In car dvds? Any good for long journeys?

[Mom2katiebug]

I hadn't but you can bet I'll order a few!

[aidliz]

Our car came with a built in dvd player.  It is a lifesaver on long trips.  We get a new movie for long trips and we dont even know the kids are in the car.  If your los will wear the headphones they are great so you and dh can listen to the radio and not have to listen to the movie.  I dont mind it, but the cartoons drive dh crazy after a while.

Our friends reciently bought a dvd player that they permanintly installed in the car,  on the roof in the middle between the two seats.  That is where ours is also.

[birdie]

I can definately see where one would come in handy...but my mother is all in a tissy about them this week. She is a child therapist, who admittedly is a bit old school/traditional. Since my sister's friend stopped by her house last week with an in car DVD in place, my mother has been talking non-stop about them. She is concerned about over exposure of visual stimulus they create. I questioned how they are different from us listening to her read when we traveled. She explained that hearing a story helps a child create pictures in his head but a movie places the pictures there. I commented that I cannot read in the car like she can. She then reminded me about books on CD.

Both her rants and this conversation have me thinking.

For what it is worth.
Wendy

[Deb_in_oz]

wendy - if we were at home they would watch a dvd or 2 in the day and i just see it as timing (not like they watch 2 hrs at home then hop in the car and watch it to go to the grocery store).  on a long day drive there is only so much (portable) activity a 3 or 5 yr old can handle in the car and only so much scenery they can stare at out their window (and often here that means just seeing some cows, sheep and horses off the main highway LOL).  since we also stop every 2hrs and find a local playground and have a snack, play and toilet break they actually get more outside activity in one day than they might have at home. i think it is a great additional tool in the long drive arsenal - otherwise i think a 2day trip woudl have to take 3 days with more stops for sanity reasons.

[mum101]

I'm not sure about them to be honest, talking about the cons of them... I saw a mum with her 2 kids going to kindergym who lives very close and i thought it was a bit silly to have the DVD player on for a 5 minute trip...   

Once you've got one the kids are going to know they can watch TV in the car and it's all downhill from there...  just my 2c worth 

Birdie - CD books are a great idea.  I will look into it for Rory.  We are doing a 13 hour trip soon but we are planning it so it's a night drive (therefore kids are asleep anyway and I don't have to breastfeed every few hours on the roadside    ).  I remember having such fun listening to Harry Potter on CD when I was a nanny. 

[birdie]

Deb,

I like your approach. As I have not decided how I feel about the issue, but you offer an interesting comparison.

I also don't think my mom realizes how much TV my sister and I really watched when we were kids.

Wendy

[Mom2katiebug]

We don't watch them start to stop either, we just use it as one tool/toy for making it through.  We do change it up with other things and have plenty of stops as well.  And when we first used it, DD asked for them on short trips too, but we just didn't use it.  Now it's really not an issue.  We use it when we need to (want to) and not on the short stuff.

[Alibobs]

I was just looking at portable dvd players today.

Bear with me:
When I was in labour with Lily (and also with the first mc) I had painful contractions over three days. I'm worried that it will be the same again, and am worried about looking after Lily if that happens (I don't want dh to have to start paternity leave early) We don't have a TV or anything upstairs, and I would like to be lying on the bed if that happened to stay as comfortable as possible. So I was thinking of a portable dvd player that I could sit on the bed and have Lily with me. We also do lots of 2 hour +  trips, and although Lily is an angel in the car, I can't see us being that lucky twice  , so thought having one in the car might be useful eventually too.

So, my qustion is - is there a dvd player that could attach to the headrest, or wherever in the car, but also be powered by mains and 'sit up' in the home? I've been looking, but I get confused easily. 

[Alibobs]

So, would a normal portable dvd player work in a car? Or does it have to be specifically an in-car dvd player? Sorry, I'm a bit thick with technology.

