What’s the best time to leave with a 1 year old boy and 4 year old girl, on a 8 hour road trip? I know you have to take them out of their carseats every so hours. Should I leave late evening so they’ll be asleep for the night on majority of the ride? I won’t have any help on this trip. Advice? What do I need to buy if something could make a big difference I’d love to hear suggestions and advice!
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The way things are now days, I would early in the morning by 5am (I fell safer driving during the day with my kids was young) hope you have an awesome trip
My mom whenever we went to see family from Wisconsin to Kentucky with 9 kids made sure we had bags of things to do. Do not have them bring any book type things can cause car sickness(tablet can too) my son last time we went slept the whole way down. But bag of snacks and toys and unfortunately the 1 yr old just guna have to go with the flow
I’d leave around 4:00am with my kiddos (roll out of bed, potty, and back to sleep in the car). Stop later for breakfast/snacks and keep driving.
Evening would be best we moved from California to Idaho. 14 hour drive with two young kids and all our pets trust me night time is the best lol
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Driving at night when you aren’t used to being awake all night can be dangerous, especially with you being the only driver. And yes, you need to stop every 2 hours or so and everyone needs to get out and move around and time of the drive doesn’t change that.
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Go an hour before their bed time. I just went on a road trip with my sister from Wyoming to Washington state (18 hour drive) and both our kids slept all night in the car. Good luck!
The best time we left when our kids were little was 3:00am. It helped with the car sickness🤢
I would recommend as a woman going alone with children. To leave between 4 & 5 am they will fall back asleep you can get atleast half way by 8-9 am stop have breakfast and potty and only have half the trip left and if it becomes too much then just stop and regroup at 2 hours mark then there is only 2 hours left to go. It safer for you and them and it will get you further along before you have to stop the 1st time.
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If you are the only adult, I wouldn’t leave late evening and drive through the night. The kids may sleep but what do you do when you need to stop for the washroom? You would have to wake them both up to go in? I would say, have lunch, leave around 1 and stop halfway for dinner (washroom), then arrive at destination by 10 in time to put them to bed? Make it an adventure, sing songs play eye spy games? If you are not on a timetable, enjoy the ride, stop when you need, make some memories! Pack a “snackle box” with kids fave snacks that are easily accessible, wet wipes, water, juice boxes, childrens gravol
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First thing in the morning, overnight has always seemed like a nightmare to me. Then everyone is grouchy the next day and tired. Pack lunch in a cooler and stop at a park to eat so the kids can get some energy out
Don’t do it, lol. If were your going someone is there to take the kids while you have a nap I’d leave in the evening so they’ll sleep most of the way. Be sure to have children’s music to play and lots of snacks.
I always did it with my daughter and I leaving in the Kate evening. Just make sure you have some sort of protection and the location on your phone turned on and also always keep in touch with at least one person. Text them like every hour where you are so if anything happens then they know the last place you had been available ya know. I drove to and from San Bernardino CA to Reno nv twice with my daughter being under 1 years old. It was a lot more stops but it was better because it was not hot out and if we had broken down then we wouldn’t have been baking in the sun and most k ikely not have been able to stay in the car. At night my thinking was I could at least feel safer not being so exposed if that makes sense.
My parents would have us leaving close to bedtime for we would arrive at my aunts house towards the morning and us kids would sleep most of the ride. My aunt lived 10 hours away.
I have no advice other than if its just you and no other adult then I would not leave at night because at some point you will have to stop for gas and to use the bathroom and its not safe to do so just you and 2 small children. I would leave early morning. Maybe 5am or 6am.
Morning!!! First thing after breakfast/bottles and brushing teeth. Load up the car and make it fun - going on an adventure today!
Y’all get a good night’s sleep before and then it’ll be the first thing you do when you wake up.
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I didn’t have young kids but when I went on vacation we left at 4am but that was to get through traffic in Indianapolis before it got really busy!
Drive at night if possible, that way they sleep.
We drive at night, with the kiddos. Leave around 10ish and they fall asleep if not already asleep, when ya leave.
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When we were kids we would leave at like 530/6am.
There earliest in the morning that you can. Like before the Sun comes up so they’ll just pass back out in the car.
You need to stop every 2 hours regardless of whether you are traveling at day or at night so during the day is better. We do this a several times a year. I give myself an extra 2-3 hours (more if we are potty training) on the 8-10 hour drives.
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We always left late when I wad a kid. We’d sleep most of the trip.
