Children these days in cars watching DVD players

wolfpawnat

There are times you have to concentrate and it is easier to do so with Wall-E or Tangled being played while you are doing it than trying to concentrate on what you are doing and interacting with the child at the same time. Most parents want to give their child proper attention when in a discussion with them, even if it is about something like a river/lake you see by the side of the road. But if you are trying to navigate in terrain you are not used to, I would imagine it is very difficult to do both at once (I don't drive so I can only imagine)

I do regularly take 3-4 hour train journeys with my soon to be 4 year old and there is only so long you can engage them in looking out the window at cows, sheep, mountains, roads, etc. A DVD is essential for their sanity as well as the 40 or so other passengers in the carriage. Same with the Luas I take to town, it is a mundane journey that my son is sick of so I give him my somewhat batter ipod so he can play Angry Birds and not annoy every other passenger to hell and back.

I love him dearly, but even I have to admit he can wreck anyone's head on occasion. I am sure most other parents feel the same. It is not lazy parenting, it is on occasion a survival tactic.

Moonbeam

On the train I let them play with my ipad/laptop for everyones peace.

wolfpawnat

Moonbeam wrote: »

On the train I let them play with my ipad/laptop for everyones peace.

But you have to. Sure most people in a carriage are blaring music or on the phone so it doesn't affect them, and those who aren't I am sure would rather the low din of Alvin and the Chipmunks than my son when he is running around out of sheer boredom!

pwurple

Thoie wrote: »

Were all our parents just saints that they managed to take us on long trips in cars (probably without seatbelts) without either leaving "piles of dead toddlers" around the place (from entertaining us) or going mad from all the questions we asked?

I guess you don't remember road death statistics from that time then. Parents were not saints, and quite a lot of people died. We have record low road deaths on our roads at the moment, mostly due to our safety laws and people having a lot more cop on.

Sunny Dayz

We travel to visit my in laws once a month, it's a 3.5 hour journey each way. We head off there on Fri evening after work and leave there late Sun afternoon. Most of the time its bloody dark and raining at that stage so reading books, looking out the window is pointless! The DVD or DS would never be used on short journeys.

Gandhi

The problem is not "children these days" spending all their time with their faces buried in gadgets. The problem is "everyone these days" spending all their time with their faces buried in gadgets. It's not as if every adult you see in a cafe or train is poring over the novels of Dostoevsky and Dickens while the kids are updating their Facebook status and playing Angry Birds. Everyone of every age is messing with their phone or tablet.

Here in The States it seems that almost every car has one or two DVD players in the back and I hate them. We have a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old and the last thing on earth they need to be doing is watching more TV. I definitely see the logic of using them only on long journeys like some people mentioned, but I'd be afraid we'd gradually start caving in to using them for shorter and shorter journeys. A lot of the other parents in our creche seem to have them on the minute the kids get in the car for the drive home every evening, and I'm guessing they all originally intended to use them only occasionally. I really can't blame the parents as there have been times I wished we had one, and my older lad is already asking why some people have TVs in their car and we don't.

Gandhi

I also have to laugh a bit about people's memories of their own childhoods and being perfect angels in the back of the car. Any time our kids are acting up and my parents or in-laws are around we start going on about how we would never have done that when we were kids. The grandparents invariably almost fall over with laughing and set us straight "When you were his age you were doing that ten times a day. And that was on a good day!". One of the many ways that having kids spoons you a bigger dose of reality than you really want swallow.

Hannibal Smith

The Reamer wrote: »

Hang on, I am not saying that the parent must canstantly interact with the child for the whole damn journey.
Basically what I'm saying is this: look out the damn window, you might learn something. I was able to do that for 2 hour+ journeys in perfect silence.

are you sure you're not looking back with rose tinted glasses...either that or you're a one off. a kid sitting still for a 2 hour car journey? never heard of it...unless they're old enough to delve into their own thoughts.a dvd player on a car journey is a genius idea.

movingsucks

What about having the radio on... Is that allowed?

ezra_pound

movingsucks wrote: »

What about having the radio on... Is that allowed?

