Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Raise Your Kids in the Car, Says Stupefyingly Awful Web Site

Heresy. Photo: @BrooklynSpoke
Heresy. Photo: @BrooklynSpoke
false

Want to talk to your kids? Stick them in the car.

That’s the word-for-word headline atop a recent post on Driving, a Canadian web site that also believes lowering speed limits in cities -- you know, those places where kids and parents walk -- is “an exercise in futility,” because drivers.

Both columns were penned by the same writer, Lorraine Sommerfeld, who among many other things suggests that “allowing” people to cross the street is a good way to teach courtesy. But the gist of her advice boils down to: “The family vehicle might be the single best place to talk to your kids, when you’re all held captive.”

Take it away, Family Friendly Cities:

While maintaining the attention of your child long enough to talk to them is a challenge for any parent, we shouldn’t be accepting of an environment built so poorly that we have to hold our children ‘captive’ in a car in order to talk to them.

Let’s ignore the fact that attempting to seriously engage your child in a thought provoking conversation is another distraction while hurdling a two ton piece of metal through space while risking the lives of others. Accepting that the car is the best place to engage, learn, and understand your child is disturbing ... Children were meant to run, jump, play, or [engage in] just about any other form of movement that doesn’t include being restrained inside an automobile. The same can be said for how they learn about their environment and how, as parents, we teach, engage and converse with them.

Children learn nothing about the world at 30 mph. They cannot feel the world, they cannot smell it, and they certainly aren’t moving slow enough to experience all of its nuances. Unless a child’s parent happens to be a Picasso with words, talking to them about the world while captive in a car will do very little to expand their experiences with the real world.

We should probably add that health experts say car crashes are the leading cause of death for Canadian children. Auto collisions are a leading cause of child mortality in the U.S., with more than 9,000 kids age 12 and under killed in the last 10 years, according to the CDC. All things considered, it could be that rearing from the rearview mirror isn’t the best idea.

Elsewhere on the Network: The League of American Bicyclists has a new report on equity of access to cycling infrastructure, and nextSTL analyzes the difference between “urban” and “suburban” in St. Louis.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Cities Matter More Than Ever After Trump Officially Denies Climate Change

We're entering a new era of federal climate denial, and it's time to use a different set of tools to fight back.

July 31, 2025

SEE IT! Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better

One Brooklyn business has seen the future of safe streets and heavy lugging — and it's going to be O-KEI!

July 31, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Hotter Than July

Communities are going to court to access the bike/walk dollars they say the Trump administration froze.

July 31, 2025

Commentary: More Trump and Co. High Speed Rail Sophistry

Sorry not sorry you're getting sued for the HSR money you're trying to steal from California, Sean Duffy.

July 30, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Welcome Our Robot Overlords

The robotaxi field is growing, but with buyouts and now possibly layoffs at the U.S. DOT, will anyone be left to regulate them?

July 30, 2025

Shifting Gears to Urban Bike Delivery

Bikes can revolutionize delivery in urban areas. A new report outlines how policymakers can spur them in their communities.

July 30, 2025
See all posts