So, for example, could we attach this one in the car?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5335464/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CSound%2Band%2Bvision%7C9555142/c_2/2%7Ccat_9555142%7CDVD%252C%2BBlu-ray%2Band%2Bvideo%7C9555197/c_3/3%7Ccat_9555197%7CPortable%2BDVD%2Bplayers%7C9555206.htm

[Alibobs]

Thank you!

[em_here]

Thank you everyone No I certainly wouldnt use it for 5 min trips, it really will be for long trips and we do do a few a year so it'd be good if the children could "zone out" for a while

I was going to get some music and story cd's but tbh, I dont think DD would appreciate them and DS is a very visual kind of child, so I am hoping the combo of the DVD with Monsters Inc/Spiderman (he loves these), and a few pop up books will do the job I soooooo hope so or we have 3 hrs of hell lol!

[Duckie]

We use our portable one for trips home (4 hrs).  Andrew has the thing mastered and can work it himself.  And let me just sing the praises of a 5 yr age gap once again, as when we went home over Christmas - just the boys and I - his sole job was to keep the J-man happy.  And he did, bless him, he kept the Thomas/Farzzle/Wiggles rotation up until J fell asleep, then put on Cars to watch for himself.

[mum101]

Being devil's advocate here (and I know this isn't a debate) but what did they do before we had TVs in the car?

Isn't it the last place where we don't have a TV?  They are in our bedrooms, on mobile phones, on planes, shopping centres, kids clothes stores, restaurants, while we wait in queues, while we ride down escalators!

Rory asks the most intriguing questions when she is in the car, because it's her time to think and contemplate the day.  She notices so many interesting things out the window and asks questions.

Don't get me wrong, we have the TV on at home far too much, for both me and DD, but that's exactly why I don't want it everywhere else, it's a slippery slope. When I go to friends houses for the kids to play together, the TV gets turned on     

[Deb_in_oz]

Charmaine - i think there is  a big distinction between using a DVD on long car trips (we probably just fought more in the back seat and heard more of the "don't make me come back there" comments) vs. watching DVDs every time you go out in the car.  we also play I spy, sing lots of songs, talk, look at books (i can do anything in the car and so far my kids can too without getting car sick (my sister used to barely survive car trips).

We are gearing up to head to sydney next thursday doing about 7 hours(+ rest stops) day 1 and 3+ hours day 2 (and doing straight thorugh drive on way home).  in addition to the DVD i am cutting out felt shapes for them to add to their felt sets we will bring, have art supplies, I spy type books, a dinosaur building kit, more felt sets LOL, some new books, Angelina ballerina CD with 10 stories, matching card games and some other small toys.  we rotate as we go and i think they appreciate the down time where they can relax and watch a show, but don't actually have to stare out the window.

not debating the issue or feeling challenged - just explaining how i think if used appropriately it is a great modern addition just like people being able to take their IPOD out with them and have many CDs to choose from instead of the old days when my parents had only an AM radio and then an 8 track and then a cassette tape in the car...  the music available certainly improved our journeys.

[Alibobs]

Charmaine - i think there is  a big distinction between using a DVD on long car trips (we probably just fought more in the back seat and heard more of the "don't make me come back there" comments) vs. watching DVDs every time you go out in the car.  we also play I spy, sing lots of songs, talk, look at books (i can do anything in the car and so far my kids can too without getting car sick (my sister used to barely survive car trips).

I second that. I have no intention of using it for trips to the supermarket, but we do make a two hour drive at least once a month to visit the in-laws and usually another one to visit friends, and it would be nice for dd to have something to occupy her towards the end. Like I said before, dd is an angel in the car, but I often feel sorry for her as she looks so fed up after the first hour of occupying herself, even though she never complains. I thought it would also be good for longer trips when we go on holiday. Next year, if we're feeling brave, we were thinking of driving to the South of France to camp in our friends' garden. (DON'T remind me that I said that next year when I've chickened out though!)  I think having a TV in the bedroom is worse IMO as it can't be moderated as easily, and dd will be at least into her teenage years when she has one, and I'll probably force her into buying it herself.