What Should I Carry In My Car for Child Related Emergencies?
So this weekend I had my first experience with vomit. Shocked Yes, Aiden is nearly 3 1/2 and this was his first time throwing-up...I should count my blessings! But it happened in the car on a 4 hour trip home from the beach. We were 2 hours from home when it happened. Thankfully, because we were traveling, I had a change of clothes, extra plastic bags, paper towels, wet wipes, a sand pail (in case we had any further issues) and a sippy cup of water for him to rinse his mouth. The car was stinky for the ride home, but the bad situation could have been much worse if we were making a quick trip to my mom's house and didn't have all of those extras in the trunk.
The experience this weekend made me think. I began to wonder what I should carry in my car on a regular basis in case something comes up while we're riding around town or traveling back and forth to my parents house, which is an hour and a half away. Has anyone else had any bad experiences that they've learned from? I'd love to hear any stories and tips on things I should keep in the trunk so that I have them on-hand when crazy situations arise.
~Elsie
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These are really great tips everyone. I still have the diaper bag tug along so am usually prepared for the unexpected in most cases. This will be really helpful as I transition away from the diaper bag though. I never thought about keeping a first aide kit in the car Looks like I will be getting that together soon.
One other suggestion I'd add to this great list is just a few little things to keep him distracted if you ever do get stuck. If you do have car trouble or a flat, the time you need to wait for assistance or AAA or whoever can seem endless if your child's antsy and bored. Just a couple books, coloring books & crayons, travel games, or other little "doo-dads" to keep them occupied during any unexpected wait.
Great advice! Especially the first aid kit. I'd thought of that and never done it, but now that I'm looking into stocking up my trunk, that's a great idea. We have some big yard sales around the area this weekend, so I should be able to find an extra jacket to store in the trunk for very little money. Grin I love having experienced moms around who don't mind sharing their tips! Thanks!
Hi Elsie,
Four kids later I can tell you there are definite needs to have in your car at all times. I have been through the car sickness (twice), bathroom accidents, lost toys, scraped knees and bumped heads, even when we were only heading just down the road. It seems the more kids you have the more things tend to happen while you are out and about
Until the kids reached about the age of 10 I kept a change of clothes in the car. Always a good idea regardless of why you are taking them. The clothes would consist of underpants, T-shirt, bottom, socks and if you have an extra pair even shoes. It wouldn't hurt to keep a jacket in the car as well (in case on the day you need that change of clothes it is a bit chillie)
I would also keep wipes in the car and a roll of paper towels for those messy clean ups including stepping in the mud when they get out of the car! The final basic I would always have is a basic first aide kit, even a home made one. Ours has band aides, neosporin, spray bactin and some sterile gauze, pepto bismal, and bottled water. It's object is to handle the minor unexpected. When we take longer trips I upgrade to a full blown kit that has anything you could possibly need from a scrape on the knee to a broken arm, with allergy aide and other remedies in between, and there is always enough for everyone else too
For an extra caution it would be wise to keep some emergency items in there as well like a blanket, bottled water, and snacks like crackers or something that wont go bad. I recommend these for the more major unexpected. I was traveling once with my girls when they were 1 and 3 yrs and we had a tire blow out. I was out of money and we had no flat. I was blessed to have a very nice family come to my aide and bring water and snacks while we handled the not so pleasant business of fixing the tire, but had they not been there the girls would have had to go several hours without anything to eat or drink. It never occurred to me before that event to keep these items in the car and now I think it is a must do. The older they get the longer they can go without a bite to eat but it would still be nice to have on hand if you have to wait a longer period of time before getting back on the go.
This may seem like a lot but it takes up very little space and most of the time I forget it is there, but those times I need it, like the times we pull up to the grocery store and hour from home and the youngest needs a change of clothes I always feel that thankful warmth run across my body as I smile and pull out the clean clothes.
Mikki Hogan Publisher of UniqueParenting.com