food

1. One rule: do not bother. A child may stop eating from stress or go for bread and apples. Let him eat it, if he wants to. Score.
2. If the child still eats a mixture (as we have: one feeding at night), this is the easiest option trip. Divorced, they gave. In this case, the usual mixture of one feeding at night can turn into three feeding instead of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cm. first point: do not bother. Especially a mixture of nutritious and wholesome.
3. Breastfed even better: more and fastest way to soothe your baby.
4. No need to take cans or containers of food. First, the child may refuse to eat this food. Secondly, it is inconvenient. If the child is in the general diet, stop to eat regular food. There is a super-duper refueling, where they prepare a normal meal.
5. Kosmoeda. Praise for this invention! It pyureshki in soft packaging. There are fruit and vegetables, and whole meals with potatoes and meat.
6. Snacks: apples, carrots, dried, biscuits, bananas, bread, bread. We are traveling eating biscuits, and dried apples tons. If you are worried about HLS, see. first paragraph. Nerves are more important.

Drink

Lots of water, lots of water. Or whatever your child is drinking. The dry air machine. Buy one bottle with a sports neck and pour water into it from the big bottles.

Entertainment

toys

Bring a ton of toys. It is best to buy new ones and give them a child. The novelty effect of distracting.

Cartoons and mobile games

Download gigabytes of cartoons which your child is watching. And dim conscience, if they believe that their view should be only 18 or 20 minutes a day.

Cartoons - is salvation. Similarly with the games on the phone or tablet. If a child is playing, let him play.

We do not put all the cartoons Jan 6:00 trip. This is too much, of course. We had a schedule: 2-3 hours of sleep, then 1-2 hours - the food and entertainment (toys), hour - "Malyshariki". Last hour - the most difficult: tired of all, the child is torn somewhere and crying. Then salvation: you put the cartoons and relax. And for an hour watching a small child - it's too tiring, he gets tired and no longer cries when switched off.

refueling

Ride only on lines with good ingredients. Good dressing - it's normal food and clean toilet with hot water. The most opposite - it is when you have to change the diaper is not clear where.

We have our favorite gas stations: Shell, BP (they even have their own kitchen), "Lukoil", "Gazprom" (also found excellent). In Europe, as a rule, each refill on the slopes and includes a huge clean toilets, and almost restaurants, and children's corners with chairs.

medicine chest

On the Internet a lot written that you need to put in a first aid kit for traveling with a child. We had a separate container, a large. You will most likely do not need, but you will be quiet.

pram

Take. Even if now you think you can carry the baby in her arms, it is not. Can not. On the first day will fall and refuse to go further. Better to take less clothes.

napkins

Napkins should be raspihat wherever possible for something to stuff. Dry and wet.

Bags

Make individual packets or bags here with these things:

1. Food for the journey (and let it lie in the cabin).
2. Things for the night. This may be slippers, hygiene kits, removable pants, diapers, home clothes or pajamas. And put in the trunk in quick availability. Thus, in the hostel of the car you will need to take only one bag. You do not have to be every time to get a huge suitcase.

order

Be prepared for the fact that the car will megasrach: crumbs and pieces of food everywhere. Do not bother (the golden rule). And the head of a garbage bag.

Overnight

Hostels The best hotels available around the clock have a kitchen where you can wash the bottles, cook food, have water and hot water, washing machine. Whereas the rules on it all. Almost every hostel has a family room with its own bathroom. Well, it's cheaper. We booked on the Booking.com.

Choose hostels around the clock settling. Otherwise, you can get there, as we were once in Prague: arrival time shifted a few hours (from 8 pm to 12 pm), and the hostel check-in only until 8. They denied me entirely, such as "go nowhere, in a foreign country." I'm a little quarreling, Booking.com and allowed me to cancel the reservation free of charge. I booked a few minutes another hostel with the same application, and it was just Soul Plane.

Planning

Plan everything. We provide overnight stays, where you will have what you watch. Believe me, the attitude, "and here we go aimlessly and get in some cafe" does not work.

Google Maps to help you (a feature Explore Nearby) and maps.me (for offline maps). Get directions in advance (to the point of spending the night), generate a link to the route and place in easy reach (we had separate chatik in the Telegram-channel): got into the car, jabbed on the link and go.

And agree who is doing what "stop now, are you talking about this, I take the baby and now this package." You and so hassle enough. Planning allows you to make life easier and removes the irritation due to unrealistic expectations ( "I thought (s), you will do it").

In general, despite the fact that such travel is strongly exhausting, it's very cool. Furthermore, enriching travel experiences, and young children develop.

see also

• 9 tips on how not to lose a child at the station or at the airport →
• What to do with a small child: 15 interesting educational games →
• 8 tips for those who are going to car travel for the first time →