As Adly gets older, the reality of our family changing is becoming clearer and clearer. Making the 6 hour (once 5 hour) trip to my hometown is becoming more and more difficult to do often with a now toddler. Sitting still isn't heard of these days and being forced to sit still for an extended time is now met with incessant whining, talking, and tears. Why toddlers all gotta be?
I tried to learn from our Thanksgiving trip and thought I had prepared for our next long trip home, this time for Christmas. I downloaded a few episodes of our current favorite TV show, Peppa Pig in advance to our iPad. I figured she'd watch a few then go night-night. Ha. Ha ha ha. Instead, our adept iPad user insisted on watching on repeat while continuously pressing the home button to end the program and then demanding mama to fix it.
Determined to not be outdone by my smart toddler, I set about thinking of ways for a quick, cheap fix for our ride home. I knew I wanted a holder for the iPad to keep it out of arms reach but still easy to watch. The only ones I've seen for this are online, therefore I'd have to order one and it wouldn't arrive before we headed back to Chicago. So instead, I started to think of ways to devise one myself.
While shopping at the trusty Dollar store looking for goodies for our annual white elephant gift exchange, I came upon a fake neoprene iPad case for $1. My mind started turning. As I continued perusing the aisle, I also came upon a lanyard necklace/keychain that had a clip on one end. The wheels started spinning and I set about planning how to create a contraption to hold the iPad out of reach of Adly and out of mama's hands. All for $2. I like challenges.
When I got home and told my dad and Adam my plan, they both rolled their eyes and said good luck. Of course, this only made me more determined to prove I could do it.
First I put the iPad into the case to determine where to cut. Using scissors, I cut out a hole for the screen, a little smaller than the iPad. I bought a larger case for my mini, because I have a huge, toddler proof case on mine. If I had a regular case, I would have bought the smaller mini size.
The case velcros in the back, so that encased the iPad. I then cut a hole in one end to clip the lanyard. Then I cut a hole on the opposite side to string the lanyard through. I wasn't sure how I'd attach it to hold, but figured I would just deal with that once we were in the car.
Once we were on the road, I decided to test out my contraption. And it worked, no problem! To hold it securely onto the headrest, I tied a knot in the end of the lanyard once it was through the hole and tight enough to hold up the iPad. This will also allow me to remove it when our road trips are done and the iPad is no longer needed.
All for two measly dollars. I love winning!! The only problem is that you can't control it from afar, so I need to be near to control it. A solution to that could also be downloading long movies to last. For now, I ride in back with her anyways to ease the drive so it's just what we need. No, this isn't the best ever solution and you could certainly purchase one that is stronger or more pretty to look at. But for two dollars, can you really resist?!
If you're headed on a long trip for the holidays with an antsy toddler, I suggest this as an easy option to ease the pain of the long drive.....for everyone!
Happy holidays to you and yours.
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