Long Road Trips Made Better
Okay, I swore I would never be the kind of parent that bought TV’s and DVD players (and the like) to distract my children so that I wouldn’t have to “deal with them.”
I was never, EVER, going to be a mother who was relieved that her children were “good TV watchers.”
And you could take it to the bank that I was going to delight in road trips with my family, coming up with clever and stimulating ways to fill the countless hours in the car.
We’d read books!
We’d look for interesting sites along the way!
We’d play travel games!
We’d sing songs!
We’d step out of the car rested and ready to take on the vacation/family visit/location that we had so willing driven to see!
Um, yeah. Not so much.
After our last trip, Paul and I seriously began to question our ability to travel well with our little girls.
So after much consternation, I acquiesced and we got a DVD player for the car. (Under the stipulation that it would be for long trips ONLY, and not even the whole time for those!)
Best decision we’ve ever made.
Filed under: General, Catbird, Random Thoughts, SAHM on December 28th, 2006
I’m so happy that you’ve gone over to the dark side. Traveling will be some much easier for you now, I’m sure. Happy trails!
We still haven’t given in to the car DVD player (although there are times I wish we had one). We started out with a bag for each child (filled with small toys that were new and/or hadn’t seen in a while, plus some snacks). Now that they are older, the bags (now packed by themselves) have gotten much bigger. So that, when we do take a trip–even the shorter ones–the back of our van looks like we’re homeless and have been living out of it for the past few months. In reality a DVD player would cause more fights in the backseat of our van due to varied tastes in DVDs.
I think our van is actually the best investment we’ve made for long driving trips. Makes enough distance between siblings without having to attach anyone to the roof. (^_^)
BTW, can’t tell you how many “I’ll never” statments I’ve broken over the years.
Just wait until they are old enough to argue about what to watch on the one DVD player that you have in the car. And just wait until you say to yourself, we have no need for 2 DVD players. If they can’t decide on what to watch, then neither one will watch anything!! And then wait until a grandparent says, “Do you think the kids would enjoy their own portable DVD player so they can each watch what they want to?” You’ll be amazed at how quickly you will say, “I would uhhh, I mean THEY would love that!”
Resistance is futile!!!
Amen to movies in the car - my laptop was the best thing to ever happen to my roadtripping, especially when I do it without Erik!!! Glad it helped out so much!!!
Oh that is too funny because I’ve felt the same way. I refuse to plug my children in while in the car. HOWEVER, yesterday we got caught in the road trip from hell (no exaggeration, it’s worth a post tomorrow) and spent 7 1/2 hours. In desperation I pulled out my laptop and a DVD and let them go at it. Thank goodness I had a full battery.
When they get older you may be able to try books on tape. This was a big hit in the Enlow family. To this day any road trip we go on we stop at the local Cracker Barrel and pick up a book. Of course our tastes have changed over the years but hour of enjoyment is still provided. It is an excellent way to listen to the Chronicles of Narnia series and also the Lord of the Rings series. We own both!!
P.S. I miss you guys TONS!
Amen, Sister!