.. having invested in the trailer to carry all our gear, driving to sites is going to take a tad longer than with a 'normal' car ... and out trip to Croyde could be 5+ hours ...
We had 2 arguing siblings .. 5 hours in the car will be very challenging to say the least!
So we were thinking of a portable DVD player - each .....(they would never agree on a movie if they had to share!)...
Has anyone any experience ... do DVD players make life worrse for travel sickness prone children, or better? .. as we have a child who struggles to make it past an hour!
Thanks for any advice!
------------- The Kale Family Campers
Test 1st camp - June, Witterings
August - 1 week in 'sunny' Croyde at Ruda
August - bank holiday weekend, Boarhunt, Hampshire
Its never easy on long journeys with children, we've often travelled from Liverpool to North Devon and some journeys are great, other have been horrendous.
If we use the motorways, i find they get bored, moan more, want to stops more and 1 is always sick, a dvd option wouldn't of worked with ours as we had a 6 seater with 4 offspring int he back
so we try not to use the motorways unless necessary, We use the fantastic network of A roads, this way we see more, can play spot the magpie, castle, lake, train, coast etc, we've pulled off the road and had picnics, stopped at the quaintest villages and been over some great bridges
i would of thought Portsmouth to Croyde could be done on the a roads, it may take longer but you can stop as often as you like, and there are some lovely places along the way
We have used a DVD player to occupy 2 fractious boys on long trips. It worked a treat. It takes their minds off the journey, just put in their favourite films and away you go. I also used a DVD holder rather than leave the films in their cases and let the boys fill it with whichever films they wanted.
The hardest part is for yourself, a bit of friendly advice.....don't get involved with the dialogue and end up going the wrong way, make the kids use earphones.
------------- 2* Camper soon to be a 3!
Got me an areobed so I'm off camping!!
If your dog thinks you are the best,don't ask for a second opinion!
We have used a pair of DVDs in the back of the car for about four or five years. Our son gets travel sick, but not if watching a film. The set up can watch the same film on both screens or separate films. Agree that headphones are essential. Ours is a Nextbase system and well worth the money. Came with battery packs to use away from the 12v car supply plus you can connect to a TV and use as DVD players. Highly recommend them.
We used one and it made my son travel sick. He was ok watching it on the motorway but if we were on welsh roads he would feel sick within half an hour.
we got a double dvd player a few years ago to keep our children occupied on trips to france and use it for camping trips in this country as well. I wouldn't want to be without it now as anything that keeps the kids calm after I have gone through the trauma of squeezing eveything into the car is very welcome.
I got a nextbase sd47am for about £90 which may or may not be still in production. We also used it to set up a cinema in the back of our smax one very wet day in suffolk recently. With all the seats folded down I reckon you could get about 6 kids in comfortably. It can also work off a power supply if you have EHU or off batteries if you dont mind replacing them after every film
Basically it has one standard dvd player which the power connects to and you use a set of leads to connect it to a second monitor which replicates what is on the main screen. Or put simply you watch the same film from one disc on two screens.
------------- Manor Park Farm, Cromer every august, but somewhere different every may/June.
4 years of superior packing yet still no room in the car
Ours don't get sick. Bear in mind though that if they squabble normally they are also going to fall out over what film to watch if you buy an in-car system. We have portable dvd players which can plug into car sockets so they can watch what they each want. They can also take them indoors or in the tent, battery permitting. Ours are 10" ones from Argos, on offer for about £70 each when we bought them, which is good IMO for the screen size, and a lovely picture.
------------- Pally
The pen is mightier than the sword - but only if the sword is very small and the pen is very sharp...
my eldest two have been known to squabble over sand, on a very big beach...
Our DVD players have been great. On a very long journey they are another option to all the other activities they can do in the car.
Get a DVD wallet so that you're not having to take all the cases.
I find the soundtrack from them a big distraction when driving, so headphones resolve that (either for them or me or both!).
Initially mine shared a twin-screen set (one player showing same film on two screens) and they often squabbled about which film to watch and who got to sit with control of the player.
Getting them a stand-alone player each just changed what they squabble over; eldest gets annoyed if the other watches her film over her shoulder...also sometimes they now want to watch the same film but are unable to with standalone players.... (like I said, sand...)
As for the travel sickness bit, well the eldest suffers occasionally, but as soon as it starts coming on, the DVDs go off, and she looks out of the window or goes asleep until we can stop or until she feels better.
And yes they also come in handy in the tent on a rainy day.
I use to get travel sick when i was a kid but back then there wee no DVD players but what i found made matters worse was reading for some reason as that made me feel sick, it still does when i travel but i see loads of kids in the backs of cars watching those DVD players and they seem ok but every case is different. I wish they had these when i was a kid but they are great for entertainment on long rides.
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