A Solo Road Trip With My Toddler

By: Julie Bacon

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love a road trip. Ever since I was a kid riding shotgun with my mom on the way to dance competitions or soccer tournaments, I’ve loved the ritual: packing the sacred snack bag, stacking up good books, and burning CDs for us to jam to.

Fast-forward to motherhood, and that same love for the open road hasn’t faded. While I was visiting North Carolina this month, my best friend and I decided to plan a mommy-daughter trip and meet halfway in Virginia with our toddlers. It was the perfect idea in theory until I realized the drive was 6.5 hours long… solo.

The Night-Before Panic (and Why I Went Anyway)

The night before the trip, I almost bailed. What was I thinking attempting this on my own? A toddler in the backseat for six and a half hours—no co-pilot, no backup, no one to hand her snacks or sing “Wheels on the Bus” for the tenth time.

But then I remembered: our Airbnb was nonrefundable. (If motherhood has taught me anything, it’s that sometimes accountability comes in the form of a no cancellation policy.)

So I did what moms do best: I mom-mathed.

My “Mom Math” for a Smooth Ride

I started calculating the ideal departure window based on nap schedules, meal times, and the likelihood of a meltdown somewhere near Roanoke.

Here’s what made the trip doable:

• Left right after breakfast, when she was happiest and most alert.
• Kept time in the car seat under three hours at a time. We did one long stretch in the morning, then stopped at a playground or found a riverside spot for a big lunchtime break. She got to run around, splash, and reset before getting back in the car and crushing her nap. Once she woke up, we’d take another pit stop—sometimes a park, sometimes just a gas station with a patch of grass and a good view of passing trucks.
• Kept my passenger seat stocked with books, magnetic tiles, snacks, and all the random treasures I’d need to keep handing back to keep her stoked.
• Loaded up a toddler-approved playlist—equal parts the new Taylor Swift album and “Wheels on the Bus.” (She’s got range.)
• Stocked the sacred snack bag: pouches, goldfish, granola bars, and one emergency chocolate bar—for me, obviously.
• Planned pit stops every 2–3 hours, even if just for a stretch, diaper change, or snack handoff.

On the Road — What Worked and What Didn’t

To my surprise, she loved it. The window time, the music, the random gas station dance breaks—it all felt like an adventure. We listened to stories, counted trucks, pointed out cows, and shared snacks. Sure, there were a few fussy moments, but nothing a fruit pouch and a singalong couldn’t fix.

I learned that toddlers are better travel companions than we give them credit for. They’re curious, adaptable, and honestly? Sometimes the best part of the trip is watching the world through their eyes.

What I Learned (and Why I’d Do It Again)

By the time we rolled up to our Airbnb, I felt a mix of exhaustion and pride. I’d done it... six and a half hours, solo, with my tiny copilot.

That trip reminded me that moms can do hard things, and that adventure doesn’t have to wait until the toddler years are over. It can look like roadside picnics, nap-time drives, and the quiet satisfaction of realizing: we made it.

Would I do it again? Absolutely.

Here’s what I kept next to me in the passenger seat to hand back to my toddler throughout the trip:

Snack Cup: Possibly my favorite piece of toddler gear ever. Fill it with anything—pretzels, berries, Goldfish, Cheerios—the list goes on.
No-Spill Sippy Cup: You can’t risk having your toddler soak their car seat. This thing is a lifesaver.
Magnet Building Blocks: I kept a stack of these in the passenger seat and handed her a few at a time. They kept her entertained for a solid hour.
Flower Wind Spinner: For warm-weather trips, crack the back window an inch and hand your toddler this spinner. Best road trip hack—guaranteed.
Board Books: Any kind of board book! I’m lucky that my toddler loves to read, so I passed her book after book to flip through.
Montessori Busy Board: The LED lights and switches on this kept her totally absorbed.