Getting children to sleep while driving can be a challenge. A few tips to help your little one fade away into dreamland…
1. Make a bathroom stop/change diapers.
2. Make sure they have all their sleep necessities (blanket, pillow, animal, pacifier, etc) and everything is situated just so.
Travel pillows make it more comfortable for your child's neck.
3. Double check that the environment is not over-stimulating. Turn down the music or turn on a soft lullaby CD, talk softly, don’t engage your child in conversation.
4. If you have the option (and of course depending on your child), consider sitting next to him and singing his favorite bedtime song, or stroking his hair. Two of mine loved cradling their head on my hand for a little while.
5. For babies, consider putting up the shade on the infant seat or placing a blanket over the top of the bar. This is especially helpful if you have other children in the car.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great tips! Have you ever tried those kid neck pillows? Do they work? I saw a kid car pillow that rests on their legs and they put their chin on it. Wonder if that works.
Yes! I have tried several kinds of kid travel pillows and I have heard from several families who use them. The main thing is finding a pillow that keeps their head up so they can sleep more comfortably. I haven’t personally tried the seatbelt pillows (the kind that wraps around the chest strap), but I have heard they work very nicely for children in booster seats. As for younger ones, I uploaded a picture to this post of my daughter using an adjustable one (it would velcro around the car seat shoulder strap to stay in place). Traditional child neck pillows work well if you rotate them around their neck to where it would give the most support if they bobbed forward. I’ve also seen the kind you are referring to and I thought it took up a lot of space, but it gets great reviews.