Road Trip Trumps Guilt Trip

Who among us has taken a road trip with our family only to arrive at our destination feeling like crap? Or maybe the guilt trip followed you home? Either way, many moms and dads dread revving up the car, hitting the road with the fam and driving over the river and thru the woods, blah, blah, blah.

Maybe you feel guilty because you lost your temper at more mile markers than you care to remember. Maybe your guilt-0-meter is maxed out because you worry that 9 hours of The Doodlebops on the DVD player may be damaging to brain development. Whatever the reason, it is possible that you are now dreading another holiday inspired road trip.

Fear not. Guilt not. Read on.

It's no secret to my kids that I love to role play. After all, I am a therapist, and I love me some good Gestalt. Let's Pretend is fun for the entire family! Fun with your kids is something children will remember for the rest of their lives. I'm not suggesting you become your child's mobile Birthday Clown, just that you try letting your grownup guard down a bit and turn up the laugh track. Don't be afraid to be silly or be campy. Kids eat it up. Really. They do.

I'll give you an example of what happens when I am the one driving the carpool. Everyone being schlepped gets in the car and my kids know I am going to make the following announcement, "May I have your attention folks. Welcome to Renn Air. Please buckle your seat-belts. We will be traveling at an altitude of approximately one and a half feet. Arms, legs and uvulas will remain in the vehicle at all times. The captain has indicated there will be NO SHOUTING or THROWING stuff around. We expect an on-time arrival as long as everyone sits in their seat, respects the captain and doesn't poke anyone else!" The kids all get the point we've got rules in our car and I don't have to go into parental lecture mode to make it.

If you are looking for ideas for enjoying the open road with your family,holiday or any day, ya gotta go visit Road Trip Mom. Make sure to check out her article "Pirates of the Caravan: Make Like Roger And Have a Jolly Good Time In The Car" which will give you blow by blow instructions on how to pretend to be the captain of your ship and turn your kids into your happy crew. Pick a pirate name and get yourself in the mood. Now? Aye!

Sure road trips can be long and stressful. But maybe taking a new turn towards fun and games will make it not only a more enjoyable, but a memorable trip too, as you hit the open road this holiday season to drive all over hell visit friends and family.

As for our next family trip? "Home or The Odyssey: A Travel Epic of Interstate 95."


(Disclosure: Road Trip Mom is a BFF and frequent travel buddy. We combine our families and hit the road together every summer! I was not paid off in any way for this post nor does Laurel even know I wrote it. Shhhhhh!)
Cross-posted at DCMetro Moms Blog

Wednesday Whatnots

I don't even know if Whatnot is a word or if should be hyphenated or what-not. Instead of suffering omphaloskepsis I'll just plow on ahead with this Wednesday post and What Not.

If you are interested in hearing about my problems with faulty logic, go read this.

I was here on Tuesday night. Invited by this one . That one was also there. Another one was supposed to make it but unfortunately could not. My guess is she was utterly consumed with observing Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day.

I will be here on Friday at 7PM for a DC area Blogger Happy Hour. If you are a DC area blogger and need you some happy...Well? Come on!

And finally this is just funny and whatnotte.

Aviva Dares to Post a Daring Review of The Daring Book for Girls

I must admit, The Daring Book for Girls caught me a bit off guard. You see, I hadn't read The Dangerous Book for Boys so I really had no expectations except for what I percieved from the title. And, what I perceived was far different from what arrived on my doorstep.

I was expecting a book about... I don't know really. Maybe girls involved in outrageous behavior - perhaps talk of sex, drugs and rap music ( I happen to like rock and roll). Or maybe a book that would appeal to my teenage daughters. You know, filled with stuff about dealing with relationships, self-esteem, being proud of who you are and who you will become. At first glance, it didn't appear I would get any of this. A closer look, revealed what it was really about. Surprisingly, the latter part - about being proud of who you are - is in there. It's just packaged differently than I anticipated.

The cover and the illustrations represent the old junior encyclopedias - come on, you remember them. The ones with the ridiculous pictures. While the book did not appeal to either of my girls (as a matter of fact, one of them thought I had dug it up at an old book store somewhere), after reading the introduction, I understood why it was packaged the way it was. The book is about daring to be a girl! Playing jumprope instead of hip-hop. Making a phone out of string and cans instead of using your cell. Playing with chalk instead of texting. You know - actually enjoying childhood! The book is filled with all those things we grew up doing. The book is saying these were good things that helped to mold us into good people. Don't be afraid to pass them down to your kids just because they seem so... "retro" by today's standards.

I don't think I will ever be able to get my teenage girls to pick up this book and read it. However, I honestly believe that parents of elementary age girls will find page after page of great reminders to share with their children.

This is one book that I definitely should NOT have judged by its cover! Maybe it just needs a different title. Something along the lines of The Daring Book for Parents Raising Girls in the 21st Century. OK, I guess that is a bit long. In any case, I'm glad I didn't let its looks prevent me from finding out what was really on the inside. As a matter of fact, I believe that is the message it is sending to us about the book, about girls, and about people. Open it up and share some fun and laughs with your daring daughter.

Daring Book For Girls- Mother Talk- Dare we say it? We're running late!

Hi all, yesterday was our scheduled day to post our insights about The Daring Book For Girls. Well, life got in our way and blogger didn't help much either. End result, our post is delayed. Please stop in today and read it as it will be up. Apologies all around! In the meantime, head over to MotherTalk and take a look at what everyone else is saying about the book!

Guilt-O-Meter Decreaser

If you need a redux on your Guilt-O-Meter take a look at Mommy at Work: Thinking Globally, Acting Very Locally. I found it to be truly inspiring.

I believe Mommy At Work's post illustrates at least two principles of the Mommy Guilt-free Philosophy.
Can you guess which ones and why?

Giving The People What They Want

October was a busy month. Lot's o' traffic. Our site was hopping and we are enjoying everyone's visits! Most of you subscribe and we thank you for putting us on your list and finding Parentopia regularly.

In addition to topics we generate on our own, if you've got something you would like us to post about, pop us an email and we'll roll it out for everyone. If you want even more of us, we are happy to participate in book discussions- online or in real life.

Did you know we speak at conferences and fundraisers? We also conduct workshops and seminars. Visit our appearance page and check out our past, present and future. Got a small budget? No budget? Not a huge problem. Just ask and let us surprise you with what we can work out!

Given the search terms, here are some of the topics we may post about in the coming months. If you don't see one of yours on the list? Email us!

Friends of Barbie

Advantages of being a privileged toddler

Business men and women in papua new guinea

Is it okay to tickle your sister (neither of us have sisters, so we're thinking a guest blogger on this topic. Let us know if you want to be The One)

What to do when child comes home from sleepover with someone who has lice

Is it bad to hand down shoes to siblings

Eraserhead Remake

Child monologue wearing seatbelts

Doll Sex (for puppet sex we recommend Avenue Q. Doll sex we'll have to research and get back to you.)

Blogs Parents Lasik (Is this kind of parent blogging gaining popularity? First we'd heard of it.)

Being femine (sic) and wearing jeans

Is it normal for your family to associate with your ex husband

When your son hates you for not letting him drive

Dishwasher dangers

Mommy panties

Parentopia automatic toilet

2 rednecks and a tajima

Lawn nativity (We're not going to discuss this until after Thanksgiving. Why rush?)

Hoarding Candy

What does schmuck mean? (penis or idiot depending on context.)

Bar

Diapered husband in a playpen (we may combine this with "Bar," the two topics might be complimentary.)

Don't see what you are looking for? Tell us what you want.