Sensory Travelers

It is spring break!  Soon it will be summer break!  Families all over are preparing to travel.  With any child, it doesn't matter if you travel 30 minutes or 8 hours, you have to prepare! 

Espen has always been an easy passenger.  He sits and talks.  He never sleeps.  And by never
I mean we can travel 8 hours in the car and he will be awake.  When he was smaller, he may doze for 15  minutes but otherwise I had better prepare for an awake, alert little boy.  What do we do with him? 

Even before we had a name for Espen's "issue", we were sensory travelers!  Now we know he has sensory processing disorder and we plan our upcoming travel more accordingly.  There is still LOTS of fun.... but we have some allowance for him!

1.  I pack healthy snacks.  Not a lot of sugar.  Carrots, celery, apples, chips, pretzels and crackers all make fun crunchy snacks!  While fruit snacks & fruit leather are good options for chewy ones!  We also have some organic suckers and gum!  When we stop for a rest I will let him get a milk shake or some pudding that he can suck through a straw or a cup of ice!  The oral motor stimulation involved in eating crunchy foods, chewy foods and foods that require a child to suck can satisfy each of these sensory needs.  (read more)
2. We stop often.  I plan on stopping myself to stretch every 2 hours.  I hate riding in the car so if I can get out every couple hours, get air and move.... then I can go another 2!  And the same is true for little ones.  So every couple hours we stop.  We get out.  We run and play.  We go to the bathroom.  We get a drink of water.  Visit with strangers at the rest place.  We get cold drinks with ice.  We walk.  If we can find a play ground we hang from the bars, go down slides, swing.  A lot of rest areas have play areas but if not, a tree works just as great for climbing and a hill for rolling! 
3. igadgets!  We have them.  And I am not afraid to use them.  Espen has an ipod that has games and videos on it.  He can listen to his music either through his headphones or I'll plug it into the car and he can control what we all listen to.  He can use my ipad and watch Netflix.  But just because we are traveling doesn't mean the time limit is lost... he still has a limited number of minutes to watch Netflix and if it is all used in the first part of the trip... that is a real bummer...  But there is no shortage of music and videos and games both educational and nonsense!  Great toddler apps include MONKEY PRESCHOOL LUNCH BOX, and all the TOCA BOCA games but his favorite is JETPACK! 
4. Pack a bag of fun toys and books that he has not seen for a while!  We have tons of cars and toys that he forgets he has!  And several books we rarely read.  I put them in a bag and he can play with some, none or all!  I put window crayons and paper in the bag.  He can draw on the paper or the window or himself.  It makes no matter to me.  He may not color on my car or eat the crayons.  Two simple rules!  Etch a sketch is a new favorite!  We have different hand fidgets.  They help just keeping his hands busy.  A hand fidget can be calming and relieve some of the fidgets!
5. I rarely forget the lovey, fuzzy bear or his weighted blanket or lap pad.  All of these help provide some sense of calm.  And he smells them which also provides him a sensation and a familiar scent!  An added benefit when we arrive at our destination is that he can still smell a familiar scent and the lovey helps him stay calm and in control in new surroundings. 
6. When we arrive we RUN.  We play.  We swim.  We get moving.  Our trip is to short to sit so we hike, explore, walk.  We don't force him to sit for a meal.  We don't force an early bed time.  We shake off the travel by moving our muscles.  Climbing, rolling, spinning, running all help the body get back to a "normal" state.  So we will spend a long day in the car and then we will EXERCISE! 
7. We rest!  We eat a balanced meal and have milk.  We get him a warm bath and let him soak as long as necessary.  We snuggle into a bed with our pj's and the lovey and we rest.  I try to find a place that is as clutter free as possible. We talk about our travel day and we talk about our plans for the next day.  To know what is happening and when is really important.  It helps with transition!  And we wake up to a new day... ready to go!

Enjoy your travels... I will keep you updated on ours!  And please feel free to share your helpful hints for long car rides... never know when I will need a new idea!