Don't Waste Driving Time: The Car Is A Great Place To Bond With Your Child

Did you know that nearly two-thirds of Australian parents spend up to a full work day (eight hours) every week in the car doing ‘taxi duty’ for the kids.

New research from Allianz Australia has revealed that we’re a nation of parent taxi drivers, with one in ten parents spending nine or more hours a week picking up and dropping off.

It’s not that hard to believe when you count up all the time you’re ferrying the kids to and from school, sports, extra-murals, play dates and more.

The Taxi Hours Add Up

“It’s amazing how quickly the ‘parent taxi’ hours can add up and become a big challenge for mums and dads as they try to balance family life with work and other priorities – and, of course, traffic,” said Allianz Australia Chief Market Manager Nick Adams.

No Such Thing As A Lazy Weekend

And there’s certainly no break on the weekends, with many parents actually doing more taxi-time. Nearly half (44%) of parents report spending up to three hours driving their kids around every Saturday, and more than a third (36%) report the same on a Sunday.*

So what can we do about mums’ and dads’ taxi service? Well, only 35% of Aussie parents are actually carpooling* so of course we could try and share lifts to reduce the taxi load.

But if you’re going to be stuck in the car with the kids, at least make it a productive time.

We’ve put together some useful tips on how you can make the most of your parent taxi time:

Have A Tricky Talk To The Kids

Need to tackle a thorny topic with the kids? Leave it for the car. A drive is actually one of the best places to have a tough conversation with a kid, especially if you’re navigating through the teen years. Why? Well, there are fewer distractions around and kids can’t really escape. There is less eye-contact bringing down the intensity of the conversation. Plus you’ve got limited time so you need to get the point quickly. According to family psychologist, Dr Fred Peipman “You are out and about in the world and at the same time a bit isolated, so people can be somewhat disinhibited,” Peipman says. “People say things in a car that they’d never say to someone on the street because there is a perceived separation. For a parent-child discussion dynamic, it’s great.”

Try and keep the conversation relaxed. Start with a casual topic and then move onto the more serious stuff. End off with a joke or switch to a lighter topic. And remember to listen!

Play Favourites

In a world of iPads and smart phones, it’s easy to just shove a device in your children’s hand to keep them quiet. Put down the phone and switch off the music and talk. One trick to try is to ask your child to share their most and least favourite part of the day. This often gets the kids chatting away. Also, offer to share your favourite and least favourite part of the day.

Quiz Them

You’ve got a captive audience in the car so driving time is a great way to quiz your kids on their general knowledge, spelling, numbers and homework. Offer them an incentive for every question they get right. Turn the tables and get them to ask you a question too, for a bit of fun.

Carpool Karaoke

Do your own version of carpool karaoke. Each person in the car has a chance to pick a song. Then turn up the volume and everyone has to sing their heart out. So much fun!

Play Neverending Story

This is a brilliantly fun game to play in the car and keeps the kids amused for ages. One person starts a story and after a minute or so, the next person continues the story and this continues until the game loses its momentum or you’ve reached your destination. It’s hilarious to see what twists the tale takes.

Focus On The Kids

With all the driving we’re doing, it’s a relief to know that we can focus on the kids and our driving while Allianz takes care of the rest.

“A busy ‘parent taxi’ schedule is stressful enough, which is why Allianz’s thing is helping parents to focus on driving with the peace of mind that they’re insured in the event of an accident so they can get back to making that dance recital or school pick-up as soon as possible,” adds Adams.

For more information on Allianz car insurance, visit https://www.allianz.com.au/car-insurance/.

These top tips are bought to you by Allianz Car Insurance.

*Disclaimer:
Allianz Car Insurance is issued by Allianz Australia Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850 AFSL 234708. We do not provide advice based on any consideration of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply. Before making a decision please consider the product disclosure statement available here.

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62 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 08 Dec 2022
    2:03 pm
We often would chat in the car but mostly we would be singing along to what ever music we decided to play.

- - serotonin said
  - 06 Jun 2019
    8:32 pm
I love chatting with my kids. Too often they are fighting and it’s unpleasant. When I have just one in the car it can be very special. As a family we used to take it in turns to tell a short horror or funny story.

- - Kate Sander said
  - 13 Apr 2019
    7:23 am
I never thought of driving my kids around as bonding time and to tackle any hard topics or questions as we have a captive audience and also reading this gave me activities to try out so the kids aren’t bored and fighting with each other.

