12 Best Tips for a Road Trip with a Toddler or Baby

Road trips with toddlers and babies may seem daunting even to intrepid travelers. How will you keep your baby content while on the road? What if your toddler cries throughout the journey? How can you make sure the whole family arrives safe and sane? Worry not, fellow parents! These 12 expert tips for a road trip with baby will ensure a smooth ride for all.

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1. Don’t overdo it.

Keep in mind that babies and toddlers do not have the patience for super-long road trips that you might. If your car trip will last many hours or days, then break the journey into manageable segments with stops for playing, eating, and sleeping.

Traci Suppa, author of the Go Big or Go Home blog, advises, “In our experience, the best road trips with young children are short ones. As kids grow, so do their attention spans, allowing them to sit in a car for long stretches and remain immersed in their activities.”

2. Schedule the right drive times.

Some recommend driving at night during road trips with toddlers or babies. In theory, a nighttime drive is easier for parents who will need to spend less time entertaining little ones in the car.

In reality, however, this means parents will reach the destination exhausted and off-schedule. Arriving in the middle of the night might then wake your children, and throw off their circadian rhythms, too. Most importantly, it is much more dangerous to drive at night.

Instead, schedule your drive to take place according to your family’s natural schedule while trying to avoid morning and evening rush hour traffic. If your child sleeps well in a car seat, then plan to drive during nap time to make the miles zoom by.

AAA’s TripTik Travel Planner will help you map out a baby-proof road trip. This smartphone app is exclusive to AAA Members and provides point-to-point directions, recommended stops, and the best fuel prices along your route.

3. Get in the backseat for playtime with baby.

When traveling with another adult, it helps if one grown-up can ride in the backseat for at least a portion of the trip. Use your time on the road to bond with your baby.

Bring along familiar books and toys, as well as a few surprise goodies. Check out our favorite travel toys for babies and toddlers.

4. Distract babies and toddlers with road trip snacks.

Bottles for babies provide a tasty diversion during road trips. It’s important to keep children safely buckled in their car seats, though, so if your little one is still nursing, then you’ll need to schedule stops for mealtime. You can also join your baby in the backseat to spoon-feed puréed baby foods or rice cereal on the go.

For toddlers, pack some healthy travel snacks. Think whole-grain cereals, fruits chopped into bite-sized pieces, and cheese cubes. Be sure to store refrigerated items in a cooler for food safety. Put snacks in separate containers and dole them out one at a time to avoid overwhelming youngsters. If your child is particularly prone to choking, though, then I’d wait to serve snacks and meals at a rest stop, park, or restaurant.

I advise bringing along a “forbidden treat” or two as well. (M&M’s Minis are my go-to choice.) Special snacks like this work well to distract children when stuck in a traffic jam.

5. Get expert roadside assistance.

Reliable roadside assistance is critical, especially with babies and toddlers in tow. Gain peace of mind with AAA’s roadside assistance service — the most highly recommended among major roadside assistance providers in the U.S.

AAA Membership includes towing service, fuel delivery, reimbursement for locksmith fees, jump-starts, and tire changes. Use the AAA mobile app to request roadside assistance on the go, and track your technician’s route in real-time.

6. Listen to music during the journey.

Music is one of the best tools to keep all ages content and entertained during a family road trip. Music provides a wonderful gateway to other cultures, too. I personally love the Putamayo World Music collection of culturally diverse songs.

Listening to music in another language is an easy and fun way to expose babies and toddlers to the sounds of words of another tongue. A favorite when my kids were wee is Songs in French for Children by Lucienne Vernay and Les Quatres Barbus.

Dr. Jessica Voigts of Wandering Educators suggests making a family playlist for your smartphone. Include a variety of melodies that will appeal to babies as well as their siblings and parents.

7. Watch movies on the road.

Even if you don’t allow your children to watch television or movies at home, you may want to consider bending the rules for road trips with babies and toddlers.

Worried your kids will expect a movie every time they get buckled in? Do as my friend and former neighbor, Sara, did with her children and tell them the movies only work when you’re far from home.

If your vehicle comes equipped with a rear entertainment system, then you might as well have a few movies on hand to play during a long delay on the road or in case of a whopper of a meltdown.

Check out Baby Genius: Favorite Nursery Rhymes. When you’d like to encourage a nap, try Baby Genius Mozart & Sleepytime Friends Music. For additional ideas, take a peek at our picks for the best travel movies for kids.

8. Be sure to buckle up correctly.

All passengers should remain safely seated and buckled throughout the journey. Did you know that child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers?

A 2021 general consumer survey* found that only one in five parents and caregivers seek help installing a car seat or securing a child in a car seat. However, more than half of all car seats inspected by Child Passenger Safety Technicians are correctly installed or used. Thankfully, both AAA Members and non-members can take advantage of free car seat inspections.

9. Pack a roadside emergency kit.

You should also keep a roadside emergency kit in your car for safety’s sake. Pack it with bandages, medicines, a flashlight, jumper cables, and other useful items. An easy solution is to purchase a pre-filled kit.

10. Bring a bucket for babies and toddlers.

I learned this one the hard way. Plan to bring a bucket along on your road trip with baby. Be sure to keep it within arm’s distance, too.

If your child experiences motion sickness or stomach flu in the car, then you’ll thank me. A simple plastic beach pail works well.

11. Prepare your car for safety.

Of course, your number one priority during a road trip with a baby or toddler is to arrive at your destination safe and sound. Before setting out, be sure your vehicle is up to date on any oil changes or scheduled maintenance.

12. Save money on your family road trip.

In addition to trusted roadside assistance, AAA offers discounts on everything from auto insurance and repair services to restaurants, retail shopping, and pet insurance. Plus, AAA Members get travel benefits including discounts on hotels, car rentals, and deals on vacation packages.

With these great savings, a AAA Membership could easily pay for itself. Join AAA today and save $10 when you enroll in automatic renewal!

Learn more tips for traveling with babies and toddlers.

Before loading up the car, be sure to print our packing list for babies and toddlers.

Worried your child (or you!) might suffer from motion sickness during your road trip? Be prepared by reading these tips for avoiding motion sickness while traveling.

Nothing zaps the fun from a family vacation faster than lack of sleep. Be sure to review these travel sleep tips from a child sleep expert before your trip!

Thinking of taking your little one to Disneyland? Take a look at our recommendations for the best Disneyland rides for babies and toddlers.

Save these road trip with baby tips.

For future reference, be sure to save this list of helpful tips for road trips with a toddler or baby. Simply pin the image above to Pinterest. We hope you’ll follow Travel Mamas on Pinterest while you’re at it!

Do you have any questions or additional tips for planning road trips with babies or toddlers? Let us know in the comments below!

* Analysis commissioned by AAA Mountain West Group.

A Note from The Travel Mama: I will receive monetary compensation from AAA Mountain West Group for this blog post. The views expressed here are those of the author and are for informational purposes only.

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