Now don't get me wrong, I understand their purpose and if I were driving cross country with a family of children or had a child with special needs, I would change my tune. I understand their purpose, but I also think they are numbing minds and allowing little ones to not see the beautiful things in everyday life in ordinary places like a trip to the grocery store or soccer complex.While in college, was the "go to" babysitter for a young family with one son that I kept from age 3 months to 5 years. When he got to toddler stage, we would go on adventures to the park to ride the train, to the lake to feed the ducks, or even just to find a construction site for him to look at the big trucks. It really made me realize the small things. He would call from the back seat, "LOOK AT THAT BIG RED FIRETRUCK!" or "That truck is hauling a front end loader." (yes, his dad taught him all the different kinds of trucks and their purposes.) When looking through child's eyes you really have the opportunity to stop and smell the roses that are all around you.
Yesterday I refused to turn on the car DVD player for another carpool trip. Instead we found a new park and had some impromptu playtime and saw the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen. (If I can get my cell phone to release the photo I took, I'll be sure to post it!) Just shows you if you don't pay attention, you might miss one of Gods little daily gifts!
18 comments:
kids do need to get outdoors more! tv, video games...it is all too much. we saw rainbows in miami. so magical!
I love this post! It is so true though, really. I agree that I can see the purpose of the car dvd player, but whenever we drove anywhere when I was young, we'd pack a big bag full of books and other things to keep us entertained and it was great. We played the license plate game and other spy games while driving and it was so, so nice!
Good for you, refusing to turn on the dvd player! I think that is so true!
I agree with you about TVs in cars. Its just so odd because we didn't have that growing up. I'd rather my child looked outside or listened to an audiobook.
completely agree with you about looking about at your surroundings instead of the dvd player for the 17 minute trip to the mall. come on. open your eyes, you never know what you'll see!
kHm
So funny and sad the expectations of children these days and inability to interact without electronics. Good for you for unplugging!
I agree - I think the car DVD players are totally unnecessary on a daily basis. Plus, I find it super distracting when I'm driving behind a car that is using one, especially at night!
This is prob a lifesaver! xxxoo
Kids are so inundated with technology, it seems. I agree that for a long trip with restless children it would probably be useful, but a lot of time TV time replaces quality time...even if it's just in the car! I still remember all the road trips I took with my family when I was little.
amen to that! I have a 16 month old, and not only did my husband and I decide that we would NEVER have a DVD player in the car, we also decided to not allow TV watching before the age of 2. We have even had other parents tell us how sorry they feel for us that our son won't sit down and watch tv. Not us! I love that he is always playing, and running around and watching the world. Glad to know someone else out there feels the same!
I always wanted a car TV when I was younger, but my mother encouraged me to talk to others and entertain myself even on LONG trips. Children watch enough TV as is, the last place they need one is in a moving vehicle.
What a great post I completely agree! While I might change my attitude when I have kids what happened to good ole fashioned reading and playing car games?
I used to be a nanny and the car I drove while working had a dvd player. But I never let the kids watch it. We talked (even if they didn't want to) and sang (even if they didn't want to hear me sing over Brittney) and read license plates and pointed out fun houses. Long trips, I understand of course. But 15 mins to school or dentist, no ma'am!
We do not have cars with TV's but bought a portable one - that we only get out for our trips to TN - eight hours. Even then the kids don't watch it the whole time - maybe one movie - that's still six hours of reading, car games, coloring, arguing with siblings.... It seems that using it everyday would make it such an expectation for entertainment EVERY MINUTE! I think it's good for kids to be bored sometimes.
I COULD NOT AGREE MORE!!! :)
Though easy and convenient for entertaining- so much better to encourage the kids and have them look out the window and appreciate the world around us!
My family members with in-car DVDs swear they are a lifesaver for long trips. By the time they get to my house, their kids have watched a movie, and then they dump a mountain of toys in the middle of my living room for the rest of their stay... we never had or needed that much stimulation, but it let's the parent's off the hook, I guess.
My current dog loves what we call "Car TV" -- for her, it's constantly rewarding to watch everything out of the car window. It makes for a fun car ride.
The only time we were allowed to use our car dvd player was when we made the cross-country drive. That's it.
I agree! The kids I babysit always ask me why I don't have one and I'm thinking we are just going 15 minutes down the road, you can't even finish a show! I think, for kids, we especially need to show them that they can live without technology!
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