When I told people we were taking Ryder to Lubbock, I swear every one of them got a look of horror on their face. Yeah yeah yeah I know, a 5 hour drive with a 1 year old isn’t ideal. But we wanted to go to the game and knew he’d have a great time

We planned accordingly. I downloaded lots of learning games on my iPad, packed tons of snacks and left an hour before nap time. Ryder is perfectly fine in the car for an hour. So we figured if he took an hour and a half nap, we already killed 2 1/2 hours right there! That left about 2 1/2 hours left to entertain him. If you aren’t familiar with Texas cities, Lubbock is roughly a 5 hour drive West of Dallas (4 1/2 if you go over 70 and don’t stop to go to the bathroom).

Everything worked out perfectly. He actually ended up sleeping a little longer than an hour and a half. When he woke up I crawled in the back seat with him and we played games, read books, ate some snacks and hung out. He didn’t get fussy till about 30 minutes outside of Lubbock. But let’s be honest, we were all getting a bit squirrelly at that point!

Car rides with small kids don’t have to be miserable if you can plan accordingly. I know you can’t always plan your trips to fit your child’s schedule but if you can I promise it’s worth it.

Here is my list of must haves for long car rides with a young toddler:

🔹Snacks

🔹Water

🔹Diapers/wipes

🔹Plastic bag/trash bag to throw trash in

🔹Backup outfit (you never know)

🔹Books, games, toys

🔹IPad loaded with movies and games

🔹Blanket in case they get cold but you are hot and need the air on

🔹Backup bibs if your kid is a drooler like mine

🔹Socks. Ryder’s feet always get cold in the car

If you’re one of those parents who doesn’t want their kid just sitting and watching movies, then download educational games! I found animal games that teach sounds, colors, etc for Ryder that he absolutely loves.

Like I said, car rides don’t have to be miserable. You can make them tolerable if you plan accordingly and bring enough things to entertain!