Have you ever gone on a road trip with a baby? I’m not talking short term like a two hours jaunt to Grandma’s house. I mean a real, honest road trip of at least 10 to 20 hours. One of these road trips gives you the opportunity to test your stamina, because as much as you think it’s going to be great, it has moments (and many of them) where you’ll question the trajectory of your entire life.
We just did a road trip from the Fraser Valley, where we live, to Anaheim, California, where Disneyland lives. We’ve done this road trip every year at least once, and I’m getting to be an old pro at it. This time though, I had a friend follow me down the coast in her car, with the goal of hanging out with us at Disneyland. She brought along her 7-month-old baby boy and her 4-year-old daughter, and although we were both excited to show them the park, she had some concerns about driving with them for that long. Having done it myself, I didn’t blame her.
So what do you do when you have to keep a baby happy for 20 hours of driving? You bring toys of course, and luckily for us I had received some Playgro toys to review and I had saved them for the trip. My last baby had been a huge fan of Playgro, and I knew the various Squeakers, Grip N’ Grabs, and other cute and interactive toys Playgro carried were perfect for long stints in the car. Babies can chew on them and pull at them, and when they get bored of one, you just have to sub in the other.
I handed my friend three Playgro toys, the Zany Zoo Activity Doofy Dog, the Zany Zoo Grip N’ Grab elephant, and the Explor-a-ball, right after we crossed the border into the United States. With plenty of stops planned, we were off.
Turns out, those Playgro toys look like simple, cute toys, but they have the potential to be seriously entertaining. The Grip N’ Grab was his favourite because the ears would crinkle when he gripped them, the nose was great for chewing on, and the rings kept him entertained during those long stretches in Oregon. She swapped out the Explor-a-ball with the Doofy Dog and back to the elephant, and it worked out great. He wasn’t happy all the time, but between that and pulling his brother’s hair in the back seat, she managed to make it there in one piece.
Once we got there, we threw them all in the wash (they come out great) and used them to entertain baby while we were in the park. In short, they were a lifesaver.
You can find Playgro toys at Babies R Us and Sears, and don’t forget to like Playgro on Facebook. I hope your next road trip goes as easily as ours did, and if you’re planning on taking a long drive with baby, save your sanity and take along some Playgro.