In the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping. Just close the door quietly so they don’t wake up and go looking for you 
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I started taking my girls on trips as babies and we drove through the night still do and they are 13 and 14 now always just us 3 from Indiana to Florida I leave about 6pm then by the time I hit tennesee they are out and I can kick back and drive until gas fill up then break time always stop on exits that are clearly lit up and busy areas do not exit if you can’t see the station from the ramp at night and stay out of rest areas you will be fine mamam
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Always as early as possible Worked best they sleep the first few hours and then once food stops
Come stretch our legs at the parks twice and then home the later in the day the more fussy they get we have done a few long trips like this when ours were little early early works the best before the normally wake up they also tend to go to bed at a better time that evening once home takes like two hours of jumpy jacks and then bed time lol
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Before electronics. With 2 kids five years apart. Road trip excitement before trip. Getting favorite toys. A pillow and large towel for blanket . Pack picnic lunch and easy snacks . I suggest small cooler front seat with you. Plan 2 hour potty breaks for getting out and stretching.( if they are sleeping and you feel like driving wait for them to wake up. ) . Maybe check out Mc Donald’s for a play ground so older can play while you relax and stretch.
Plan on a 10 hour trip. If trip is 8 hours. We enjoyed rest area stops when we traveled. Kids could run and play a little , go potty. Take a few pictures . Eat a snack .
driving at night always worked best for me. especially when i was moving back to Georgia from Arizona.
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Evening! We always give a bath, put them in jammies, and they would sleep most of the night and sometimes all night long. Then you can stop in the morning at a rest area to change, brush teeth, and have breakfast 
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Early. Get them up early. Have them dressed in their comfies before bed. Grab everything you need the day before like snacks and drinks and anything to entertain and grab the sleeping kids and plop them in the care seat. It being dark and leaving early con almost make them fall back and sleep. But leave before sunrise. And be ready.
Late night or very early morning so they sleep most of the way.
Id leave late evening. Drive at night. There will be less traffic and the kids will sleep right thru it.
Early in morning would be my choice like 5 am 
If you decide to leave at bedtime then you need to be prepared to get very little to no sleep that night because if you wake them up to get into the hotel they probably won’t go back to sleep and if they do it’ll only be for a few hours. Also you have to remember that you can’t leave them in the car if you have to just run in and pee, and getting them out to go in with you would be stressful and hard on them.
If you decide to do it during the day, leave after breakfast. Stop every two hours or hour and a half and have them just run around the car a few times play chase them or have them do some jumping jacks or something creative to get their blood pumping. Absolutely entertain them during the ride, movies on a tablet set up where they can watch it, have separate tablets or some kind game thing they can play on for a little while to switch it up. Have some cognitive or memory games to do with them. Set a timer to 20 minutes or so and ask them to count how many red cars they see or big trucks (simis). Ask them questions for a while about anything you can think of. Ask your 4year old to tell you a funny or wild story. Put on some music they get excited about and just let them dance in their seats and sing. Make sure you keep a huge amount of snacks on standby and lots of fluids for them and yourself.
Whichever you decide, just make sure you are prepared for anything that could happen. For any possible poddy accidents keep a training poddy on standby with a couple diapers they can poddy in if they have to go bad and there’s nowhere to stop.
I’d say leave early in the morning (around 3 am).
I would say if your not used to be up all night then do not leave and drive all night. I like leaving around 3am. The kids will sleep for a few more hours in the car.
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Since it’s just you and the kids, I’d leave early in the morning ,i wouldn’t drive late at nighy by myself with Little ones
I would leave after breakfast, stop at lunch time and supper time. I had portable DVD players ( this was before the advanced electronic age ) with their favorite movies/shows. Snacks and drinks and a potty chair for when not near a stop and they needed to go NOW.
4am! Put them in the car asleep & you’re a couple hundred miles by breakfast time!
I drove at night when my was little. She slept all night. Now she loves road trips and is the best traveler.
I’ve never done been on a road trip with a kid, but if I was I think leaving at night sounds like the best way to go
I always left late around midnight or later. That way when they woke up we could stop for breakfast and they could play for alil bit.
I would always leave first thing in the morning. They would usually fall back asleep. We would leave around 4-5 am.
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3am. We always left early. Kids sleep for half of the trip x
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We have a 4 and 1 year old. We leave at bedtime after bedtime routine. We don’t make extra stops unless a kid wakes to eat or diaper change.
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Leave as soon as they wake up in the morning. That way there still happy and content, download there fav show on tablets, bring toys and snacks. Stop at parks every few hours for even 20 mins
Leave at night, movies to watch and snacks, play there music,and candy lol if all else fails, get one of those giant carnival lollipops last forever haha
Early in the morning say 5 or 6 stop for lunch/breakfast
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I always did bedtime for big trips, it sucked but was easiest with them so they just sleep
We leave in the day, my kids just don’t sleep in the car so I give em tons of sleep before leaving
I used to go at night so they’d sleep. Then stop at a truckstop or restaurant for a sit down meal at breakfast.
At bed time if you can drive in the dark
I always try to do all my road trips at night less traffic and the kids are sleeping
We always left after midnight when they slept
Have everything ready and leave in the morning before sunrise.
Give bathes, put on pj and get ready to leave close to there bed time.
I travel full time with a 2yo , 7yo , and 5yo . They do great in the car and long road trips . Definitely pack snacks tho ! lol and every few hours we pull over so they can stretch .
