Next week we’re off on a bit of a family road trip. We’re travelling down South and then slowly making our way back up the country with some stops en route. The first leg of the journey is a 6 hour drive with a toddler so my blood pressure is already on the up and I’ve started having visions of 6 hours of shouting, screaming and tears (from me).
I’m not new to long distance travelling with the little man (remember our 9 hour drive to Bluestone last year?) but it’s doesn’t necessarily mean I’m a huge fan!
I try and plan ahead and follow the tips below.
Consider your time of travel
If you can, think about travelling at night or first thing in the morning. Whilst it might not be much fun for the driver, it’s more likely your child will sleep for some of the journey. You could even let them travel in their pyjamas for added comfort.
Talk about where you’re going
One of the places we’re visiting next week is Peppa Pig World at Paulton’s Park. The little man is Peppa Pig obsessed so we’ve talked about our trip a lot and used it as a bit of ‘good boy’ bribing mechanism. We’ve embellished the details to keep him interested and excited and we’ll talk about it while we’re travelling in the hope it’ll keep him entertained and excited. 
Be prepared
Take at least one change of clothes and a towel. Children aren’t very considerate with their timings when it comes to sickness or an explosive nappy.
When we travel in the UK I take as many things from home as I can, including a well stocked first aid kit, cleaning products and plenty of bin liners to safely store anything dirty in, until we get somewhere where there’s washing facilities or get back home. 
Make sure your phone and tablet are full charged and loaded with games
Love it or hate it, technology is your friend when travelling with children. You can keep children entertained on long car journeys by using things like tablets, electronic games or a mobile phone. Make sure you have films and great games to play like Tomb Runner and Bubble Charms fully downloaded and ready to play – no one wants to see a buffering induced toddler tantrum mid journey!
A recent discovery of ours is Poki, a cross platform game publisher with more than 30 million users from all over the world. Their games can be played on on your mobile, tablet or desktop. They offer a huge range of age appropriate online games that are fun and free to play. 
Choose your snacks and drinks wisely
Fruit and crackers are always good for car journeys and a mess free child and car. Try and avoid things that will melt in your childs clammy grip. Don’t forget the rubbish bag to dispose of the half eaten sandwiches and mounds of used baby wipes.
Stop regularly
Even if the journey is short, stop often. Try and find somewhere a little more exciting than a service station. Even a grassy field is more exciting to a child than a concrete car park. Encouraging your child to run around and stretch his legs might also encourage him to nap in the car.
On our road trip next week, we’re going to try and make stops at English Heritage venues. We’re members and it will make a nice change to make stops at somewhere scenic rather than motorway services.
The lovely people at Poki are offering one of my lucky blog readers the chance to win a Amazon tablet, a fantastic prize, especially if you have got some long journeys to make over the Summer.
To have a chance in winning, please complete the Gleam form below and make sure you have a read of the terms and conditions.
*Collaborate post
pet soccer!
The lego games look great
I love the look of the game Anna Hospital Recovery 🙂
Anna Hospital Recovery looks weirdly fun.
lego games
Jeep parking looks fun
Bubble charm
It has to be the incredibly simple and addictive crossy road. Drives me mad. And one of my little ones loves it.
The Bubble Charms game is easily my favourite x
My kids love lego
Lego is a great favourite with us.
I really like the look of the pet soccer! (maybe because I love cats haha)
slither.io
pinata cookies
Pet Soccer looks adorable
Scrappy Dog
The Anna Hospital Recovery looks good.
bubble charms
I was addicted to snake when I had a Nokia phone and the super snake game looks super fun 🙂
Some great ideas here.
Pet Soccer
Angry Birds
I think I like the sound of “Anna Hospital Recovery” game.
Papas Bakeria sounds fun!
1010 Deluxe looks like the perfect game to just switch off and play!
The Lego game looks good. Thanks for the chance.
its got to be sliterio, my kids love it
Bubble Charms 🙂
Pet soccer looks like a laugh.
Creepcraft because my son loves minecraft.
Anna’s Pedicure
Papa’s Bakeria looks interesting.
Bubble charms
King Of Thieves looks good.
Scrappy dog looks fun
What a fab idea… I like the look of bubble charms thank you 🙂
King of thieves looks good
1010 Deluxe looks good
Pet Soccer! 🙂
Colour switch
Pet Soccer
Looks Good
The bubble charms game looks great x
Angry Birds
i think we would like creep craft best
The surgeon simulator game! 😀
Agario
Pet Soccer looks fun
The bubble charms game looks great x
Supersnake
Bubble Charms
Pet Soccer looks great!
Bubble Charms
I like the look of Bubble Charms.
I would have to say Bubble charms
I would have to say Bubble charms too!
Bubble charms looks fun
The lego game looks great fun
Pet soccer looks good
Bubble charm is eye catching
money movers looks great!
Bubble Charms
Bubble Charms
bubble charms
Rally Racer looks fun…thanks so much for pointing me towards Poki – I’m always trying to find good games for the little’uns to play 🙂
Color Switch
bubblecharms
got to be angry birds for me!
Bubble charms looks my type of thing
Bubble Charms looks similar to games I’ve played in the past and absolutely love.
Bubble Charms
I like the look of the bubble charms game, thanks for the giveaway.
I like the sound of Airport Cafe
Lego Star Wars
Bubble charms
Pet soccer!
Matt vs Math for my son as he loves his maths.x
I agree 100% about the technology tip, some people are a bit sniffy about it, but used sparingly, a tablet or phone can be a massive help in keeping kids entertained.
Lego games looks good xx
COLOUR SWITCH LOOKS GREAT GAME
I like the look of rally racer
Lego games look fun
Crossy Road
Pet soccer looks like loads of fun
Angry Birds Space
My daughter plays Slither.io and says it’s a really good game
Zombie Town: Sniper Game under the Minecraft category.
Roger Dead: Zombie Biker.
The Lego game looks AWESOME. My kids love Lego!
Bubble charms – I love games like that
The lego games look great
Jeep Parking, I love parking games.
Papas Bakeria looks like one of those games I’d get addicted to 🙂
Slither looks good
Color Switch 🙂
Angry Birds Space looks good
me and my girls love playing slither-io
Don’t crash looks fun.
i like the look of ‘Papa Bakaria’.
crossy road
I like the look of Bleach v Naruto 2.5 simply because I love Naruto!! 🙂 xx
The Scooby Doo Games look fun for the children
Flow free
Jump The Shark
Crossy road
Roger Dead: Zombie Biker game
Lego Star Wars looks pretty cool 🙂
the lego one would be a hit here 🙂
Papas Bakeria looks like fun x
The Lego game would be my grandsons favourite
Jeep parking
Pet Soccer!
Plants VS. Zombies!
Jeep parking
Lego games
Super chief burger
I love the look of Crossy roads! X
I love the look of Crossy roads! X
The Finding Dory jigsaw puzzle
i like look of bubble charms
Finding Dory Jigsaw Puzzle
Oh wow! Such a great selection! I like the look of Toon Cup 2016
Happy Wheels!
Plants v Zombies
My youngest would love the Baby Hazel games and my eldest could sit and play tap the frog for hours. Thank you, thank you, thank you for finding this for me
I think Kogama: Lego Star Wars game looks great and my kids would love it!
lego
Crossy Road
Tomb runner
Scrappy Dog
Bubble charms looks wicked hours of fun and so addictive
The Lego gamelooks good.
My daughter would definitely love Pet Soccer 🙂
Bubble charm
Bubble charm
Plants Verses Zombies x
Thunderbirds
The lego game looks good
love the look of tomb runner
Don’t crash appeals to me
Plants Vs Zombies looks good
Get On Top
Color switch looks good .x
The Lego game!
lego games as d is lego mad
pet soccer looks fun
The Lego Game
Pet Soccer sounds amazing and great fun 🙂
the lego games
I like the look of polar opposites.
plants vs zombies
Jeep parking appeals to me
Lego Games
Angry Birds Space
Pet soccer.
The Lego Game
Euro soccer!
angry birds space 🙂
I really like the look of Easy Joe World! It’s got such a retro look and bright fun colours!
Color Switch looks brill!
plants vs zombies
Tomb Runner.
Bubble charms looks addictive 🙂
Crossy Road fab site will share with my nieces and nephews.
plants v zombies
plants vs zombies
Talking tomcat 2
Bubble charms looks fun
Jeep Parking looks fun.
I like the look of Angry Bird Space
Bubble Charms
Pet Soccer looks great
angry pigs
The surgeon simulator game, love games like that.
Bubble Charms looks like something I would enjoy!
Plants vs Zombies is fun – I’ve already played it though!
Finding Dory Jigsaw Puzzle – my kids love jigsaws at the moment
Pet Soccer!
pet soccer
Happy wheels looks like a fun game!!
i love the look of Talking TomCat2 my grandson has number 1 and he loves it
cut the rope
Really like the look of Crossy Roads – reminds me of a game I used to play as a teen!
Happy Wheels is my son’s favourite
Finding dory jigsaw game would be great for my toddler!
Tip Tap 2
Plants v Zombies x
Definitely the Lego game
Bubble charm looks fun
slither.io
I like the look of bubble charms it looks like games I have played and enjoyed before
Jeep Parking 🙂
Talking Tom Cat 2 for me please. It looks really good.
Crossy road looks fun
Angry Birds Space
Lego
Talking tom 🙂 xx
Super Chef Burger looks yummy 😀
Bubble charm
Bubble Charms 🙂 looks awesome!
I love a bit of Plants vs Zombies 🙂
I like the look of Traffic Block Game! I have played similar games before and love this sort of game!
Tomb Runner
Bubble Charms
I like the look of Spider-Man: The Battle Within 🙂
crossy roads. my daughter loves it!… Fab giveaway thanks so much for the chance to win x
Tomb Runner 🙂 Thanks for the chance 🙂
Zootopia Judy Foot Surgery haha
Pet Soccer. 🙂
Pet soccer looks fun
bad piggies look good
Finding Dory jigsaw puzzle
Farm Puzzle Story 2
Bubble Charms looks fun!