I am 32 - growing up we didn't have DVD players in cars for long road trips. We played the traditional car games, we argued, we drove our parents nuts, we drew a line on the seat that our brother/sister couldn't cross, we played with toys, made up backseat games, etc.
Driving home last night after work, (5:30 in WI so it was dark), the van ahead of me had their DVD player on. It made me wonder - people that have the DVD luxury in their car, do they use it on a limited basis - on long car trips? Or is it often used just driving a few blocks or across town?
Just curious - how do you use YOUR car DVD player? Is it a necessity in your family car or could you live without it?
I would never have one in my car, ever. This is a time when conversations should be happening, even bickering and fighting. Good way to learn problem solving skills. Kids need to learn how to use their imagination, how to carry on a conversation and how to sit quietly.
Oh yeah we have one and I LOVE that thing! We do martial arts twice a week and it's 45 minutes one way, so we usually do a movie on that trip. Other than that, we just play it by ear, we listen to music, maybe watch a show etc. on a long trip, the DVD is a life saver!! Plus for just a couple bucks you can get a couple new movies the kids have never seen and the parents can actually talk!
My kids are older now, but when we used one it was only on long car trips, never around town, I'd rather listen to my favorite radio stations.
Anything over 2 hours we might put it on. I never have it on around town.
I have a friend who turns hers on every time she gets in the car. Every errand no matter how long or short involves animated characters. Her kids hate riding with us since we don't do this.
I have a DVD player in my minivan, and the kids only get to watch it on long (more than an hour) car trips or if we are waiting in the car in a school pick-up line. They see it as a real treat.
I do find that I love the DVD player more than I ever thought I would. The kids use the headphones on the really long car rides, and I can still listen to my music. I'm glad I paid the extra money for this feature. I thought about getting the lower model minivan and just buying portable DVD players, tablets, or iPods for the car, but being able to control the DVD player from my console is nice.
Our car isn't made with a DVD player, but when the kids were very small we bought one that had dual screens that hand over the back of the front seats. We ended up only using it sporadically for a short time. It made the kids motion-sick, so we pulled it out and it's been in storage for years. I forgot we still had it around here somewhere!
We use it on long car trips. Anything under an hour/hour and a half we just listen to music and talk. When we go visit my family, it's a 4 hour drive so we whip out the dvd player.
Portable one only on long trips.
My poor parents wish they had one when we were growing up as we drove them nuts w/our fighting. And we had very looonng trips.
We use it when we are travelling for an hour or more, unless we are travelling someplace new or someplace particularly scenic, then they are encouraged to look out the window. If we are just travelling across the same vast expanse of prairie we have travelled a hundred times before, or travelling after dark when they can't see the scenery, then a movie is fine. We have also used it when camping and bad weather hits, then we all sit in the van and watch a movie together. Our van came with the DVD player, it wasn't a must have for us, but since we have it we use it. My last van had a VHS player!
I have one built into my minivan and it is a wonderful thing to have on long trips. We also use it on short drives as well (I live about 20 to 30 minutes from everything). My daughter will usually read in the car and prefers listening to music but if it is dark out I will let her bring a movie.
We have a portable one and only use it on long trips (longer then an hour or so) and it's a life saver
We just bought a mini van with the DVD system in it in 2012. We use it for trips over 2 hours. And NEVER for short trips. The kids know this and abide by this rule.
It is NOT a necessity to us or our family. It's a luxury and the boys understand that.
What do we do otherwise? We see who can find the most different state license plates...and the crazy vanity plates that are out there...
We mostly just use ours on trips. It depends. If I have a ton of errands and the kids have been good, I sometimes reward them by letting them watch a movie while I'm driving around town. But that's pretty rare.
I've also used it a few times when I had a sick kid and had to pick up the other one or go to the store. Makes it a little easier to justify not letting them just be in their own bed. But I always feel terrible when I have to do that.
"We played the traditional car games, we argued, we drove our parents nuts, we drew a line on the seat that our brother/sister couldn't cross, we played with toys, made up backseat games, etc."
Some of the things you remember really did drive your parents nuts (how nice to be able to quiet the kids for a couple of hours). My oldest is 7 1/2, so many of the things I remember doing he is not really old enough to do or doesn't have a sibling old enough to do it with. I used to read, but my oldest is almost ready to try reading on his own. Also, we didn't have car seats. I used to stretch out and sleep. Not possible these days. We also used to take out the back row of seats in the van and sit in a circle and play a game. Never gonna happen.
Times change in many, many ways. Go with the flow!
