Parents Travel meet advice

[jm_gymmom]

Hi! We have our first meet further than 2 hours away in a few weeks and I’m not sure how to handle travel plans.

DD is 9, usually sleeps 9pm-6:30am. Doesn’t deviate much from this on non school days.

She has to report at 2:30. We live about 4.5 hours away.

Due to sibling schedules, our options are to leave about 6:30 pm on Thursday, arriving probably close to midnight factoring in stops. OR, leave about 6-6:30 am Friday morning and arrive near venue at hotel around 11:30-12, have time to eat and dress.

I feel like leaving Friday is less disruptive to her normal sleep schedule, but then she will be sitting all morning.

In your experiences, wwyd?

 

[GymDadWA]

What is weather like in your area. If it is predictable I'd probably travel the day of and stay the night after. Driving until midnight and then trying to sleep at a hotel normally doesn't work well for little ones.
If that 4 hours might turn into 8 hours due to weather then I'd probably go as soon as possible so that you aren't stressing about making it on time.

 

[JBS]

In your experiences, wwyd?

If my kids were still in lower levels I would have no issues with either. Now that all three are L8/9/10 we would leave the day before.

So based on my family... it depends on level. All three of them like to be there and be relaxing before the meet.

 

[jm_gymmom]

What is weather like in your area. If it is predictable I'd probably travel the day of and stay the night after. Driving until midnight and then trying to sleep at a hotel normally doesn't work well for little ones.
If that 4 hours might turn into 8 hours due to weather then I'd probably go as soon as possible so that you aren't stressing about making it on time.

Weather should not be a factor, but good point.

 

[Scream4IceCream]

If you don’t think weather or traffic will be a factor, I think you’d be fine to leave in the morning as long as your child isn’t one who gets really anxious about not getting places super early. During the 20-21 season when Covid was in full swing, we drove the day of meets when possible to minimize hotel stays. Twice we drove 3.5 hours to meets, pulled in the parking lot, got changed in the back of the SUV, and ran in to compete! She did great both times so who knows?!? She was 7 at the time so not high level.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

How is she going to sleep at 9pm if you aren’t arriving until midnight?

That aside, we live in the Northeast. Weather and traffic can always be a factor.

So for us.…. I like to not disrupt our sleep schedules unless there is no other option. That’s for vacations, work, or gym. Years as a shift worke, nope, not going to do it.

If weather is a potential issue. We would arrive the night before.
If it’s just travel I like to have an extra 1/2 hour per hour of travel. Because it stresses me, if there is an accident or unexpected road work that could cause a delay. if we arrive early we stop to snack, check out a store. Just hang.

So with a 2:30 report time. We could all get a good nights sleep not get up at a beastly hour and leave at 8:00 am. And not have to pay for a hotel.

Any report time before noon we would likely stay overnight, but we would make sure we were checked in by 10 pm.

 

[CuriousCate]

Agree with @Deleted member 18037. If driving the night before, I would plan to arrive earlier so she can unwind and truly get a reasonable night's sleep. For us, that would mean arriving by 8:00pm, she can be settled in bed by 9:30 or so. Otherwise, I'd let her sleep at home per normal and leave early in the morning. Really, she'll just need to brush her teeth and wash her face and hop in the car. Bring the closest travel-friendly version of her normal breakfast. Load up the car the night before with leo, grips, tiger paws, etc. so nothing to do in the morning but hop in. Get hair half ready the night before (partings, product, etc). My kids have curated meet drive music playlists so they aren't zoning out watching videos or getting nauseous trying to read.

The one thing has been helpful for us is bringing along a large table-top mirror and a camping chair. We use a tri-fold light up one that my sister had from all her dance comps. I think it is much easier to do hair with it while sitting in a quiet space in a lobby or somewhere vs. while standing in a public bathroom. That said, my kid is finicky about her hair and has really long hair, so it can be a project.