Berkeley Parents Network: Commuting with Kids

Berkeley Parents Network

Commuting with Kids

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Going Places > Commuting with Kids

Commuting to SF with 3 yr old

March 2004

In June, I may have to start commuting with my 3 yr old daughter to San Francisco and would like to hear from any parents who have found themselves in a similar position. What strategies have worked best to ease the discomfort of long and daily car trip? (Occasional ferry trips from Alameda may be an option, but would require two bus transfers on the other side to reach the Presidio) Deirdre

I commute 30-35 minutes morning and evening by car with my 3.5 year old (and have been her whole life!). She eats breakfast in the car (toast, go-gurts, milk, juice, fruit) and listens to story tapes (e.g., ''Peter Rabbit,'' ''Curious George''). Sometimes she just likes to be quiet, or we talk about things we see (''There's our favorite delivery truck!'' ''Oh there's a dog on your side--how lucky!''). I have a potty that uses zip lock bags for roadside emergencies, and she usually brings one toy to cuddle. I've tried crayons but they tend to drop on the floor and cause fits! I always pack extra food, which she eats on the way home. Sometimes she says, ''Mom, this is taking a long time.'' And I just say, ''Yep, it is!'' All in all it's not too bad, and it actually provides some quality time for us. Commuter Mom

I did the opposite commute - from SF to the East Bay for three and a half years with my son, from when he was one to four and a half. Fortunately for me, that was against traffic. Still, we spent a lot of time in the car. (Thank goodness, we just moved to Berkeley!) Anyway, story tapes were a godsend. I'm talking mostly about storytellers on tape, telling traditional folk and fairy tales. Like stories about Anansi the Spider, or Coyote, or other such. I got the tapes mostly from the library and taped them. They're great stories, so even I enjoyed listening to them again and again. Also, because we already left our house so early - at 7 a.m., and had a long drive, we always ate breakfast in the car. I tried to remember to have snacks in the car for my son on the way home.&nbs! p; Good luck to you! Nanu

Maximizing commute time

September 1998

Does any one have suggestions how to maximize the quality of time spent in the car with a toddler? My son Ricky is fifteen months old now, and we spend more than an hour in the car each day commuting together. That makes it a large chunk of his day, and our time together. I sing lots of songs for him, but I was wondering if any one has any other suggestions. Lisa

My kids, aged 6 to 11, adore hearing funny or cute stories about themselves when they were younger, about my sisters and me when we were children, or even about my mother when she was a child. After they've heard them a few times, they enjoy telling the stories back to me, or to others. Beverly

Suggestions about keeping kids occupied in the car: kids music (and story) tapes have worked really well for us since our 4-1/2 year old was less than a year old. Also food (like fruit or a bagel) is a good distraction if it happens to work in with your own meal planning. Karen

My ideas probably relate more to older children, but here goes. My son is in a carpool for about 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. At first (kindergarten), there were often conflicts in the carpools. The families have treated things differently. At times we have had lots of art supplies (graph paper was often preferred to plain white paper). We listen to books on tape, often available from the library. Singing songs is sometimes fun. Playing "I Spy" is great (and when my son was learning isolated french words, it might be "I spy with my little eye something. . .vert"). We've also taken a portable tape recorder in the car for fun recording and playback, but have also used it to write books -- the kids brainstorm ideas into the tape and then I write them up. (And they are amazingly good, too!) This doesn't necessarily increase the time we communicate with each other, but just enjoying ourselves while we're in a small car has many benefits too! Wendy

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