Radio and audio books are allowed. Just no pop music or rap!

No Beatles either. They claim to be bigger than Jesus!

Hannibal Smith

ezra_pound wrote: »

Radio and audio books are allowed. Just no pop music or rap!

No Beatles either. They claim to be bigger than Jesus!

and chances are Paul mccartney would pop up and do a special performance...very dangerous

ash23

We had no car when I was a child. If we were going somewhere it was on the bus and that was such a novelty that looking out the window was a real treat. Who needs a DVD when you are looking at something that is new and interesting.

However, now I have a car and a child and there is no novelty for her being in the car. She gets bored on long journeys and I find ways to amuse her.
We chat or listen to music. She isn't a good traveller so DVDs, hand held consoles or books are all a no-no in the car or she gets sick. However, I have tried these things and if they worked for her I'd use them.

We had a game when she was younger. It was to see who could stay quiet the longest.
She is the type of kid who is well behaved but who Never.Stops.Talking!!!
She wakes up talking and falls asleep talking and she also talks in her sleep. After an hour or two in the car I'd want to throw her out the window. Especially in a stressful driving situation (busy towns/cities).
She's old enough now to understand that mammy needs some peace to drive in a busy place, but when she was younger I'd have willingly tried anything to get her to be quiet for a while.

OP, borrow a chatty 3 year old for your next trip and when you're trying to battle your way out onto a busy main road with the child singing Sesame Street songs on repeat, you might get a better idea as to why parents use gadgets to keep the kids quiet in the car.

happywithlife

I take my 2 childrempn on a 3 hour trip a few times a year (and we've had the return leg to contend with also). Have also taken the ferry to Britain and driven 5 hours to our destination point... All without the trappings of an incar DVD player, an iPad, smartphone or any other gadget ;-)
All it takes is a bit of engagement with the kids, talking isn't necessarily distracting, but yes there were 2 adults in the car which spread the burden:-)
We love ispy in our car - when they were young it was I spy something the colour of... And now mthat they are older, it's the traditional letter game. This could keep us going for ages. Also did 'sums' As they were learning to count and again this provided great entertainment. On the ferry we kept ourselves going with (our fav board games of all) ludo and snakes n ladders
Now before someone thinks my kids are utterly deprived of modern day trappings they certainly are not, but I think interacting with them during the journey is all part of the fun - they aren't a fav dress we shake out and unruffle on arrival at a destination ;-)

dzer2

Played a game of I spy with the kids one day The young fellow spied something beginning with T after about ten minutes we hadnt got it so we asked him could he see it he said no as we had drove onto the motor way and the telephone wire was gone.:D

happywithlife

dzer2 wrote: »

Played a game of I spy with the kids one day The young fellow spied something beginning with T after about ten minutes we hadnt got it so we asked him could he see it he said no as we had drove onto the motor way and the telephone wire was gone.:D

Yeah you do have to be quick off the mark

tiny timy

The Reamer wrote: »

These day's I often despair at the way todays children are living. I'm 26, no old fogie, but when I were a wee chap or 8 or 10 and on a road trip I'd be glued to the window spotting things or looking at the map to see where we're going or pestering my dad as to what's this or that that we saw as we drove along. At the very least, I think it helped me develop a very good sense of geography and at 11 I actually had a very good knowlege of the country's road network.

I consider that a good, interested, normal way for a child to be.

However, these days an enormous number of children travelling in cars seem to be just consumed in some DVD player stuck to a headrest or foostering with a PSP or some other gimmick while being oblivious to the real world and all the interests it could inspire.

I have no children (nor do I intend to have them, not really my thing) but if I did, I would not be going down the DVD player/ PSP route on car journeys. I think the best thing is for parents to stimulate a child's interest in the natural or real world rather than rely on the DVD player to "keep them quiet".No offence intended, but where "it will keep em quiet" is the motivation, frankly I would consider that lazy parenting. At the very least it would develop the child's knowledge of the general geography of the region by seeing where's where and what's what. I think kids are missing out on something.

