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The drive to and from school or day care can be precious,
productive, lost in a daze or a continual fight. It can be a great
start and end to the day, or start the stress engines racing. We’ve been on
both ends, and know which we prefer. Fortunately, we and our other inventing
parents have come up with some great solutions to make this time pleasant
for adults and kids. And don't forget, subscribers have exclusive discounts on the products listed in all our Newsletters! For details, see the coupon at the bottom of this page. |
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Alert: The very popular Good Bites Decrusters and Slicers are on back-order at the manufacturer. Our August order will not be filled until after Thanksgiving! We still have a few, so hurry while they last! |
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Top Ten Mom-Tested Solutions to Make Your Drive Pleasant & Productive |
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But first, a word from National Walk
to School Day. October 3 is National Walk to School Day. Walking to school, for those who live close enough, makes all sorts of sense: the exercise will set children up for a productive day at school just as will having had a good breakfast; it teaches life skills and independence; and walking to school reduces traffic and the attendant pollution and accidents. If you thought that rush hour was easier during school holidays, you're right. Fully 25% of rush hour traffic is attributed to parents driving their children to school. For more information on Walk to School Day, including traffic calming and forming "foot-pools," see Turning the Ride to School Into a Walk For more tools to help children master life skills, see our earlier newsletter. When we lived close enough to walk our son to school, we would often spend less time on the walk than the drive. It was a nice way to start the day for all of us. When we would drive him to school, it would take us just as long while the vast number of cars crawled along the road and waited in line for their turn to drop the kids off. If you’re close enough to school, try taking a walk on Wednesday. |
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But for the rest of us,
school is too far away, or schedules do not permit walking. 1. Keep your car set up to finish the homework that your child forgot to do the night before, or wants to get a head start on because there won’t be time after the game. You can slip a zip lock bag, pencil bag or other container into the pouch on the car seat that your child can reach. Have pencils, erasers, rulers, protractors, markers, whatever school supplies your child might need to do their homework on hand. Make sure that the supplies are returned to the car’s bag for next time. Start or end each week with a check of these supplies and restock as necessary. |
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| 2. Have a work surface in the car, like the
Taby Tray. It will offer a firm, smooth
surface for your child to work on. 3. When you have children of different ages in the car with you, and the older has homework to do on the drive, bring some "school work" for the younger to do. A picture book to read, dot-to-dot tracing, drawing, or other quiet work will be appreciated by everyone. The Toddler Tote and Primer Pack are great options, as is the Story in a Box. 4. Do you find that you often eat breakfast on the run? Throw an extra shirt, skirt or pair of pants in the car for those times when their juice or your coffee spills. Keep some paper towels, napkins or wet wipes handy for clean up. 5. I don’t know about you, but in our family we often rely on debit cards and forget about cash. And sometimes we forget lunch. Keep a little fund of emergency cash in the car to cover lunch, or any of those "permission slip and fees" that were due yesterday or your child can’t go to the movie, field trip or ice cream social. These things happen, but it is nice to just reach into the glove box for the cash you need that second. 6. Do you have a long drive home, was your child in an after-school activity or on the way to rehearsal or practice? Make sure to bring a snack and drink with you when you pick up. The car can be the perfect place to wind down, and refuel, between major activities. Make what you bring nutritious: bring water or boxed milk, peanut butter crackers, an oatmeal cookie, baby carrots, grapes, or other finger foods that are age appropriate and safe in the car. Our kids appreciate the thought that goes into remembering to bring them something, rather than agreeing to drive through at a fast food joint. |
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| 7. Little ones will want snacks that
they can do themselves. The
Snack Trap has extra Lid Sets to keep fresh, and even turn
the Snack Trap into a Sippy Cup. A
Bottle Bungee
will keep bottles and cups from hitting the floor or rolling under the
seats. The
Packin Smart and
Raz Pack let little ones feed themselves the finger foods – Cheerios
and the like – that you set out for them. 8. Does your child get queasy in the car sometimes? Keep some Queasy Pop Kids on hand to ward off the nausea. 9. Check out some books on tape, or cd, and keep them in the car. You can learn a language, listen to Harry Potter, or even some required reading. Pick up the recording of a book that is coming out as a movie, and "read" it before you see the film. If your child will be in their own world, reading or sleeping, consider having a book on tape for you. 10. Children love to sleep in the car. We’re still looking for pillows that work well to keep their heads from drooping, (please let us know if you find one that works well for you!). Be sure to have a blanket on hand for the cooler months. The new Zoobie is the coolest combination plush animal, pillow and fleece blanket, perfect for nap time at home, school or in the car. |
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| NOTE: Several of you could not access the Recipies last week, so we are sending out the link again. Click for Inventive Parents’ Favorite Pancake Recipe, for Slow Weekends and Rushed School Days and other Fun, Fast and Good For You ideas. | ||||
| The next issue will feature fun ways to support learning at home for children too young for school, for home schoolers, and even for school children taking a break; and we’ll round out the series with some suggestions on financial planning for college and future educational needs! | ||||
| Subscriber Coupon: enter code 092729BTS07 for 10% off items listed in this Newsletter, effective through September 28, 2007. | ||||
