Traveling can be a tough! It's much harder now that children must be tied to their chairs for the duration of a trip. I know not using car seats is unthinkable, now. But a generation ago it was a new concept and traveling was much easier when children could stretch out or even sit between you on the front bench seat. Back then, if you tied your child to a chair for hours upon hours it would be considered abusive. Now, it depends on where you are whether tying your child to a chair is considered good parenting or bad parenting. I still question the difference between the two. If you leave your children pretty much unengaged for hours in a car. How is that different from leaving them at home tied to a chair? Sitting in a car seat in uncomfortable. Your kids are troopers just getting into them over and over again!
It's true; things have changed and now more than ever children need a diversion while traveling long distances. I am sure that many now use movies and smart-phone games to while away the hours. But if you are like me, you want a better solution, one that makes a trip fun instead of something that must be endured until the end. I would suggest banning electronics while traveling or setting a specific time when the movies or games come out so that the rest of the day is spent enjoying and relating to each other. I don't mean banning electronics simply for your children. Ban them, period! If there is no emergency, there is no need to use a phone while driving. If you are texting, (hopefully your not driving!) you must by definition, ignore the rest of the people in your car. It's a good example to put away phones while driving anyway, isn't it?
There are great advantages to traveling. You can use it to make some changes in how your family is functioning. It's a good way to punch the relational restart button with squabbling siblings and if there are no friends to muddle the mix, you can start to straighten out hurt feelings or mean behavior. If you are up to the challenge, this can all be done while having a great time with your children. In the next few blog posts, let's look at some things that help make the trip as fun as getting where you are going.
Top on the list, engage, engage, engage! It is important to remain present while you are in the car with your children. This is a great gift. You have your kids in close proximity to you, and they can't get away (he he he). They can ask questions they wouldn't ask if you were in another room. You can ask questions you wouldn't ask without their undivided attention. No, this is not your time to shut down and just watch the scenery. You can do that when your car is empty and and your children are grown, which will come soon enough believe me! Right now your car is full of information seekers and adventurers. Engage! Fill their heads with adventure. Fill their time with fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment