Im debating about driving from cali to MN possiably this week, and just wanting some tips on how to keep my 3yr old entertained? we have a dvd player already in the car, but Im just wondering about him sitting for so long, I would love to make it a 12hr day of driving but I know that gets long, so any ideas will be great! 

I know it sounds silly but my parents would only drive cross country at night. So I would sleep in the car. Then get a hotel room durin the day and take turns resting while I played then again at night drive.
If the had to drive with me awake we would sing silly songs, play road games, and have snacks that I normally couldn't have. Mind you this was in the 90's so we didn't have the option of read out loud to me books or DVD players lol 

ya I was thinking about driving at night, but Im going to be driving alone so Idk how I would do that lol, 

I've drove cross country (CA-MI) 3 times last year. We have a 1 year old and a 3 year old. We have the DVD player with new movies they haven't seen. Snacks help and we also went and got those boards where they color then slide the bar to erase (I cant think of what they are called). When we stopped for gas I made sure the kids walked around alot. They did amazing with the trip. Good luck! 

thanks for the advice!!! how many hours would your drive in a day?? and did you stay at a hotel anywhere or what did you do?? 

Each time we did something different. Its about a 36 hour trip. This last time we left here at 5 at night and drove all night. The girls slept the whole time. Then we drove all day. I had 2 drivers. We stopped when we couldnt go any further. The other trips we would drive anywhere from 12-16 hours a day then get a hotel. 

ok cause thats what Im debating, I was thinking I could always drive here at night at stop in vegas for the night even know thats not that far away but its a start, otherwise I was thinking about just leaving here in the morning and drive and see how far I make it I guess lol 

Ive done it with two girls under 3 multiple times. Get a leap pad with some games that thing keeps my daughter entertained for hours :) Good luck and have a safe drive. Ps what part of MN? 

I live right on the border of Mn and ND almost by canada.. so its way up north lol its a long dive and I dont want to do it alone, but its for the best right now, I would love to fly but than I dont have a car at home so I just need to suck it up and do it I think 

Good luck we never leave when we want to. Most of the time we leave late morning early afternoon then we drive as long as we can. Another tip if your driving by yourself make sure to put your kids carseat opposite you so you are able to reach them and hand them food easier. It also helps if when you stop for has you do food, gas, bathroom breaks all at the same time. That way your not stopping every other hour. 

When we do long road trips I make multiple stops. Each meal we get out of the car and go inside to eat. While he was napping we didnt stop AT ALL. lol We would generally get breakfast, drive two hours, get lunch, drive another two hours, get dinner and drive another two hours.. Stop at hotel with pool and let swim.

Bring a DVD player, rent netflix, snacks, and lots of little activities.

If you are driving alone I would be skeptical driving at night too. But, if you are brave it might be the better solution 

I've also seen those car lap trays so they can also color etc too..we did NJ to CA and the DVD player and coloring books did help.
Have a Safe journey :) 

We always take a back pack full of toys, plus her dvd player and coloring books. We let her fill her back pack with whatever toys she wants. We usually drive straight through even though it is suppose to only be a 20 hour drive it turns into a 28 hours drive. We pull her out at rest stops every 300 or 400 miles, and let her run around and chase our dogs for 20 or 30 mins. Then load everyone back up and hit the road again. If she is asleep when we stop for gas we let her sleep, if she is awake I take her in the store to get snacks, while he pumped the gas.

I haven't ever made the drive with our daughter alone, but I did make a drive with our God son from MO to CA alone when he was 3. The best part was the night driving because he was an odd kid and slept during the day and stayed awake all night long. It actually worked out great because I could drive all day and at night he would ask millions of questions and I would answer him, so he kept me awake to drive the 34 hours. 

I make long trips alone with my 3 kids often. We don't have a DVD player. What I do is buy new art supplies and travel games/toys. Each has a backpack full of all their stuff. I also buy a large variety of snacks separated out by day packed into gallon bags each labeled with kid's name and day. We usually do 11-12 hours a day although the last time I planned less time per day because we were driving through the rockies in the winter and I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time if we hit bad weather/roads. My biggest suggestion is to make sure everything gets done each time you stop--gas, bathroom, food etc. This will minimize your stops. Oh and I also make sure I always stay in hotels that offer a good breakfast each morning. It always seems to help. 

