FoxMom23's Blog

   I don’t know anyone who enjoys being told how to drive by passengers riding with them. I certainly don’t enjoy it, and have on a few occasions threatened my husband with having to do absolutely all of the driving from now on, if he made one more comment about my driving. As annoying it is, however, at least he has a license and knows how to drive, and has been driving longer than I have. And I have to admit that I can be quite a bit of a backseat driver myself, sometimes (as I think we all can). My BIG problem is with backseat drivers who do not have a license, have never driven, and don’t know how to drive. Especially those passengers who are under 4 years old and who can’t reach the pedals or see over the steering wheel, and who can’t even sit in the regular seat yet.

   Yes, I am obviously talking about my children. I don’t know if anyone else’s children are like this, but my boys are seriously the worst backseat drivers you’ll ever meet.  My 3 year old knows all about stop lights and stop signs, and the minute he sees a red light or stop sign, no matter how far away from it we are, he tells me to stop, and if I don’t stop right then, he will repeatedly tell me to stop until I actually do. Then, as soon as I do stop, my almost 2 year old feels the need to add his two cents and tells me to “go, go, go”. Needless to say, I now try to take routes which have the fewest stop signs and stop lights possible!!!

   And speaking of choosing ways to go… my boys have also decided that some ways are better or more interesting to go than others. If I go in a direction that my almost 2 year old doesn’t like, he will tell me “no, no, no” and start to make strange noises to tell me he doesn’t approve. He doesn’t have a very large vocabulary yet, so a lot of his communication comes in the form of strange noises and repeated sounds.  My 3 year old is also very opinionated about which way we take to go somewhere (back way, highway, or some other roundabout way we occasionally go). Of course, he has a very good vocabulary and can easily communicate with us, so not only will he tell me he’s not happy about the way I’m going, but he will either tell me to turn around and explain the way he wants me to go, or he will point out roads he wants me to take to get there. (In his defense, he has a very good sense of direction and often times the way he says we should go will get us to our destination. It’s just his route isn’t always the quickest or easiest way to get somewhere, and sometimes the quick and easy way is just the way I need to go!! )

    So, most of the time I have at least 2 backseat drivers in the car, and when we go somewhere as a family and I drive (doesn’t happen often, luckily), I can easily have 3!!  Way too many backseat drivers, don’t you think?