Search ChildFun

Game of the Month!!

Quote of the Day

Like it? Share it!

Home Parent General I'm Sitting Up Front
I'm Sitting Up Front PDF Print E-mail
User Rating: / 2
PoorBest 

 I'm Sitting Up Front

 

by Amanda Formaro
http://familycorner.com

It's a common situation, all over the country. Who gets to sit in the front seat on the way to school? "It's my turn! He got to yesterday!" whines Jessica. "No way! I'm the oldest, so I get to!" argues Andrew. So what to do?

Aside from creating a war amongst the children and yourself, try one of these solutions. Different things work for different people, perhaps one of these is for you.

Safety Note: It is recommended that children under the age of 15 sit in the back seat. If you vehicle is equipped with a passenger side Supplemental Restraint System (SRS or airbag), do not allow children in the front as it can be fatal.

Off Limits
The front seat is off limits to kids. If this is an option for you, assuming you have enough seats in your vehicle to accommodate all the children while leaving the front passenger seat empty, then lay the ground rules now. So as not to appear such an ogre, Mom can allow each child to take turns choosing where they sit in the back. Perhaps the oldest picks each day, or rotate each child. This rule definitely applies if you have a passenger side airbag. Under no circumstances should you allow a child to ride up front when a supplemental restraint system (SRS or airbag) is present.

Seniority
Allow the oldest child the privilege of always having the front seat. The oldest child normally carries the most responsibility in the household as far as chores and other duties are concerned. Consider this a privilege that he has earned because of his order in the family.

Taking Turns
We all want to instill sharing and turn taking in our children. Get a calendar and post it on the refrigerator, at the front door, or keep it in the glove box. Alternate each child's name on the calendar, allowing for even rotation of their turn in the front seat. To make things less complicated, you can rotate on a monthly basis instead (i.e., Jenny is March, Tim is April, Alice is may, etc.) For someone with two children, a simple alternative might be to allow one child the front seat on the way to school and the other the front on the way home.

Special Occasions
On special occasions, such as birthdays, allow the birthday child to sit up front. Have fun with this! Create your own special days. if Timmy's birthdays falls on May 19th, then declare the 19th of each month "Timmy Day".

Assigned Seating
Some parents may find it easier to simply assign seats within the vehicle. That way, each morning everyone knows where they are expected to sit. No arguments. This may be your choice if you have more than three children as seating becomes limited, especially if you have younger children that require car seats.

Implementing one of these systems should help to ease you out the door in the morning without too much hassle. Keeping the peace in the family is good for everyone.

RELATED RESOURCES

Ending Sibling Fights
Managing Morning Madness
Kids Home Alone: When and How?

About the Author
Amanda Formaro is the entrepreneurial mother of four children. She and her husband live in southern Nevada. She is also the owner of FamilyCorner.com Magazine at http://familycorner.com She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


 

Dear Reader:  You can help us make this website even better!

We'd love to hear your comments about this article!  Scroll down to sound off!  All of our articles and ideas have come from our imagination and from reader submissions.  Please use this form to contact us if you have articles, crafts, activities, games, recipes, songs or poems that you would like to add to this website. Make sure to stop by our mom friendly forums too!

Webmasters and Authors:

We will gladly include a link back to your site or book in exchange for sharing your content.  Just contact us!

 


(2 Votes)

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

smaller | bigger
security image
Write the displayed characters

busy Quote this article on your site

To create link towards this article on your website,
copy and paste the text below in your page.




Preview :

I'm Sitting Up Front
Monday, 12 January 2009
 I'm Sitting Up Front by Amanda Formaro http://familycorner.com It's a common situation, all over the country. Who gets to sit in the...

Powered by QuoteThis © 2008
Last Updated on Monday, 12 January 2009 13:05
 

Featured Holiday



One of our favorite holidays is Easter.  We love the religious and non-religious alike.  There is much joy to be had in spring and no matter how you celebrate, we are sure that you can find something for everyone in our Easter section. Click here to get started.

Upcoming Holidays


If you like to plan ahead, this is the section for you!
We've got year round fun on tap every day of the year!
Independence Day
Grandparents Day
Columbus Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving
 

Featured Activities



Each month we will feature new activities, letters, and themes. It is easy to make learning your ABC's fun with all of our letter themed activities. The letters featured this month are:

Letter M | Letter A | Letter R
Letter C | Letter H | Letter P

Share This Page!

Bookmark and Share

Click this button to instantly bookmark this page, share this page on Facebook, Google, Twitter, Mail it to a Friend, Submit to Stumble Upon, Digg and much more!

Your Opinion

Are your child's immunizations up to date?
 

Subscribe to ChildFun

Subscribe now to get updated when we add new articles, activities, crafts, stories, fingerplays, parenting advice and more. You will be updated each time we add a new article to ChildFun. (This replaces our previous newsletters.)
Click here to subscribe!
subscribe

What's New at ChildFun

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Mrs. ChildFun Likes

Search Wikipedia

Easter I Coloring

St. Pat's Coloring

Easter III Coloring


© Copyright 1996 - 2010
ChildFun is a trademark of ChildFun, Inc.
All Graphics on this site are copyright protected
© ChildFun, Inc. and © Original Country Clipart
ChildFun, Inc., PO Box 1173, Mankato, MN 56002
Voice/Fax: 507.625.1124