We use ours ALL the time. My daughter gets so bored in the car. Even if its a 10 minute drive she has to have it on. It's funny cause the attendant at my favorite gas station will stay by my van and watch whatever is on and you can hear her laughing. Or she will say to me that is her favorite movie.
We don't have the built in ones only the portable ones. We are on our 3rd set so far. We bought the ones that have two screens so my son doesn't have to lean over to watch it. It is such a life saver. Especially on long trips. So glad that we have it!
We had a portable one when my daughter was younger. It was used when we went on long road trips--6 hrs to my side, 5 hrs to my husband's side. If I recall correctly, I think those were usually the only times we used it. Maybe a longer side trip here or there that was 3-4 hrs one way. My daughter had sensory issues. We started out with a portable VCR machine when she was very little and ungraded to a portable DVD player when she was old enough and able to take care of the machine herself. In our case, it was a lifesaver. Now that she is almost fourteen, she prefers to read a book or magazine or listen to her MP3 player. She still has the DVD player, and once in a while, she decides to take a few movies along and watch them.
We don't have it built in. We have a portable one. DH likes to use it more than I do. We rarely use it on our "standard" trips (2-3 hours) with DD....unless DH is along. DD and I can happily chat or listen to the radio or she brings toys. She cannot read or color, because she gets car sick if she does, but she can watch a DVD without being sick. It's not worth the hassle for me to bring it along most of the time. She gets bored of the DVDs after a while. If she's not otherwise occupied, she's probably asleep. And I get a lot of mileage out of stopping at a mid-point and letting her pick up some brochures or a state map from the rest stop. She could tell herself stories about those for an hour, easy. I usually live without the DVD player. Not a necessity.
We take several 8+ hour road trips annually. The DVD player is amazing!! My last 2 cars have had one...it wasn't an 'option' in my opinion. The kids also read, color, nap, play on kindles, play with toys, etc. We don't watch it driving around town.
Not a necessity, but an option just like radio or CD. My 3yo will sometimes request his favorite DVD, but not always. Sometimes he has to wait, and sometimes the answer is no. I usually allow it, though, because it's not all the time. He still appreciates looking around at other vehicles and signs, etc.
We have one in both vehicles. I keep a movie playing all the time. The kids fight less and they enjoy it. Right now we've seen The Little Mermaid about 10 times. They had never seen it! How sad to me. Such a classic fairy tale and they hadn't seen that adaptation.
We keep the extra DVD's in the glove box and if they're tired of the playing one we have a bunch to swap it with. Men in Black, Avatar TV series all 3 season's plus the live action movie The Last Airbender. We also have every one of the Land Before Time movies plus the series.
Neither vehicle has O. currently.
We had a portable O. that we used for long trips.
Now it's iPad, iPod and iphone! Lol
We make 12 to 18 hour trips 3-5 times per year. We use it on those - although, when we got it, that was our only electronics in the car. The kids are older now and have kindles and DSs, so on the last trip, they used the DVD player much less.
Some have a rule that the trip needs to be 30 minutes or longer. Every family is different.
Many do not even use the DVD players any longer. Now the kids want the iPhone and iPad. You can put movies on either. I have not bought DVDs since my daughter was born 4 years ago.. I did not pay extra for a DVD player in the car (i thought it was dated like the VHS machine in a car).
We have the handheld ones, not the built-in ones. We use them if the car ride is over 1 or 1 1/2 hours (depending on where we're going and what the sights are). We pretty regularly make 2 1/2 + hour trips to see various family members, so it makes being in the car a fun thing rather than another long trip for our 4 and 6 year olds. I don't like the idea of them using it daily, since I want them to look around outside and interact with each other and us:-)
We bought a new van over the summer, and the DVD package from the ceiling was $6000 extra. We could have gotten the headrest mounted ones for $2000 (didn't love this, as the child in the third row wouldn't be able to see well). Opted for new handhelds for each child, which we bought on amazon for less than $150 total!
They do still need help getting them started, so having the extra hoopla of having mom or dad fix it makes it more of a "special" thing, whereas with a built-in with parental controls in the front would be easier and less of a big deal. Since I don't want it to be a daily thing, this is okay with me:-)
I only allow it during car trips that are greater than 1.5 hours. Or when I'm waiting in the car at gymnastics for my older two.
We couldn't buy a minivan without the DVD player. We only use it when we travel over 2 hours.
I have a portable dvd player. We have only used it for long car trips (6+ hours). I'm not against using it for shorter rides, it's just a major hassle getting all the cords where they need to be and strapping the screen to the back of my head rest so I avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.
When we were growing up, my mom had a small portable TV that had a built in VHS player that she would put in the car for long road trips (Which we took 2-3 per year).
