Snort Like a Pig: Kids & Cars...

Last one buckled has to snort like a pig.
It worked.  No more nagging, no more frustration trying to gain cooperation so mom can put the car in gear.  It worked for years and years.
Learning letters and phonics: The Letter of the Week taped to the dashboard.  Spot everything you can starting with that letter. 
My children became good readers.
Raffi songs and other catchy tunes that we could all sing together and still can.  Nursery rhymes on the go.
We all can burst into a shared commmon thing.  Years later, still.
Mind Time for Important Lessons
Periodic required audio book time on long trips.  Who knew that Steven Hawking used a voice synthesizer?  Who would have ever thought that a daughter would know Maya Angelou's voice before she ever saw her in person?

That was before the children signed driving contracts, and I had to resist the urge to slam my foot into the non-existent brake on the passenger side as they learned to drive.  That was before the driveway crashes and teaching responsibility for the upkeep of a car and all the lessons to be learned from that big step to independence. That was before I coordinated the DA to come talk to highschool students about drinking and driving and went to funerals for kids that were killed driving. That was before we walked to a wreck of a teenager racing down our street in Atlanta, killed by his own carelessness.

Funny, but it has been a long time since anyone snorted like a pig under threat.  I guess kids do finally learn things without mom reminding them.

Comments

[allison]

Ah, those teachable moments. We couldn't leave the driveway if seatbelts weren't buckled. Our youngest once had a fit when the car moved in the driveway and he wasn't yet buckled. Now this same child still wears his seat belt...even when he gets ticketed for having a bit of a lead foot! Sigh.

[Janet]

The Queen at four will remind her father and me to buckle up. But I imagine that pig snort thing will come in handy in future. In 8th grade a classmate of mine lost 3 siblings to a single-car wreck. The newly-licensed 16-year-old was driving. Raining, slick curvy road. All three instantly killed (the other 2 were twins in my brother's class). Jeff was not in the car with them because he was home sick that day. Their mother ended up writing a book about it, something about laying up treasures in heaven. It's been over 30 years, so I don't know if it's still in print.