3 minute read
PARENTING: STAND BY YOUR VAN
STAND BY YOUR VAN THERE COMES A TIME WHEN ALL PARENTS MUST EMBRACE THEIR PARENTAL TAXI. By Barry Kaufman
Before kids, your choice of automobile is all about two factors: what you like and what you can afford.
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The maddeningly small sliver in the middle of that Venn diagram represents what kind of car you’re going to drive. Maybe you’re the outdoorsy type who goes for an off-roader, maybe you’re more the high-octane muscle car type. Maybe you’re the sensible sedan type - no judgment. The point is, what you drive is solely your decision.
And then kids come along. And suddenly, your car is not just your car. It’s a multi-functional transport for tiny humans, their various car seats and granola bar wrappers, and all of the equipment and gear that enables their
32 ParenthoodIQ.com • SPRING 2020 sports and extracurriculars.
It’s at this point that your average parent finds their options narrowed down to just two. Do you choose a minivan and accept the fact that ample space is the price you pay for driving around in a mom-mobile? Or do you choose an SUV, where you can still feel that pre-kid sense of cool whenever you’re not hauling the little ones around?
Having lived in both worlds, I’d like to offer what guidance I can.
For several years, my primary kid taxi was a Dodge Nitro. For those of you who don’t remember Dodge’s last cool SUV,
the Nitro was an attempt to make an SUV that looked like an old-school hot rod and could tow the entire state of Rhode Island if need be. It was a beast.
It was fun, but cramped. The Nitro had enough room for the whole family, as long as my three kids didn’t mind sitting elbow-to-elbow on a bench seat. And while it could just technically hold us and any gear we might need for soccer, softball, etc., it had one feature that made it truly outstanding. Namely, we could go mud-bogging in it. It’s not your typical family activity, but the kids loved it.
These days I haul the kids around in a Chrysler Town & Country, a mini-van best described as a “Dodge Caravan with a fancy analog clock in the dash.” I may not be able to take the Town & Country mudbogging, but on long road trips it’s been a game changer.
The kids don’t need to squeeze into one bench, but can spread out among the captain chairs of the second row and the bench of the third. As they’ve aged and learned the time-tested game of “I’m not touching you I’m not touching you,” this ability to separate them has been crucial. Plus, it has the flip-down TV with DVD player, something we all agree as parents we’re never going to use as a babysitter, right until hour three of a 10-hour car ride.
Ultimately, your choice between SUV and mini-van comes down to one thing. Do you want to still feel like you have a say in what your drive? And is that sense of self-determination worth the sacrifice of space and convenience? For me, it’s a no-brainer. At least until the kids aren’t a factor, then it’s back to mud-bogging. PIQ
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