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Original poster

Possible crazy idea for kids in the back of the car

77 replies

LysistrataVickers · 01/08/2021 18:43

We're going on a bit of a road trip in 3 weeks and I'm quietly dreading the squabbling in the car from my two DSs (4 and 7). They can't watch tablets as it makes them car sick so tend to just wind each other up. They're happy to listen to audiobooks or music.

I have had an idea and would like some opinions as to whether you think it's a bit crazy. I'm not asking DH because he will think I'm crazy and if I go ahead and do it, I won't tell him what it is until I've finished it.

I have been looking up car back seat dividers of which there are a few but only in the US and Aus that I can find and are expensive.

So, I have ordered a long block of thick upholstery foam and am going to make a cotton cover for it and a slit for a seat belt to go through (similar to picture but taller) to essentially stop DSs from seeing each other and hope it'll keep them quieter. I know they will still be able to lob insults but they can't reach each other or pull faces which causes most of the problems.

I'm sure I'm going to get lots of replies about "just parent your children" and believe me we are trying but we have a lot going on at the moment which has made life difficult and I'd just like to make life a bit easier and enjoy my holiday.

Any opinions? Please be gentle, I'm a bit mentally delicate currently!!

Possible crazy idea for kids in the back of the car
OP posts:
Moggymoggymogmogs · 01/08/2021 21:53

My two fight in the car. Unfortunately me sitting in the back isn't an option as DH likes his seat far back, I can't cope in the back of a car unless it's for the briefest of journeys and if one of the kids are in the front they start squabbling over who controls the radio volume. I've told DH that our next car has 2 rows of back seats and I'm not joking either.

DH has a large holdall. I've been known before to stuff a large SK duvet in it and stick that inbetween itchy and scratchy on the back seat. Does the trick

Moggymoggymogmogs · 01/08/2021 21:54

Where did you order the foam from?

MargaretThursday · 01/08/2021 22:01

@DanteThunderstone

My only worry would be if the wee blighters would find a way to weaponise it to annoy their sibling. Shoving it their way or kicking round it or pulling it towards them and saying it's theirs. There is no end to the inventiveness of the squabble IME.
I would be confident that they will find a way to annoy their sibling by doing something dreadful like breathing whether they can see them or not.

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Families
MrsDeaconClaybourne · 01/08/2021 22:02

When our 3 DC were small DH and I used to say the first thing we'd buy if we won the lottery would be a black cab so we could sit in the front behind the screen and not hear them in the back. I totally see where you're coming from! It has improved a lot with age I'm pleased to say as they tend to wear headphones and mostly ignore each other now.

mamaoffourdc · 01/08/2021 22:04

You can get inflatable ones on Amazon x

00100001 · 01/08/2021 22:18

@HPmagic

Why not just put one one in the front and you sit in the back
Which child gets the coveted front seat?
HappyDaysToCome · 01/08/2021 22:24

@Galassia

My how times have changed! Myself and my children played I Spy, played Botticelli and had a list of things to tick off that they had seen in long journeys - man rising a bike, a white horse, blue van etc!

I would check it with your local fire station as I know they used to do safety checks on child car seats so may offer you professional advice and may even give your children a talk about behaving in the back of the car so as not to cause a distraction and an accident!

That’s nice for you. It’s not ‘times’ though it’s different families. We didn’t have a car when I was a child, but I’m reliably informed that DH and his 3 siblings used to fight as they rolled around the back car seat in the days before seat belts. In non- covid times we drive 6-8 hours each way to visit in-laws about 4 times a year. There’s a limit to our eye-spy and my-grandmother’s-cat inventiveness.

Good plan OP.

LastMincePie · 01/08/2021 22:32

I recently got an inflatable one on Amazon that works well. The seatbelt keeps it in place via a Velcro fastening and because both kids are in car seats it wedges between the seats so they can't move it. It was about £20 I think. I liked the fact that you could deflate it when you didn't want to use it and store it easily. We needed it as my Autistic child can lash out randomly when they get fed up in the car and I wanted to avoid my other child getting injured. Has worked well so far and taken the stress out of long journeys.

Guineapigbridge · 01/08/2021 22:41

Amazon link please!!!?

Thelnebriati · 01/08/2021 22:56

IDK if pockets are a good idea or not.