- - Blossom said
  - 06 Jan 2019
    12:55 pm
Imagine waiting for the traffic lights to change with your windows open. The Police car next to you also has its window down. Your kindergarten child has been watching a childrens’ show on TV while you finish off packing for a sleepover. (The TV remote was up higher than child’s reach) Suddenly Miss 4 y.o. asks what a condom is ( loud voice). The Mum felt embarrassed when she looked across and could see the Police Officer was amused. Apparently the Mum’s reply was “I’ll explain later”

- - Ellen said
  - 06 Jan 2019
    4:12 am
As soon as our conversation becomes more serious, I actually find I want to park the car at the side of the road, afraid to make accidents.

- - skbou said
  - 02 Jan 2019
    7:58 pm
Captive audience…..they can’t escape, and neither can we lol.

- - rovermum said
  - 20 Dec 2018
    9:35 am
My son and I have the best and deepest conversations in the car. It’s also where we get our groove on when he takes over the Aux cord and/or radio.

- - musicmum said
  - 19 Dec 2018
    8:09 pm
Going in the car with my son when he was little was always fun and an adventure, I gave him books to look at (later to read), snacks and a drink, and also had a little cassette player with headphones to listen to his music, he would be happy as anything. Cassette player was cheap to pick up in an opshop along with the music, not need for modern equipment, I would set him up when he was younger and soon enough he learned to change them.

- - Krusty said
  - 01 Dec 2018
    9:50 am
I am hoping to avoid all you drivers while I am concentrating on the road and trying to keep my family alive.Cheer’s Krusty.

- - Krusty said
  - 01 Dec 2018
    9:36 am
Here’s a thought,How about we focus on driving this weapon that could kill any innocent person or child that steps out in front of you with their ear plugs in and drive a vehicle the way we would if we had someone sitting beside us who was capable of taking away the licence to be on the road in the first place,You wanna play,Play in the yard!Cheer’s Krusty.

- - mom241861 said
  - 01 Dec 2018
    8:45 am
Love this story,from picking my grandchildren up from school and driving them 7 minutes to there house I can tell you who is boyfriend of the day ,who was there BFF of the day what they did at lunch time who they played with. When we finally arrive home I get to say did you learn anything today and do you have any homework There reply errrr No.

- - mom331927 said
  - 01 Dec 2018
    6:36 am
These idea are great, I’ll have to add them to our travel fun ❤️

- - Maida said
  - 01 Dec 2018
    12:40 am
Good recommendations and a very thoughtful article

- - Mum2archer said
  - 30 Nov 2018
    10:49 pm
Even though my son is only 21 months old, we always talk in the car. I ask him what colour things are, if he can see certain things etc and he loves to play along

- - rachelvk said
  - 30 Nov 2018
    10:38 pm
We play so many games in the car – it’s a great opportunity to communicate and enjoy each other’s company.

- - mom81879 said
  - 30 Nov 2018
    3:35 pm
Absolutely, make the most of every minute you get to spend together

- - teak said
  - 29 Nov 2018
    3:53 pm
We don’t use devices in the car.

- - ashna9 said
  - 26 Nov 2018
    5:11 pm
We do alot of our bonding in the car. Alot of the more ‘serious’ chats happen in the car too.

- - mom160421 said
  - 26 Nov 2018
    3:04 pm
I agree with mom176887. I talk with my daughter in the car but my primary focus is on the road and often times I have to stop our conversation to concentrate on traffic. I’d rather get home safely, then talk.
- Ellen replied
  
  27 Nov 2018 , 7:51 am
  I agree, I stop and park the car on the side of the road when a conversation started in the car becomes intense, or otherwise wait with bringing things up till home. I find it very hard to focus on the traffic and concentrate on a deeper or emotional conversation in the meantime.
- - mom176887 said
  - 26 Nov 2018
    12:27 pm
Sorry, the car is a place where EVERYONE needs to be concentrating. You can kill people with one wrong move. You should be teaching kids to concentrate on the road and the hazards out there. And DOING THE SAME YOURSELF…. I don’t think it is a time or place to be discussing anything very much at all. Keep chat to the bare minimum… Get your kids looking out for hazards even before they start to learn to drive.. are there kids playing with a ball, bikes, a car speeding by, a truck reversing from a driveway, etc. TEACH THEM THE CAR IS A DANGEROUS WEAPON and car journeys are to be taken seriously. They are not a time for bonding. They are a time for making sure you DON”T KILL ANYONE. Also some discussions can raise conflict and difficult feelings… again being on the road is NOT the place for these emotions to come up in passengers or drivers. BAD IDEA to use time in the car for anything other than keeping the road toll down.
- Krusty replied
  
  01 Dec 2018 , 9:44 am
  Finely someone writing sense,I applaud you and agree the car is NO place for games,Can people please look at our national death loss through motor vehicles and explain to us all how any of this behaviour can be supported.Cheer’s Krusty.