How to entertain a toddler on a long car journey!?

[sianabanana]

Hello

We are taking a road trip across France in July and I was wondering if anyone had tips/recommendations of things to entertain a 16 month yr old? We don't have a car so she's not used to being couped for a long time! I wasn't going to go down the personal DVD route (keeping costs down) so was thinking about toys etc?

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Fuschia]

CDs with stories and songs

[katgod]

A drawing board (with pen on a string) picture books, sweets. Lots of small cheap things that are periodically produced to keep the novelty factor high. Have done several trips and breaking journey at an aire with a play area and having a proper run about helps. Did not use films at that age, mine are quite happy travellers though.

[hoppermum]

Do you have an iPad? There's a kids series called seek and find which I use for long train journeys (and trips to the hairdresser!) the apps are free though you can pay for extra pictures which I dont think are necessary if its just a one off journey (I was doing lots of train journeys with similar age DS)

Other thing he loved were stickers-any kind of stickers entertained him for ages, and then he liked to draw around / over the stickers.

Finally, though this involves a lot of adult participation, we found flash cards to be a life saver-you can bring them out in restaurants / cafes too as they just fit in your handbag.

Good luck!

[minder]

Ipad for a 16 month old?

Flash cards are a good idea and CDs.

[Strawbs]

We got a portable car DVD player from curries on sale, half price at ?70 and it is well worth it.. My son hates driving in the car for a long time so ths works like a dream for us.. As for toys not sure really unless someone will be in the back p,aching with the child? X

[Emski]

Drive at night so they sleep?

Have your meals in the car (picnic-style foods) so they're kept busy eating for an hour or so.

These are prob best if you just have one long journey to do, and can relax once you get to your destination, rather than an actual driving holiday tho.

Otherwise, nursery rhyme CDs, stickers and cheap spiral-bound notebooks so they can use up as much paper as they like. Etch-a-sketch? We also had a portable DVD player - ?60ish - and so worth it!

[Fuschia]

I have seen various suggestions for plastic zip wallets with different things in

Or for slightly older than your little one

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/5677/travel-kits-for-kids

Must say taping up their mouths appeals ( joke)

[crystal7]

Where possible we always drive at night. Bath at home, into PJs, into car. They always sleep through stops to get petrol etc. Works less well on return journeys as they always seem to wake up as we come off the motorway. Still prefer it to travelling whilst they are awake. Having said that we drove to Wales on Sat morning. IPad games were popular with 4 year old. 18 month old was trickier, he slept for a bit luckily. We cbeebies theme tunes and Charlie and Lola story cd kept him amused plus raisins and dried cereal.

We are also driving across France in a few months and planning to get a portable DVD player. Let us know how you get on!

[Gooders79]

At 16 mo ours wouldn't have been entertained by a DVD player or iPad for more than a minute or two, we always tried to do long journeys after bedtime or over nap time to get as many miles done whilst they are asleep as poss. Having partner sat next to Ds in the back providing endless stream of snacks/meals/toys helped. Breaks where they can run around good too, more picnic and a park than quick service station stop.

[sianabanana]

Ah brilliant! Thanks for all the tips...much appreciated!

[canela]

someone to sit in the back seat with them and keep them entertained! otherwise plan as much of your driving around naps and nighttime sleeps. even the best 16 month traveller is not going to be happy for more than a couple of hours.

[Bellenden Belle]

Lots of toys, particularly musical instruments - the trick for us is to produce them one at a time, a steady stream of small things for little hands to explore.

We find our little one also enjoys music - particularly if one of you is prepared to be a bit silly and sing along, preferably with head banging!

But for any length of time we do nap times or drive after his bedtime.