Unplug-Turn it Off & Pay Attention!
It was
not that many years ago families actually talked, bonded, and enjoyed each
other when they were in the car. Okay, we essentially had to talk to each other
to keep from getting bored out of our minds on long road trips, but no harm
done.
During
my pre-children years when traveling, there was the driver and the co-pilot
(me). The co-pilot job was to alert the driver when going over the speed limit.
The co-pilot was to read the map and point out the proper exits. The co-pilot always
kept their eye on the billboards that would point out fabulous little places to
stop and shop. I’ll never forget all those ‘Wall Drug’ signs in
Did you ever play the “I Spy” game while
traveling in your car with your family? No? Well then maybe, you remember and
enjoyed “Slug Bug” or the “License Plate” game. Or perhaps your family was more
the musical type and sang ‘around-songs’ like “Row-Row-Row Your Boat” at the
top of your lungs while zooming down the highway.
I especially have fond memories of playing
“Slug Bug” which gave me the perfect excuse to slug my brother in the arm as
hard as I could without fear of my mother turning around in the front seat swinging
that dreaded wooden spoon. I hated that stupid spoon, no matter how far I’d
sink into the backseat she could always reach me with a swing and a stinging
swat whenever I acted up. (Well they may not all be fond memories, but I do
remember the trips.)
However
now in 2010, I see my children take off with their little ones strapped into
their seats traveling down the road. Everyone is plugged-in, turned-on, and
tuned-out! My son-in-law is on his blue
tooth talking to a buddy as he drives; my daughter is sending text messages to
me, her friends, or updating her Facebook status. My 7-year-old grandson Charlie is watching
his favorite scary movie on his personal DVD screen and the girls, Trista (3)
and Kalese (2) have their baby blues glued to their shared DVD monitor watching
Cinderella. Excuse me…where is the family love?
Couple travel is even new and improved. My
co-pilot duty is now passé because we have cruise control or police scanners to
keep us alert. There is that inanimate person setting between the two of you in
the car that gives turn-by-turn directions in a breathless sexy voice. With GPS, there is no danger of getting lost,
having an adventure, or finding that terrific little town that started out as a
mistake. Okay, Okay, I’ll admit there is also less fighting because I did have
a tendency to read the map wrong and more than once, we traveled hundreds of
miles in the wrong direction. (Give me a break I’m just trying to prove a
point.)
My point, child-rearing experts say that
having the family around the dinner table is a good thing. I want to have it said that I think old
fashion car trips can also be good for the family. Face it, when a fight does
erupt you’re pretty much all locked in the vehicle going 55+ per hour…so you’d
best figure it out. Today’s kids may scream abuse…I call it family bonding.
