AS PART OF TheJournal.ie’s weekly Family Magazine, we wanted to create a space for parents to share their views. A place where mums and dads could share their experiences, lessons learned, and even mistakes along the way.
With Easter and a bank holiday on the approach, we asked our panel how they manage long periods in the car with young kids. Sure, visiting the in-laws sounds good on paper – until you factor in the three hour round trip.
What are your survival tips for long car journeys with the kids?
Here’s what they had to say…
Top L-R: Olly Keegan, Alan Dooley, Denise, Ken Hyland. Middle L-R: Ríona Flood, Ross Boxshall, Marta Lisiecka, Denise Cumiskey. Bottom L-R: Kait Quinn, Susannah O’Brien, Derek McInerney, Suzie Kelly
Silence for the first ten minutes: They’re usually giddy to start with, so we ask for quietness for the first five or ten minutes – otherwise it’d go on for the whole journey. We have been wheeling the kids around since they were a couple of weeks old, and usually we just jump in the car and go. When all else fails, we do song requests on Spotify.
- Alan Dooley
A food pit stop en route: We make sure to build in a food stop along the way. It allows us time to stretch our legs, change any nappies and refuel. We’ll also attempt to get some outdoor activity in like a run around a park or outdoor area.
- Denise
Starting the journey at nap time does the trick… sometimes
Car journeys are still a game of chance for us. Charlie has outgrown sleeping for hours on end in the car. We try to hit the road around a time he might nap but those efforts have been thwarted of late.
- Kait Quinn
A bit of blackmail works wonders: My older two were a nightmare in the car together, fighting constantly unless they had the Nintendo with them. Their little sister is fine in contrast. She knows if she’s good she will get a wee treat… blackmail works great sometimes.
- Denise Cumiskey
Portable trays and car picnics: Our son never sleeps in the car unless he is really tired, so we have tricks for keeping him occupied. We have a portable tray that sits on his lap and straps around his back so it doesn’t fall off. It has net pockets on the sides for storing toys, along with his beloved “car picnic” – a little insulated bag with various snacks in it.
- Olly Keegan
Feeding her before hitting the road: I’m from Dublin originally but we live in Cork so long drives are unavoidable from time to time. With an eleven month old, it is all about timing. We’ll aim to leave when nap time is due, with Cliodhna just fed and content so that she’ll sleep for most of the journey.
- Ríona Flood
A special collection of ‘car toys’: We have specific toys that Tymek only gets to play with while we’re travelling, so he stays interested. Plus books and snacks of course. The trip to see my in-laws is around 1.5 hours so it’s not too long.
- Marta Lisiecka
Each of them brings their own rucksack: We haven’t done many long car journeys yet as the logistics with six of us is a little … challenging! But on the few that we have, we always take food, drinks, a bag of jellies and a small rucksack of whatever toys each of them wants.
- Ross Boxshall
If all else fails… YouTube: We’ve had some of our most important conversations in the car as a result of my daughters’ constant questions, but if we’re dealing with unfamiliar roads, the rapid-fire chat can get overwhelming. For those occasions, some YouTube on the phone is the only thing that works.
- Susannah O’Brien
A portable DVD player: When the kids were younger we had a dual screen DVD player in the car that was really helpful in pacifying them on longer journeys. As they grew up they moved through phases of bringing books with them to read, playing in-car games like eye-spy and now they resort to listening to music on their phones or watching videos or movies.
- Ken Hyland
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