So many of us busy parents struggle to find down time to just be with
our kids. Juggling demands of work and home, shuttling children to and
from activities, we can easily lose sight of how important it is to
spend time with our children--with no agenda, and no demands.
One way that I love to carve out that "just being" time is during our
summer family road trips. Headed to see our grandparents or cousins who
live several hours away or stealing away to a weekend at the shore, the
time that we share together in the car gives us a chance to share
jokes, favorite music and stories. Car trips take me back to my own
childhood and the many miles I sat squeezed in the middle of my brother
and sister in the backseat of our station wagon--headed south to
Florida, north to Toronto or west to Chicago to see family and friends.
These were the pre-ipod days when we each took a turn choosing a
cassette tape to play that everyone had to enjoy--or at least endure.
I'm grateful that my children aren't yet of the age when they'll plug
into their ipods and tune out our conversations. For now, they enjoy
our car time, even when they're filled with some "When will get there?!"
energy.
Here at jkidphilly, we've recently created "Shore Stories"--podcasts
of some of our favorite books that you can download and listen to with
your little ones during your summer drives. I'm excited to listen to
them with my family and integrate this new tradition into our 'Summer of
2012' road trips.
Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer
Family Engagement Program Director, Bucks County
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