Awful after school car rides

[Anonymous]

3 row cars or put tall cardboard dividers between all 3 kids?

[Anonymous]

You need.a bigger car.

[Anonymous]

Ugh so awful! I’d say good in the car—keeps them occupied and all of kids with vulnerabilities need to eat IMMEDIATELY after school.

I’d do an audio book that requires them to listen—maybe Encyclopedia Brown or something similar where they are listening for clues. My kids also liked WOW! In the World podcast at that age.

Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

Sometimes you just need to survive. If screens work then go for it. Make it a rule that they’re only for the car and any fighting means they lose them until the next day’s car ride.

[Anonymous]

Booster seats with high backs and sides. They are over tired and stimulated. Pull over till they stop.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you have tried individual iPads?

Twenty minutes is a good time slot for a show, or you could do a documentary in parts. If they're all watching one screen together, it may be easier to reset expectations that the ipad is only for the car, and that they will see the rest of the show or another episode next time.

Agree that a good podcast may also do the trick.

[Anonymous]

Op, had a similar issue at the dinner table and used a combination of structured conversations and rewards for helping to solve it.

So the only conversations allowed in the car were structured conversations led by me with clear answers that everyone participate in. So I would say - I am going to say a letter and then everyone will name a food which starts with that letter, etc. This means there is no room for argument, and gets them in the habit of not fighting all the time.

I also did group rewards - so I would recognize when they were kind to each other and award points. When they hit the points number (as a group) everyone got a reward. Again, the idea is to build the habit of being kind to each other.

It’s hard to “stop” behaviors, and easier to replace them with something.