Does anyone else feel this way about this issue?

Dont comment on something you know nothing about,you must have a very boring life if this is all you have to complain about. I only hope you get stuck behind me one day and you can watch both players playing away keeping my kids happy.

Orion

CaraMay and time timy - if you think a post is actionable please report it and don't respond to it on thread.

Honey-ec

Mr E wrote: »

Roads are bloody dangerous these days. Traffic is worse, roads are busier, junctions are more complicated. You don't want your kids messing in the back seat in those situations.

I think DVDs, portable consoles etc are just the modern equivalent of books. Leave them at it, and give your full attention to the road. You can interact with them all you want when you aren't driving a 3 tonne metal box at 120kph.

Actually, statistically the roads are far safer now than they were at any point previously, so that argument is pretty moot.

Sleepy

When we were all kids did Ireland even have a motorway? There were villages, towns, farms and what have you on the roadside. Now there's just fields or, even more boringly, embankments for the kids to look at out the window. Sure there's the odd sheep, cow or horse but for the most part it's empty fields of grass. Particularly along the likes of the M4/M6.

pwurple

Honey-ec wrote: »

Actually, statistically the roads are far safer now than they were at any point previously, so that argument is pretty moot.

Honey-ec, the roads themselves are not far safer. What we have are far more safety laws, cars are safer, people pay more attention, so fatalities are down. Like wearing your seatbelt, anti-lock brakes, and strapping your child into a carseat rather than letting them bounce around the back of the car.

That does not mean it is now ok to do dangerous things like talk on your phone, or play games with your distracting passengers.

Maybe in another 50 years, when cars are on magnetic rails driving themselves.

Sleepy

Ah, to be fair, most of them are a lot better. We have better (though still not perfect) speed limits, motorways (which didn't exist 10 years ago nevermind 20 or 30), better safety barriers etc.

A fortune was pumped into improving the road network during the boom.

uck51js9zml2yt

Mine watched his DVD car player in our bed

jaykay74

Joselyn Thoughtless Straw wrote: »

Mine watched his DVD car player in our bed

Is your bed a red racing car ?

Knine

The Reamer wrote: »

These day's I often despair at the way todays children are living. I'm 26, no old fogie, but when I were a wee chap or 8 or 10 and on a road trip I'd be glued to the window spotting things or looking at the map to see where we're going or pestering my dad as to what's this or that that we saw as we drove along. At the very least, I think it helped me develop a very good sense of geography and at 11 I actually had a very good knowlege of the country's road network.

I consider that a good, interested, normal way for a child to be.

However, these days an enormous number of children travelling in cars seem to be just consumed in some DVD player stuck to a headrest or foostering with a PSP or some other gimmick while being oblivious to the real world and all the interests it could inspire.

I have no children (nor do I intend to have them, not really my thing) but if I did, I would not be going down the DVD player/ PSP route on car journeys. I think the best thing is for parents to stimulate a child's interest in the natural or real world rather than rely on the DVD player to "keep them quiet".No offence intended, but where "it will keep em quiet" is the motivation, frankly I would consider that lazy parenting. At the very least it would develop the child's knowledge of the general geography of the region by seeing where's where and what's what. I think kids are missing out on something.

Does anyone else feel this way about this issue?

Come back and comment when you have children. I'm always amazed at people who snipe at parents when they have no children themselves. They are usually child behaviour experts. It is one thing saying what you would allow and another actully implementing it when you are a parent.

There are times when I would do anything for 5 mins of peace and quiet particularly when I'm driving.

uck51js9zml2yt

jaykay74 wrote: »

Is your bed a red racing car ?

I dont dare show him this photo

Orion

And that's all folks. I had my suspicions about this thread anyway but it's just becoming a trainwreck. Time to nip this in the bud.