Last month we set off on our first family of 4 road trip. Thanks to Pinterest, I was armed with an overload of car activities. I was ready to go and feeling pretty good about myself.
About 45 min in, my two year old son started to get bored of watching cars. I turned to my handy dandy road trip bag that I had packed, organized obsessively, and placed right next to me for easy access. I swooped in to save Parker’s boredom with a handful of pipe cleaners.
Not 5 seconds later, one was stuck in his ear, one was up his nose and and the rest were on the ground. Undaunted, I plowed forward. I handed him play dough. This activity managed to last at least 5 minutes, which for a 2 year old boy is huge success.
Thirty minutes later (an hour and a half into our road trip), I busted out the Melissa & Doug reusable stickers. I thought he’d have great fun placing the stickers in all the different farm yard scenes. Instead he cried because they wouldn’t stick to him– which is what he usually does with stickers.
My final act of desperation to keep him happy were car magnets and a cookie sheet. It lasted 35 seconds and I am still finding magnets all over my car.
You know what ended up keeping him happy for the entire road trip?
Tried and true activities.
We read books. We sang songs. We played “I Spy.” He ate lots of unhealthy, packaged snacks (the horror!). Oh . . .and we watched lots and lots of TV shows.
Sometimes I think Pinterest is my “way out,” like my kid should be able to entertain himself for hours on end with activities because gosh darn it, these activities are so fun and cute. But what I forget is that my kid doesn’t need more activities or perfectly organized games. He needs me. Just me.
Was it the road trip I had imagined? No.
I seriously thought I would be reading the last 4 editions of Real Simple while he played in the back seat. But instead I crawled back in the back seat and had my kids undivided attention for 8 whole hours. What a gift.
Don’t worry! My baby survived the trip as well. He slept some, stared out the window and smiled at me every time he caught my eye. He also tried Puffs for the first time, which were not as big a hit as I thought they’d be!
Disclaimer: I know I have a toddler boy and they have the attention span of a goldfish. But please don’t tell me how your daughter can sit still for hours playing with a flower. All kids are different and have different abilities. This was just my experience!
Laura, I know how you feel! I’ve gone through the same experience with Graham many times. I think Parker is just so darn smart he needed his Mommy’s intellectual stimulation. 🙂
We travel all over the South during the Summer and Fall. I have two boys, two year old twins. I could not agree more with your experience. We watch a whole lot of DVDs. And I spend a lot of time being a clown, a tour director and a snack bar.