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Thursday, December 10, 2009

Avoid Getting Distracted When Driving with Children


SNAP! That was your patience breaking under the pressure of having to juggle children or pets whilst driving, we've all been there before, bored children and restless pets can be really tricky to handle, but if you don't handle them properly, you could be putting yourself at risk of dangerous accidents hurting your, your pets, or even your children.

Let's face it, children can be very stressful sometimes, whether they are hungry or just bored, it can mean the difference between a nice day out and a day out to forget. Recent studies have shown that over ¾ of car collisions are caused by distracted drivers, and the majority of incidents occur within 3 seconds of the initial distraction. With such frightening statistics, it's obvious why more and more people are trying to find ways to keep their children and pets at bay while driving.

The best way to deal with children when traveling is to make sure they are occupied. Stretching around every five minutes is not only inconvenient, but very dangerous. The best approach to take is an organizational one. Pre-planning can often be a very clever tactic, think about where you're going, how long the journey will take, and the time you'll be leaving. These 3 factors are very important when it comes to pre-planning, as they could be the difference between a successful trip and a disastrous one.

When travelling for long periods of time, you might want to make sure that children have things to do that are appropriate for their age groups. Younger children might be perfectly contented with a coloring book, but older children may not. Try putting together a travel play pack for younger children. This can include coloring books, their favorite toys or stuffed animals, anything that you know will keep them occupied for the whole journey.

If you're stuck for ideas, there are some brilliant travel-sized games on the market, such as popular board games shrunk and made appropriate for car travel for children to play against each other, or personal games, electronic or otherwise. You could even put together a little music compilation to play in the car filled with child friendly songs; they will be far too busy singing along. For older children, MP3 Players, hand held electronics or books can keep them busy for as long as you need them to, however older children are usually a lot easier to deal with in the car.

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