Jamie Krug: What If It's Getting Better?
Daniel Donahoo: The Evolution of Parent-School Engagement
Distracting your kids in closed quarters
Filed under: Just For Moms, Toddlers Preschoolers, Development/Milestones: Babies
Yesterday I had to pick Nolan up in a small town about forty five minutes outside my city. The drive there was a breeze, I cranked up the old-lady talk shows I'm partial to these days and careened with excitement toward the gap-toothed smile of my little one.About halfway there, though, I noticed something sinister on the other side of the highway: a lineup of cars, stretched endlessly in bleary sunlight, lined up before the bridge and beyond. Uh-oh, I thought, I hope that's a temporary jam.
I live in a city of ocean and bridges and two lane highways and when there's a traffic jam, you're usually going to be stuck for hours. I don't mind sitting idly if I have an US magazine and a peach iced tea, but when you throw a toddler into the equation, it can go south fast.
I picked up Nolan at 3:30. He'd been in a car already for nearly four hours.
"I'na rock!" he exclaimed as I belted him in and poured him a sippy,"I'na rock!"
"You can walk in just a little bit." The beads were already pouring down my forehead,"But first we're going to count the trucks!"
I was inclined to stop at a park, but I couldn't find one, and so desperately I merged into traffic, which was not a merge but an elderly crawl which took me twenty five minutes going three kilometers an hour. We played "Spot the Truck." We played "Look at those diggers." I made up stories about cranes and dirt off the top of my head. We sang along to Amy Winehouse and Sparklehorse, the latter wasn't nearly as popular. I distracted with sippies and a muffin and a rousing rendition of Up Came the Spider but I couldn't remember the words and when Nolan wailed "I'na rock" for the seventy thousandth time, I wanted to pound my head into the dashboard. We had been stuck in the same spot for nearly an hour.
I suspect this is one of those "suck it up" moments of parenting, but I still want to know. What do you do to entertain a toddler when confined in a small space for a very long time? I very nearly went insane, and would like to stockpile tips for the next time around.
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
Recently Asked
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Do Your Kids Have Too Much Free Time?
These expert moms give advice on how to structure your kids summer so they're not sitting in front of the TV all day.
-
How to Talk to Your Kids About Stranger Danger
Here is some advice from a child safety expert on how to talk to your kids about dealing with strangers to keep them safe.
-
How to Deal with Three Kids and No Sex Life
YourTango expert Carin Goldstein offers an advice for a husband who wants help with sex life after having three kids.
-
Dealing With a Partner's Kids
Relationship and sexuality expert, Tracy Cox, offers advice on dealing with kids you don't like.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-04-2007 @ 2:06PM
Tamyu said...Ah, the silly things we do as parents. :D
I usually start of with random made-up-as-I-go songs about... well, wherever we are actually heading. And then move on to "Where is the such and such?! Wow! You found one!" and then on to "Can you reach your toes? How about your ears?"...
Usually I leave toy catalogs and a book or two in the car just in case. My son can amuse himself for a bit looking at them...
And then I resort to begging. I know you`re tired, I know you`re hungry, but I can`t do anything for you in the car so please please wait a little longer.
Sometimes it helps, and sometimes it doesn`t.
Reply
7-04-2007 @ 4:04PM
caitlin said...I travel a lot with my two year old, and if it looks like it will be more than 15-20 minutes of sitting, we pull off at the nearest exit. Most of the time, we can shunpike on a US/State highway that runs roughly parallel to the interstate. If we can't detour, I try to find a fast food joint with a playground, and we get a snack. I travel with a laptop and GPSr, so it's usually pretty trivial to detour.
If I'm stuck where I can't get off the interstate, I usually call my dad, since he's retired. My 2.5 year old will happily talk to his grandpa for hours on end. Or we'll call my husband if he's had time to get back from work.
And for when everything else fails, I have a few cannisters of M&M minis in my glove box. I've only had to use that twice so far. He likes to arrange them before eating, so a full cannister buys me about 45 minutes.
Reply
7-04-2007 @ 7:16PM
M4Mommy said...I ALWAYS make sure that I know the ""alternate"" routes to and from where we are headed. Sometimes even if I dont know I just tell her that we are "going on an adventure" and take the next exit.
I have "gotten lost" on purpose more than once. Now I dont get lost as much. :)
My dad told me once. "If you get lost just head East. Eventually you will hit water. Then you will know where you are and have a starting point to get home from."
Reply