Sunday, December 6, 2015

Stop Judging, Start Embracing

Do you have a DVD player in your car? Or anything for movies? An iPad mount?

If you answered no, and you also have kids, be honest. Do you sometimes wish you had a DVD player in the car?

I have a few friends, all lovely, non judgmental people, who have resisted the very notion of screens in the car...that is, until they're ready for a road trip. Then they're all over Facebook, asking if anyone has a portable DVD player that can be mounted. Because they've just realized what a ten hour drive might do to their sanity.

We had the discussion in an online mom's group that I'm in the other week, and I was surprised at how much people really thought about this topic. There were the moms who were adamantly opposed. Don't do it! Never get one! Slippery slope! Screens are the devil! (That last one may have been exaggerated). There were moms who admitted to owning them, but were careful to make sure we all knew that they almost never used them. Nope. Emergencies only. Mostly. Don't judge me. I don't really use it.

But then, there are people like me, who have decided that not everything involving a screen has to be evil. We got our car DVD player when I was still working. I would pick Madison up from daycare, in the winter, when it was dark, and drive a rear facing kiddo an hour home in traffic as the toddler meltdown time kicked in. It wasn't fun. I talked to her, we listened to music, I passed back all my junk mail for her to shred, but five days a week of commuting started wearing on us. When Adam and I saw a Black Friday ad, we jumped on it, mounted it to the rear headrest, and I started enjoying my commute a little bit more.

I assuaged my guilt pretty quickly. She'd had a fun, screen free day at day care, and having some down time in the car let her decompress. We still talked, but we were happy. Let me make sure you understand me completely. I do not have one drop of guilt for using this technology.

In fact, I'm even visiting another dealership today (virtually, of course) helping others assuage their own guilt.

What's your opinion? Roll with the changes in road trip routines, or keep them far, far away?
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