[ PETE GILBERT... STAY-AT-HOME DAD ]
commentary & parenting
A Man with a Van True confessions of stay-at-home dad Pete Gilbert ManVan. MinionVan. Manlyvan. Call it whatever you want. A minivan has been life changing for me, a stay-at-home dad. My kids can open the doors, climb in and two out of three can buckle up – without help from me. When your home by yourself with three kids during the day, this makes the daily trips to Target, Costco and Trader Joe's much easier. Also, when I leave those stores with bags full of groceries, items my kids begged for and unnecessary impulse purchases, I can just push a button on the keychain and the doors open for the kids to pile in, like magic. One problem that's been eliminated, now that I have a van, is my kids touching each other. They are seated in a two-row triangle formation, so there's no ear flicking, licking, poking, pulling or toy stealing. Unfortunately, I do not have a soundproof window between me and the backseats, so I'm still subject to all the screaming and complaining.
to a compromise and now they can still watch movies, but around town they can only watch the Planet Earth documentary series. The noises I have to hear while driving aren't too bad, and my kids now spout off occasional animal facts. For example, did you know camels can carry 500 pounds on their backs? There's so much storage in this thing too. We've stuffed in lawn chairs, strollers, blankets, coolers, diaper bags and still had enough room to fit our kids inside. So, dads, if you are debating between a three-row SUV and a minivan, check your ego at the door and come over to the dark side. There’s plenty of room, power doors, a DVD player and even heated seats for those cold December mornings.
Happy Parenting! www.facebook.com/petetheblogger
One new option I'm excited to have in the van is a DVD player. At first the kids blared SpongeBob cartoons on it and I almost lost my mind. We came
DECEMBER 2013 · INDYSCHILD.COM
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