Pythonesque · 01/08/2021 23:01

I like the idea. You've probably thought of this already, but when you've cut your foam to shape and before you make the cover I'd put it in position and sit in the driver's seat to make sure it isn't too high and able to distract the driver.

Hope it works out, and safe travelling!

LastMincePie · 01/08/2021 23:02

This is the one I got. Hope it helps those that need it.

Possible crazy idea for kids in the back of the car
BingoBhango · 01/08/2021 23:06

This doesn't look very sturdy but could work in a pinch!

Possible crazy idea for kids in the back of the car
iknowimcoming · 01/08/2021 23:10

Looks like it would make a comfy head-rest for a nap to me too!

Indigopearl · 02/08/2021 08:55

@m0therofdragons

Why not just put one one in the front and you sit in the back

Because putting one child in the front seat at the start would begin a civil war… do you even have 2 or more dc? The front seat is the most coveted seat ever to every dc! This is the maddest suggestion on here Grin

We do this but we have an autistic 10 year old in the front and a nearly 2 year old in the back. I am liking the OPs suggestion though as I will be able to reclaim the front seat again on family trips. Please put me down for one when you go into production Wink
Kanaloa · 02/08/2021 10:09

I think my kids would just see this as a fun new squabbling opportunity, to fight with/over the top of the barrier. I would put one in the front one in the back, then they can swap on the way back. I think it would be a more relaxing journey.

BogRollBOGOF · 02/08/2021 10:20

Perks of a 7 seater with 2 kids; when they're having one of those days, the least annoying child gets to sit in the rear seats. It calms the bickering because neither wants to behave in a way that gets the sibling promoted to the novelty seat. Grin

Social distancing long before it became trendy Wink

ShaunaTheSheep · 02/08/2021 10:35

Should it be fire-retardant?

And I would be concerned about all the loose stuff being suggested. At speed anything loose could cause massive damage.

Sorry to be a party pooper but Having taken our 3 DC on numerous road trips, I am firmly in the ‘parent your kids’ camp (ND excepted of course).

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 02/08/2021 10:50

We used a DVD player with the screens attached to the back the front seat headrests. I think it is the looking down that makes tablets induce motion sickness. They also wore headphones so we could still listen to our stuff in the front, just set the radio to the front speakers only.

I think the foam barrier is genius especially with the seat belt slots to hold it in place. Mine behaved as I used to pass back bowls with snacks in every so often.

Rockbird · 02/08/2021 10:52

I'm ordering that inflatable thing for my 13 and 9 year olds. It doesn't get any easier as they get older... Hmm

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 02/08/2021 10:56

@BingoBhango

This doesn't look very sturdy but could work in a pinch!
This one is lethal! An emergency stop and hos ears would be lanced off!
HoppingPavlova · 02/08/2021 11:24

No way in hell would I do a diy job with foam/cover. The ones manufactured for this purpose will have been tested to ensure the seatbelt still gives and locks as it needs in the event of an accident. It must be fit for purpose and meet standards in order to be sold in countries who have certain safety requirements. Just like cots can’t be sold unless they meet requirements about heights, bar spacing etc, kids toys must not have choke hazards if sold for certain age groups and so on. What if the homemade divider doesn’t enable the seatbelt to work as required in high speed or impact collision? How would you know it will work okay with the forces that will be placed on it, it’s not something you can test in your driveway by pulling the seatbelt out and back a few times.

Thelnebriati · 02/08/2021 11:49

Upholstery foam is fire retardant; and you can get fire retardant upholstery fabric, or borax solution to treat cotton.

HoppingPavlova · 02/08/2021 11:54

The issue isn’t really being fire retardant. Can’t say I’ve seen many people who have been in cars that have caught fire in a collision. The issue is the tension, gliding and locking of the seatbelt system when the path has been diverted and how it acts on the surface of the object. Things that are marketed for this specific purpose are tested for all this, otherwise they get sued if it all goes balls up in an accident. You can’t do the required testing in a domestic setting.,

HoppingPavlova · 02/08/2021 11:58

I was also going to suggest tablets at the back of headrests. Has this been tried? You can get specific holders for them where it’s all secure. Looking straight ahead rather than down can make a huge difference and you can use headphones so they can watch/listen to individual visual content.