As you can tell from my The art of long drives with kids: my top tips post, I have been travelling long distances by car with the kids fairly often since my eldest was 3 months old. 24-hour drives from London to Lisbon mean a lot of hours in a car going slightly mad at times. So having the right entertainment for my kids helps me feel a little less stressed pre-trip. I also like to make sure they have entertainment that will keep them interested and focused for as much time as possible, following their current interests, and that don’t get lost in the car every 3 seconds. well, until there’s a need for (endless) toilet stops. Or they need to run in the “wild” for 5 minutes. Or we are desperate for coffee and sweets (that we obviously hide from them or only eat when they’re asleep). I tried to group kids together by several ages in the same group, but to be honest, they’re such different little creatures, with major different capacities and needs that I can’t. So I’ve made a top 5 list per age from 0-5 year olds. And because we’ve travelled with the kids […]

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As you can tell from my The art of long drives with kids: my top tips post, I’ve been traveling long distances by car with the kids fairly often since my eldest was 3 months old. 24-hour drives from London to Lisbon mean a lot of hours in a car going slightly mad at times. So having the right entertainment for my kids helps me feel a little less stressed pre-trip. I also like to make sure they have entertainment that will keep them interested and focused for as much time as possible, following their current interests, and that don’t get lost in the car every 3 seconds. well, until there’s a need for (endless) toilet stops. Or they need to run in the “wild” for 5 minutes. Or we are desperate for coffee and sweets (that we obviously hide from them or only eat when they’re asleep). I tried to group kids together by several ages in the same group, but to be honest, they’re such different little creatures, with major different capacities and needs that I can’t. So I’ve made a top 5 list per age from 0-5 year olds. And because we’ve travelled with the kids through […]

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As you can tell from my The art of long drives with kids: my top tips post, I’ve been traveling long distances by car with the kids fairly often since my eldest was 3 months old. 24-hour drives from London to Lisbon mean a lot of hours in a car going slightly mad at times. So having the right entertainment for my kids helps me feel a little less stressed pre-trip. I also like to make sure they have entertainment that will keep them interested and focused for as much time as possible, following their current interests, and that don’t get lost in the car every 3 seconds. well, until there’s a need for (endless) toilet stops. Or they need to run in the “wild” for 5 minutes. Or we are desperate for coffee and sweets (that we obviously hide from them or only eat when they’re asleep). I tried to group kids together by several ages in the same group, but to be honest, they’re such different little creatures, with major different capacities and needs that I can’t. So I’ve made a top 5 list per age from 0-5 year olds. And because we’ve travelled with the kids through […]

The post Best toys for long drives with 3-year-olds appeared first on Tidy Kingdom.

As you can tell from my The art of long drives with kids: my top tips post, I’ve been traveling long distances by car with the kids fairly often since my eldest was 3 months old. 24-hour drives from London to Lisbon mean a lot of hours in a car going slightly mad at times. So having the right entertainment for my kids helps me feel a little less stressed pre-trip. I also like to make sure they have entertainment that will keep them interested and focused for as much time as possible, following their current interests, and that don’t get lost in the car every 3 seconds. well, until there’s a need for (endless) toilet stops. Or they need to run in the “wild” for 5 minutes. Or we are desperate for coffee and sweets (that we obviously hide from them or only eat when they’re asleep). I tried to group kids together by several ages in the same group, but to be honest, they’re such different little creatures, with major different capacities and needs that I can’t. So I’ve made a top 5 list per age from 0-5 year olds. And because we’ve travelled with the kids through […]

The post Best toys for long drives with 2-year-olds appeared first on Tidy Kingdom.

As you can tell from my The art of long drives with kids: my top tips post, I’ve been traveling long distances by car with the kids fairly often since my eldest was 3 months old. 24-hour drives from London to Lisbon mean a lot of hours in a car going slightly mad at times. So having the right entertainment for my kids helps me feel a little less stressed pre-trip. I also like to make sure they have entertainment that will keep them interested and focused for as much time as possible, following their current interests, and that don’t get lost in the car every 3 seconds. well, until there’s a need for (endless) toilet stops. Or they need to run in the “wild” for 5 minutes. Or we are desperate for coffee and sweets (that we obviously hide from them or only eat when they’re asleep). I tried to group kids together by several ages in the same group, but to be honest, they’re such different little creatures, with major different capacities and needs that I can’t. So I’ve made a top 5 list per age from 0-5 year olds. And because we’ve travelled with the kids through […]

The post Best toys for long drives with 1-year-olds appeared first on Tidy Kingdom.

