Tips to survive a toddler road trip

Eleanor Douglas Meyers is a crafty mom from Uitenhage who writes about DIY, parenting, natural hair care, fashion, food and fun on her blog

Road tripping Have you ever taken a road trip with two kids under three?

Earlier this year, just before Aidan turned three and my nephew, Caleb, turned one, we embarked on a trip to Cape Town – the first long journey with both Aidan and Caleb.

Aidan and Caleb really get on well. But the 10-hour journey left cracks in their relationship and my sanity.

These are a few tips I picked up along the way ... my first tip being “rather book a flight” (but that is due to my own dislike of confined spaces).

• Keep your snacks in a easy to reach place like a small cooler bag at your feet. If that sounds obvious then you probably never had to stop the car in the middle of nowhere to rummage through your luggage for a sippy cup!
• Stop frequently as having kids cooped up together in car seats can make for a situation where the usually calm or mild-mannered older one gets fed up with having his hair pulled and arm licked and then grabs the little one’s pacifier ordummy as revenge and throws it away (oh, just us? Never you mind).
• Take doubles of toys because fighting will occur! Actually doubles don’t work because whatever the other one has is better even if you can’t tell the difference with the naked eye … the other one is better.
• If someone hands your kids balloons … pop those suckers or release before the kids get attached … actually, when you see approaching balloons RUN!!! Grab a kid under each arm and make a run for it unless being bopped in the head for hours with a balloon tickles your fancy or separating balloon fights in the back seat seems like fun.
• Wet wipes… just yes! Lots!
• Make sure your electronics are charged because hell hath no fury like a toddler who doesn’t get to see the end of his saved YouTube video of opening eggs  and - spoiler alert - it contains a crappy toy.
• But most importantly try to see things from their perspective. The miles of tree lined roads are “like forests where dragons live mommy” and a lake you pass by is “like the book you read me mommy”.

Watching the world out of the eyes of a toddler is an amazing thing … a sort of “round two” if you will.

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