On The Road Again... And Again... And Againby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 22 Feb 2007 04:19 PM The older kids need to be at school by 7:45 a.m. and the younger one has playgroup at 9:30 a.m. In addition, the dry cleaning needs to be picked up, the grocery shopping needs to be done, and the van needs gas. When that's done, Jr. has an afternoon doctor's appointment and the other kids have to be dropped off at soccer practice. Does this sound like a typical day in your life? If it does you aren't alone. In a previous blog I expressed shock over the results of a recent SC Johnson survey, which revealed that a whopping 90% of parents said they spend up to 20 hours per week in their car with their children (an average of two kids in the car on a typical day) under 18 years of age. That blog also addressed what young passengers were doing while being shuttled around in the family taxi. This blog asks and answers the question: "Where are we going?" Looking at the survey results, American families spend more time on the road per week than we do at church or shopping. So where exactly are we headed? When asked about their travel destinations, the SC Johnson survey revealed that most families are headed to a variety of places from the mall to day care to restaurants. Here's how the results broke down: 92% of families are driving to doctor and dentist appointments 89% reported driving to restaurants (including fast food) 88% reported going shopping 84% reported using the family vehicle to drive to vacation destinations 78% of families say they use their vehicles to attend entertainment (movies) or school events 71% of respondents say they are driving to school 24% of drivers say they are headed to day care There were two other survey results I found very interesting (perhaps because they hit close to home): 21% of parents reported problems with car sickness 49% of parents report that muddy boots and wet clothes, food wrappers, and scattered crayons and toys make up the bulk of the mess in their vehicles. Can you relate? Related Articles: Making Car Rides Work For Your Family Keeping Track Of Your Teen Drivers On The Road With Children--"Sanity-Savers" Travel Tip--Avoiding The Fast Food Trap Survive the Drive: How to Get Your Kids to Behave in the Car Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments  JennBUT (232) 22 Feb 2007 03:22 PMI read this right after lecturing my husband about his "nasty" car. So you mean we aren't the ONLY ones with crushed ceral, empty bowls, toys, and pens/paper all over our backseat?  Michele Cheplic (37349) 23 Feb 2007 05:36 AMJenn, I can't remember the last time I saw the backseat of our car :) Thanks for the comment--and, no, you aren't alone!! Community Tags driving, family travel, kids in car, kids travel, Travel Discuss this article
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