As you can tell from my The art of long drives with kids: my top tips post, I’ve been travelling long distances by car with the kids fairly often since my eldest was 3 months old. 24-hour drives from London to Lisbon mean a lot of hours in a car going slightly mad at times. So having the right entertainment for my kids helps me feel a little less stressed pre-trip. I also like to make sure they have entertainment that will keep them interested and focused for as much time as possible, following their current interests, and that don’t get lost in the car every 3 seconds. well, until there’s a need for (endless) toilet stops. Or they need to run in the “wild” for 5 minutes. Or we are desperate for coffee and sweets (that we obviously hide from them or only eat when they’re asleep). I tried to group kids together by several ages in the same group, but to be honest, they’re such different little creatures, with major different capacities and needs that I can’t. So I’ve made a top 5 list per age from 0-5 year olds. And because we’ve traveled with the kids through […]

The post Best toys for long drives with babies appeared first on Tidy Kingdom.

As you can tell from my The art of long drives with kids: my top tips post, I’ve been travelling long distances by car with the kids fairly often since my eldest was 3 months old. 24-hour drives from London to Lisbon mean a lot of hours in a car going slightly mad at times. So having the right entertainment for my kids helps me feel a little less stressed pre-trip. I also like to make sure they have entertainment that will keep them interested and focused for as much time as possible, following their current interests, and that don’t get lost in the car every 3 seconds. well, until there’s a need for (endless) toilet stops. Or they need to run in the “wild” for 5 minutes. Or we are desperate for coffee and sweets (that we obviously hide from them or only eat when they’re asleep). I tried to group kids together by several ages in the same group, but to be honest, they’re such different little creatures, with major different capacities and needs that I can’t. So I’ve made a top 5 list per age from 0-5 year olds. And because we’ve traveled with the kids through […]

The post Best Toys for long drives with kids appeared first on Tidy Kingdom.

(Disclaimer: please note this post was written in July 2023 and updates to documentation and traveling to the UK or to Europe is updated from time to time. Please always check the specific country your leaving from and going to government websites to check if this information is still up to date at the time of reading) I’ve recently written a post on The art of long drives with kids: my top tips, and if you’re driving from the UK to Europe these are the documents I consider essential. Some (or all) of the following information probably goes without saying, but with so much to think about when planning a trip, I’ve created this list and you can use it as a checklist to ensure you have all you need. Most likely you already know all of this as I believe I have the most up to date info on each of the items. If you find anything that needs updating or is slightly incorrect, please let me know asap! Passport (obvious start) Look, I know it goes without saying and no more info is needed on this as it’s essential to travel, but again look at this from the […]

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We’ve already driven from London to Lisbon 6 times and then back. 5 of those long drives with kids were with: a 3 months old; a 2 and a half year old and me pregnant; a 3 and a half year old and a 6 month old; a 4 year old and a 1 year old, and a 4 and a half year old with an 18 months old. So, I’m starting to feel more or less like a long-drives-with-kids-expert and here are my top tips for long drives with kids. (Please note that what I’m describing as a long trip is a drive that include overnight stays along the way) I’ve written a few things on the subject when my eldest was 3 months on this post, but 5 years later feel I have things to add now. Especially now that I have two kids in the car and we’ve done quite a few more of these. Let go of your pre-trip anxiety! “Sure Millia, such an easy thing to do!” You’re right, it’s not. Please don’t give up on me straight away. I can’t sugar-coat this trip as easy because it isn’t . It is tiring and there […]

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After our first trip from London to Lisbon with our then 3-month-old baby I wrote this post mainly about the fears and the struggles of travelling with a small baby for the first time. Since then we’ve traveled a lot more back and forth not only with my firstborn but also with my secondborn, so there’s a lot more knowledge and experience on these trips now. If you want practical trips on things that are helpful for the trip and toys that entertain kids on those trips, please check the following links and read them after reading this first experience. I hope this information is useful to you. Before we travelled One of the things that everyone tells you when you talk about having babies is “no more travelling!”. I’ve always challenged this assumption and thought (and said) “Why? It must be slightly more challenging, but some people do it”. “Oh, you have no idea”. I would then kind of give up and wouldn’t challenge it too much as I didn’t have babies, so if this was true, I would only understand it once I had them. And then I had a baby. As we are Portuguese we had to […]

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