Keeping your zen during rush hour
Driving in Los Angeles or really any major city is horrible especially with children as your backseat drivers. If you live in Los Angeles, traffic is a daily reality but it doesn’t have to eat away at your inner peace. There are a few ways to maintain your beach zen and survive driving with children. Start by shifting your mindset from negative to positive. See the time in the car as a way to regroup and connect.
Survival Guide: Daily Commutes with Children
My urban beach family has moved up and down the LA coastline the past few years. We are now settled into a community that feels like home but our commute is a daily chore. We know traffic, congestion, crazy drivers and don’t get me started on rainy days.
Surviving traffic is part of being an urban beach family. We live by the beach and work in downtown. Surrounded by high rise buildings during the day and sandy beaches by nightfall. I have to remind myself that the commute is worth the home. We built a home separate from our daily grind and when I pull into the driveway each night I’m reminded that it’s all worth it.
Drive Time Tip – Accepting it’s out of your control
Once I realized I couldn’t wish the traffic away or jump over other cars, I settled into my seat, found my fave music and embraced the time. There are some pros to a long commute and believe me I’ve had plenty of time to figure out what works.
Embrace the Time
Wanting and needing time alone is high on the list for all parents. My daily commute provides time alone with my thoughts. There are days when my little one is riding with dad and while I miss her and the fast track carpool lane, I have come to love the quiet. I know once I get home it’s a mad dash to get things done in the house, cooking, lunch prep, etc. but when I’m in the car, all I have to do is drive.
Each car ride with my daughter is a chance to hear about her day. I see our daily commute as a bonding experience. I know as my daughter gets older these moments will be fewer so for now, I am taking it all in. Being stuck in the car gives us the chance to practice the alphabet, colors, etc. It is truly bonding time with my daughter just hearing about her day.
When all else fails and your commute seems like a never-ending story of idiots, just crank up the reggae. Bob Marley joins my daughter and I on many of our commutes. Stress flies out the window as Marley brings back the feelings of summer.
How is your daily commute? How do you survive driving with children?
Oh boy, I don’t miss that So Cal traffic. But I am now a taxi driver for the kids (I joke I should charge them like an uber) – up and down the highway sometimes 6 or 8 times! But I love using that time to hear about their day. And if they have a friend in the car, I go silent, while pretending I’m not listening…oh the things you learn! I also diffuse oils in the car that I swear help us either get pumped on the way to school (yay peppermint) or chill out after school or sports (peace and calming is my homeboy).
When I was little my mom and I commuted together and those memories of being in her car along the freeway and singing songs with her are still some of my absolute favorites.
Aww I love to hear that you have those memories. I hope my little one remembers the fun drives with mom and dad and all the sillyness of our commutes. You’re so right, time to get a travel diffuser or add a drop or two on before my commute. Stress Away EO is a must for me!
I don’t have a commute to and from work, but I do have a 20ish minute drive to and from preschool. When my boys aren’t fighting over who is looking out of who’s window, it’s definitely been a great chance to review ABCs, 123s, colors, and making up jokes 🙂
I love the idea of making up jokes! For now it’s only one child, but I can imagine the sibling struggles over seats and everything else!
No kids yet, but after traveling with our VERY anxious German Shepard who is scared of absolutely anything, I am more than confident in my ability to travel with our future children haha that dog is the definition of a nightmare when it comes to just about anything. He doesn’t sit still, he cries, he whines, he barks at EVERYTHING: cars, people, trees, animals. You name it. God forbid we have to stop at a toll booth. Literally goes ballistic. I’m getting stressed just thinking about it haha
xo, Keating | Why Hello Lovely
http://www.whyhellolovely.com
Keating, I totally agree – traveling with dogs is rough! The fact you can’t strap them in and contain them is already a stress. I already am a pretty distracted driver so throwing in a moving pet in the car is beyond stressful. Sounds like we both have our hands full!