I've drove cross country (CA-MI) 3 times last year. We have a 1 year old and a 3 year old. We have the DVD player with new movies they haven't seen. Snacks help and we also went and got those boards where they color then slide the bar to erase (I cant think of what they are called). When we stopped for gas I made sure the kids walked around alot. They did amazing with the trip. Good luck!

This is what I did, only my kids were 3 and 4 at the time and we went CA/FL but we drove straight through. Just make sure you let them "play" for a few mins each stop! We had about 10 new movies for them to watch. Worked like a charm! :) 

thanks everyone!!!!! Im packing tonight and leaving in the morning so I have some last minute things to get like a mini cooler for snacks and extra drawing things Im interested in that lap table thing where can you get that at?? and also I know its "unsafe" but do you ever unbuckle your kids to get out of the seat at all? I would feel horriable to have him sit in that for hours and hours.. Ihave a huge suv with 3rd row seating so I mean I have a lot of room to pack things in but just wondering 

Its a Magnadoodle:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&tok=oFzaPxoVBOvQ_nBwwoycUg&cp=7&gs_id=4i&xhr=t&q=magna+doodle&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1600&bih=803&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3387443687248392608&sa=X&ei=Iq8xT6C7N7LfsQKPqZnyBg&sqi=2&ved=0CD0Q8wIwAA

and NEVER EVER EVER let him out of his seat to play while driving. It can turn horrific in an instant. 

And I think we got ours at Toys R Us or the store on base....you can even get a smaller sized one at the Wire Mtn. Px. 

but do you ever unbuckle your kids to get out of the seat at all?

NO, if we are going to pull her out we stop! 

ok just wondering, cause my son is not potty trained yet so I was thinking about the diaper thing, but he also gets angry sometimes when he has to sit for a long period of time.. so thats why I was asking 

No, I would never let my child out of his car seat while we are driving. If he got a little fussy that is when it's time to stop and let him run. Driving at 60mph + is not the time to allow kids to get out. Like someone else said- things can happen too fast (I.e. an animal run in the road, another car swerve in your lane) scary. 

Maybe Walmart has it instore but if not maybe you can oreder it & have it shipped to where you're going and have it for the ride home.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Taby-Tray-Taby-Tray/16584893 

It's only safe to use a tray in the car if the entire thing is soft. Otherwise it can become dangerous in an accident. 

We did the drive from CA to MN a couple years ago. My husband and I did it together but we still stopped, it takes longer than you think. Our kids where 7 and a newborn. We had a dvd player and stopped a couple of times so the kids, well our oldest could get out and run to get some energy out. We would plan meals around places that had something for him to do or grab something and eat at a park. With it being winter I wouldnt recommend you driving the whole way without stopping by yourself. In good weather its dangerous but in rain or snow its worse. We also stayed the night in a hotel so we were well rested. 

I drove from TX to NC (only a 21 hour drive) but I did it with a 5yo and a 6 month old. We actually did it without a dvd player, and just a few coloring items for my oldest, but honestly sh's the best car rider ever we can drive 9 hours without her having to use the restroom (I can't even go that long) so we drove based on the baby. If the baby was happy and sleeping we drove, once the baby got upset we stopped for food diaper, potty breaks, food, and snacks for the rest of the trip. I always use nighttime diapers on road trips, and put diaper rash cream on the baby as a prevenative since I know theres a chance she may be in a diaper longer then usual. I also get a small cooler with ice and prefill milk and juice cups for the drive.

And no, I would never let my children out of their car seat for any reason. Even if my husband was traveling with me. 

I did the Ca-Mn drive with my daughter when she was 4, and with my dog too. It's not as bad as you would think :) If he gets bored of the dvd player you could play "I-SPY" with him, and there is alot of rest Bstops along the way with playgrounds and such. If you are going to make the drive anytime before May. I would take the route that brings you to Texas then up the I-35. You dont wanna drive through the mountains in Colorado in the winter. It's too dangerous. Best of luck to you!