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Our boys are 13 and 12. We got a car with a tv when they were babies and it was only on for long trips ; no way for shorter trips.
Now they have ipods etc. But my younger son will read ; we took a trip to Pittsburgh(7 hours) at easter and he read the Hunger books for the whole time. My older son cannot read in the car as he gets sick, but he does look out the window, watch the cars and scenery go by. We also have the best discussions in the car ; politics, religion, life etc.
I was against them until I found myself on one of the ugliest, most boring stretches of two-lane blacktop in the entire country about 18 months ago. Having one would have been a nice distraction from wondering which run-down, lonley shack the serial murderer who was high on meth was going to come out of.
Wait....you don't find that exciting?
To me the serial murder in a shack popping out and chasing the car would have been far more interesting than anything played on a screen.
Our boys are 13 and 12. We got a car with a tv when they were babies and it was only on for long trips ; no way for shorter trips.
Now they have ipods etc. But my younger son will read ; we took a trip to Pittsburgh(7 hours) at easter and he read the Hunger books for the whole time. My older son cannot read in the car as he gets sick, but he does look out the window, watch the cars and scenery go by. We also have the best discussions in the car ; politics, religion, life etc.
IME, I stopped at a certain age too, I had my iPod because my mom would be talking to my brother about things that interested a young child, so I plugged in the ear buds to tune it all out. I imagine most kids go through a stage in their life like that as well.
When I have kids I wouldn't be surprised if they did, I would rather they be happy and entertain themselves in a way they liked than miserable on the trip making everyone else miserable.
I didn't want one either, but the first decent van that we could afford came with one. I find it is nice, however, since a trip to the grocery store is over one hour (one way).
I have only taken a short road trip with it so far. I allowed them to watch it a little, but made sure they had plenty of time to just stare out the window at the passing landscape. Seeing how enormous and beautiful this country is, is one of the more important parts of a roadtrip, for me. That said, the four corners region is a pretty dirty, desolate patch of land. I wish I could watch a movie for that part!
We have the 2hr plus rule about the dvd player and or the handheld games. Except for when DD is at dance class, then instead of making him stare out the window I do occasionally allow DS to watch Scooby Doo, usually he chooses to color.
But, whatever, this isn't something I really get judgey on.
How do you jump from watching a video in a car to parents not caring about their kids? That's quite a leap. I am having trouble making the connection between one thing and another.
If you see people in a car you see them for 5 seconds. You don't see the entirety of their life yet you are totally comfortable beating them up about their parenting skills and how their kids will turn out.
I would like to suggest to you that you mind your own business and take care of your own kids the way you see fit and let others do the same. Most kids turn out fine whether they watch a video in the car or not.
Sorry to the OP but I couldn't have made this comment better. I have a SUV with 2 dual TV for my girls. Yes, they do watch a movie if we are driving more the 30 minutes. That's because I'm relaxing and listening to my Sirius radio because I 've been helping with homework, cooking, cleaning, playing games, attending sporting events and helping my girls with their sleepovers. So to suggest that a parent isn't doing their job because their kids are watching TV in their car is ridulous if I ever heard of such a thing. I think that parents need to stop being so judgmental of other parents when they have no clue what goes on in their homes.
But she was commenting on the kids watching tv which is simply not her business.
Pretty much everything we discuss in this forum is none of our business, but people are allowed opinions. Some of this is a bit of an assumption, but it isn't a good sign if the kids "need" to watch TV on the 10 minute car ride home from school. They would get so much more out of discussing their school day, looking out the window, even watching how mom drives.
Watching videos on a long trip seems to be the norm. Watching videos on the way home from school seems extreme.
Sorry to the OP but I couldn't have made this comment better. I have a SUV with 2 dual TV for my girls. Yes, they do watch a movie if we are driving more the 30 minutes. That's because I'm relaxing and listening to my Sirius radio because I 've been helping with homework, cooking, cleaning, playing games, attending sporting events and helping my girls with their sleepovers. So to suggest that a parent isn't doing their job because their kids are watching TV in their car is ridulous if I ever heard of such a thing. I think that parents need to stop being so judgmental of other parents when they have no clue what goes on in their homes.
can they not listen to the radio with you? I have fond memories of listening to my parents music growing up. It helped shape my music tastes. It also helps people learn to compromise. Maybe everyone gets to take turns choosing a station or a CD.
Pretty much everything we discuss in this forum is none of our business, but people are allowed opinions. Some of this is a bit of an assumption, but it isn't a good sign if the kids "need" to watch TV on the 10 minute car ride home from school. They would get so much more out of discussing their school day, looking out the window, even watching how mom drives.
Watching videos on a long trip seems to be the norm. Watching videos on the way home from school seems extreme.
I used to pop in a tape when I would run errands with the kids I nannied for if me and the little boy would be sitting in the car for awhile waiting for his older sister to get out of school.
These were not well behaved children and I was not about to try and parent them, instead of the 1 1/2 year old screaming and crying and throwing things in the backseat, it was much simpler to put on veggie tales. I knew the second that little girl got into the car if her brother was screaming it would put HER in a bad mood then I would be dealing with TWO screaming children, it was MUCH easier to put the video on so I could get back home with two QUIET children put the younger one down for a nap and keep the little girl occupied with something like crafts once we got home.
I used to pop in a tape when I would run errands with the kids I nannied for if me and the little boy would be sitting in the car for awhile waiting for his older sister to get out of school.
These were not well behaved children and I was not about to try and parent them, instead of the 1 1/2 year old screaming and crying and throwing things in the backseat, it was much simpler to put on veggie tales. I knew the second that little girl got into the car if her brother was screaming it would put HER in a bad mood then I would be dealing with TWO screaming children, it was MUCH easier to put the video on so I could get back home with two QUIET children put the younger one down for a nap and keep the little girl occupied with something like crafts once we got home.
That's kind of the thing. (Huge generalization, and not necessarily what's going on in the OP, but) Some parents don't want to bother to parent. The nanny doing it every once in a while is probably not a big deal, but parents need to learn to say "no" even though it isn't easier in the moment.
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