When I was younger we always left late at night/early morning. Like 2-3am. That meant mom could sleep some before we left & we’d sleep most of the trip. But we also missed the Chicago rush hour. I would figure out your route & plan it so you’re skipping big cities during rush hours.
As far as things to bring I made minders of activities for my preschoolers. I used binder pencil pouchrs, clear binder sleeves & folders. Activities included:
*cardboard or plastic cut outs with holes to “sew”,
*a paper in a sleeve with a roads in the shape of the letters of their names & a pouch of cars.
*A pouch with colored rice & small objects (zipped AND stapled shut) with cards that each item was traced on. I’d have a blue pouch with maybe 5 items hidden with a card with the items traced in blue etc. It’s like an ispy game. They can play over & over.
- A small Lego sheet with Legos.
- String & beads
*Paper, dry erase markers, crayons etc. I had so many activities we had 4 or 5 binders they’d switch off They could trace the sewing shapes on paper, trace the road letters with dry erase markers etc. We also did travel bingo, madlibs & other things.
2 years before they’re born
When we had kids that age would always leave around 9@ night,
We have done both and stopped every 2h approx at the rest stops and got out and ran for a bit. I had help tho. I wouldn’t give snacks per se, even when your kid isn’t normally car sick, after spending some time in the car, they can become sick. You need to talk to their pediatrician and get some nausea medication. It can be some Dramamine, nauseen or ondansetron if prescribed. Depends on what the dr says it’s ok. We did tablets for the kids, and got the window screens for the trip. It helped if they fell asleep to keep the sun out of their face and also with the motion sickness. My kids under 5 have always been rear faced so also a reason I did not give snacks in the car, I did have water for them and at the pediatrician they had these vomit bags that I asked to take a couple of and kept them at hand. 
I always traveled at night, but not if I had little kids. You will need to stop more often (diapers/bathroom etc) and lots of stopping places are closed at night. If there are 2 big people, it’s a little different.
When my husband worked in a different state and we went to visit I’d hit the road around their bedtime so they slept the whole way. When I had to stop for bathroom breaks I called ahead to the local sheriff office and had a cop come sit with them while I went into the restroom
Now that my 3 girls are older we leave late at night but if they are younger which it looks like they are I say a few hrs before they wake that way they may fall back asleep for half the ride and than nobodys that exhausted especially if you are doing the trip alone. Than you all can enjoy the rest of the evening when you get there and sleep good that night. Take a big cooler fill it sandwiches and snacks and drinks so you do not have to stop for fast food which will save u a ton of time. And when you leave from the trip do the same thing.
Me personally if I was alone with my babies. I’d get up early early like 4 or so. Get everything ready like they’re breakfast clothes all that. Get what ever loaded than start waking them up let em eat. Mine always wake up hungry when younger. Leave by 5 maybe. Take a couple little things for them to play with in car seat. Maybe sippys so nothing gets spilled. Than stop about 3 or 4 hours in at a park. Let them eat lunch n run their energy out. N load back up
I usually travel with my children early in the morning so we have the whole day. I’d be too scared to travel with them at night honestly
Get a few new toys to wrap and give them at stops or as you go if they get fussy. Snacks are a life saver! A tablet and put on a favorite show. Sing Silly songs, have them look for silly stuff outside of the car like hey who can find a purple lion or a green giraffe? Keeps them occupied. Count different colored cars. How many red cars can we count until we stop for gas?
Mostly don’t try to be in a hurry and it will go faster. If you stay calm and have fun they are more likely to do the same. Stay safe and have fun!
When we go on road trips like Florida we leave an hr or 2 before their usual bed time so they sleep most of the way. It’s so much easier we do get them out for bathroom breaks and diaper changes but I find it much more enjoyable then having kids yelling and screaming. I have a 2 yr old 6 yr old 8 yr old and a 13 yr old. We just actually went to Florida 2 weeks ago it was a nightmare not because of kids but vehicle issues which left us stranded until I decided to drive my car the 14 hrs home I had a wheel bearing going bad but we made it then I had to drive back a day later to get my sister and her kids. We traveled alone just me and her with the kids her van broke down mine got the bad wheel bearing but we made it home 4 14 hr drives killed me luckly my mom kept my kids for me to go get her. That’s just my opinion it works for us.
I would try either before they go down for the night if you want them to sleep the majority of the trip or early morning so they are calmer and you can make the last bits of the trip an adventure.
Car dvds or a tablet playing can be a good distraction. Or an audio book series is always fun. Soft stuffed animals for playing and toddler bowls with healthy snacks can be a life saver for quick feeding on the trip. Bottles ready or mostly ready and packed can also help alot.
Wintergreen life saver candies dissolve quick and have a hole in them they can be used for car sickness if that’s a problem for your 4 year old.
Leave early morning, 4-5am, have everything packed in the car the night before, they hopefully will fall back asleep and you can drive a few hours, stop for breakfast, and be at your destination around lunch time. I travel via car with my kids and now grandkids and this seems to work the best
Tablets , DVD players leave closer to their bedtime