How To Car Pool With Young Kids

The idea of carpooling with young kids may help some parents while striking fear into the hearts of others. After all, the thought of being in charge of different kids from different parents does bring with it a real sense of responsibility.

Of course, if you find yourself in this situation then it’s best if you feel prepared for whatever comes your way. To help, I have several tips that could prove rather useful.

Make Sure There’s Shared Responsibility

Carpooling works well when different parents are willing to share the responsibilities. If it ends up with one individual becoming almost the designated driver, then that’s far from fair. At that point, you become a driving service for everybody else.

When there are kids from different families, work out in advance who will drive and when. Everybody deserves to have a break from driving duties. They can then enjoy the benefit of their kid being driven somewhere by someone else.

Honesty Is Best When You Can’t Do It

There are times where you cannot fulfil your carpooling duties. Let’s face it, things happen and kids get ill.

When this happens, it’s best to come clean as soon as possible to allow for other arrangements. Also, don’t give this long story about what’s gone wrong or why you have to change the time when you can do it. People don’t care that much about those parts. They are more concerned with how the kids are going to get to their final destination.

Finally, don’t make excuses all of the time. It gets boring quite quickly and you may lose your ability to be part of the carpooling exercise.

You Must Arrive On Time

You cannot turn up late when you are the one in charge. Other parents are counting on you and if you end up being late then the kids will get cranky. After all, kids are often impatient and you then have to deal with them and their mood during the journey.

I’d advise you to even arrive early if possible. This then reduces the pressure of traffic delaying you or kids getting restless.

Tell Your Kids Politeness Is Expected

You expect the kids that you drive around to have manners and respect you, so it’s only fair you tell your kids to do the same. You must remember that the driver is doing something to help, so they deserve people to treat them well.

At the same time, if a child does act up when you are the driver, then there’s an understanding that the driver is in charge at that point. Addressing the issue at that moment is important. It should never pose a problem with the other parents.

Organization Is Key

Organizing the carpool is key as is clear communication between the adults involved. Everyone must know what is always expected of them. If not, then you will have a number of disappointed kids on your hands.

Also, if there is some kind of change to the driver, then do let everyone else in the carpool know in advance. After all, you want people to know who is looking after their kids instead of it becoming some kind of surprise.

Have A Backup Plan

If you are running late or if something goes wrong with your car, it’s important to have a backup plan. With modern technology and services like Uber & Lyft, there’s no reason mechanical trouble needs to mess up the carpool. Use a rideshare service. Check out Rideshare Central to see which services are available in your area, and to get promo codes for discounts on Uber, Lyft, Juno, and Via.

Make Sure The Kids Get Along

The carpool experience is also good for the kids themselves. With this, it may act as a bonding experience but that does mean you have to make sure all of the kids get along. If you know of issues, such as one bullying the other, then having them in the same carpool is crazy.

Also, when you are in charge it’s advisable to check that no kid is being left out of the conversation. You should always look at ways to get them all to interact. When done correctly, it does lead to them building real friendships which is a positive thing.

So, if you are somewhat stressed or worried about the prospect of carpooling with kids, then stop for a moment and read over all of the points above. In doing so, you should learn that things aren’t as bad as you may initially fear. Carpooling is a wonderful thing to do when you have the correct group of kids together but do keep on top of things and communicate or it could all fall apart.

Similar Posts:

None Found