Drive Time...It's an Opportunity

When our kids were growing up, in middle school and high school for the most part, my husband used to drive them to school everyday. Being blessed with the gift of teaching, he found this 20-25 minutes of uninterrupted drive time to be a prime time to impart his wisdom upon his captive audience of three. :) Yes, there were many theological, political and practical lessons taught during these morning jaunts and hopefully some of the things talked about stuck in those teenage heads. To this day the kids, who are grown now, still joke about the drive time lessons, but..... they remember them!
Of course, this was many years ago before cell phones and ipads were the companion and distraction of choice. How do you feel when you are with someone who is always on the phone or distracted by their iphone? Left out? How are your kids feeling when this is their drive time story?
We were not experts by any means, but here is what we learned, parents--mom and dad- turn off the radio and DVDS in your car. Don't use your drive time with your kids as your phone time. Rather, use your drive time with your kids, young and old, to talk about the day -what's happened and what's coming. Make it an opportunity to listen to your kids talk to you and to each other. You will be surprised how your child will become engaged with you in conversation if given the opportunity. There may be silence at first but believe me, talking will become the norm and you will be amazed what you learn about your kids and that your kids are opening up to you.

Grammie